Careers and Job Opportunities for Economics Graduates

There are various reasons why you might want to study economics at Unisa. One reason might be that you would like to improve your knowledge and understanding of economics as a subject and of the economy (either of a specific country or the international economy) to satisfy your interest and curiosity in this regard. Every day information is released in the media regarding national aggregates and indicators like economic growth, employment and unemployment, inflation, interest rates, the balance of payments, exchange rates (macroeconomics) as well as more detailed information on specific sectors of the economy, industries and individual companies (microeconomics). A study of economics at Unisa will help you to follow these newsworthy items more easily and is thus of value for its own sake. Moreover, studying economics in combination with other subjects such as Accounting and Business Management will help you see the broader picture and context in which issues in these subjects arise and are dealt with accordingly.

However, most of you will be concerned about the kind of careers and job opportunities you can expect after having studied economics at Unisa. Although there are a fair number of job opportunities for graduates in economics, they are probably not as widespread as, say, in accountancy and business management subjects such as marketing, human resource management and finance. Moreover, note that a degree in economics is not a professional qualification whereas both the accounting and legal professions offer such qualifications via external board exams. Also note that in most cases the more senior (and better paid!) positions for economists are rarely gained without many years experience at a lower more junior level. The more senior positions usually also require a postgraduate degree in economics - at least an Honours degree, although a Master's degree in economics is often a prerequisite nowadays. Please keep these considerations in mind when making decisions about your intended career based on a realistic appraisal of what you can expect in the marketplace after you have graduated.

Despite these limitations, however, there are a wide variety of employers who place a high value on the services of economists at various levels in their organisations and who reward such employees accordingly. The main division of opportunities is between the public and private sectors. The government (both the national and parallel regional/local authorities) and organisations regulated, sponsored or otherwise directed by the state regularly advertise and employ economics graduates at different levels and in various capacities. The main examples are (with the main areas of expertise given in parentheses): the National Treasury (macroeconomic analysis and forecasting, microeconomic analysis of specific industries or sectors of the economy, public finance, monetary and fiscal policy), the South African Reserve Bank (mainly monetary policy, macroeconomic analysis and forecasting), the Department of Trade and Industry (microeconomic analysis of specific industries and sectors of the economy, growth and industrialisation strategy, international trade strategy and policy), the Industrial Development Corporation (microeconomics, entrepreneurship and small/medium size business development), the Competition Commission (microeconomics, competition law and economics), the Department of Transport (transport economics, operations research), the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs (agricultural economics), the Development Bank of South Africa (development economics, covering most of the branches of economics as applied to the South African economy), the Human Sciences Research Council (economic research on issues of concern to the South African economy, especially growth and employment), and Eskom (macroeconomic analysis and forecasting, analysis of the supply of and demand for electricity.)

As regards the private sector, the main employers of economists are the larger commercial and merchant banks (macroeconomic analysis and forecasting, money and banking, investment analysis and real estate/property economists), the life insurance industry (macroeconomic analysis and forecasting, investment analysis and real estate), stockbrokers on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (macroeconomic analysis and forecasting, microeconomic analysis of specific industries and companies, investment analysis) and various private consultancies and advisory services. Other smaller employers include the Chamber of Mines and some of the trade unions There are also opportunities for economics graduates in journalism in the print media (newspapers and financial magazines), the internet, radio and television.

Last but certainly not least, there is a considerable demand for people with a background in economics as teachers, both at the secondary and tertiary education levels.

As you can see from the above, there is a varied demand for the services of graduates in economics across the whole spectrum of the economy. The demand for economics graduates tends to be in specialised areas and, as noted above, is smaller relative to that for graduates in other commercial subjects such as accounting and business management. However, if you have a keen interest in and enthusiasm for economics you will be motivated to work hard and qualify yourself to take advantage of the diverse opportunities that are available.