According to the Office for National Statistics in the UK, the country’s labour market remains strong. Even though the unemployment rates in 2023 remained largely unchanged (4.2%), there was a 7.3% growth in the salary range. Also, the number of paid employees saw an increase — in October 2023 alone, 39,000 job opportunities were created.
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On the other hand, statistics on the national scale are not always enough to objectively estimate how the different cities are doing. So, we have decided to analyse our internal data to figure out the top UK cities with the most job opportunities. Since SignalHire is a platform that provides recruiters with tools to look for qualified human talent, we are able to analyse searches and gather some statistics. This data includes not only the total number of searches made via SignalHire but also more specific details, like job title, city, and multiple other parameters the employers are interested in.
To create this post, we looked into the search history from our recruitment database to see which positions were in the highest demand in autumn 2023. More importantly, which cities offered these job opportunities? This gave a factual list of the most common job openings the recruiters were trying to fill in late 2023.
So, if you want to find the best cities to work in the UK, check out our research – after all, the numbers never lie!
1. London
Job Growth: 3.4%
Average Annual Salary: £44,370
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Sales Manager, Data Engineer, Business Development Manager
London is one of the world’s dominant finance hubs, which is why it is not surprising that sales managers are in such demand in the city. As one of the largest trade centres in the world, London offers plenty of job openings in the sales niche, ranging from relatively modest positions to highly demanding jobs that involve selling to C-level executives in major international corporations.
But of course, even a city with such a long and impressive history as London still has to keep pace with the times — the IT industry in the UK capital is also booming. Data engineers will find London to be one of the best places to work and live because these professionals rank third on the list of most sought-after vacancies in the capital. That is not surprising as this job is directly related to business development — namely, managing and implementing data pipelines that are further used to fine-tune plenty of corporate processes, including sales.
And, since so many London careers are business and trade-related, it’s no wonder that qualified business development managers also make it to the list of top three most popular jobs in this buzzing hub.
2. Edinburgh
Job Growth: 1.6%
Average Annual Salary: £34,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Data Engineer, Business Analyst, Software Developer
Scotland’s capital may not have the same opportunities in the sales sector as the English one, but it is still one of the best cities in the UK tech sector. The top in-demand job in Edinburgh is a data engineer, followed closely by a business analyst. Once again, the connection is obvious — big data analysis allows businesses to strive, so even if these two occupations deal with different aspects of growing a business, they are still connected.
The third most highly demanded occupation in Edinburgh is a software developer. The range of technologies needed can vary from one employer to another. Since Edinburgh is home to a range of major companies, such as Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and Tesco, qualified developers will have plenty of exciting job opportunities to consider.
3. Cambridge
Job Growth: 8.5%
Average Annual Salary: £36,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Software Developer, Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET), DevOps Engineer
Cambridge has seen an unprecedented job growth rate in this decade — mostly in corporate employment and the IT sector. The most popular jobs in this city are all in the IT and software development niche. While the overall job growth rate already stands at an impressive 8.5%, the increase rates in knowledge-intensive sectors (namely, IT and high-tech manufacturing) are even higher and reach almost 11%, making Cambridge one of the top UK cities for job applicants in the tech niche.
Even though Cambridge, like many other IT centres, offers plenty of hybrid work opportunities that combine remote hours along with traditional office employment, qualified developers are usually encouraged to apply for full-time in-house openings. They probably should, considering such an astonishing surge in career opportunities — one needs to catch this tide before it ebbs!
4. Manchester
Job Growth: 3.9-4.2%
Average Annual Salary: £31,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: B2B Marketing Manager, Finance Officer, Dentist
Manchester’s economy is one of the largest in England, and the Greater Manchester area is one of the best places to get a job in the business and finance sector. Many international companies have offices in this city, including Amazon, Deloitte, Bosch, etc. Manchester also acts as the European headquarters for Etihad Airways, Adidas, and Siemens — among many other world-famous enterprises in multiple niches. So, experts in B2B marketing and finance will be at home here.
Besides, Manchester is actively looking for dentists — this is the third most in-demand job in this area. Well, that may have something to do with the generous dentist and healthcare packages in all of those global enterprises. But jokes aside, the University of Manchester has one of the best faculties of biology, medicine, and health in the UK— and many private health practitioners are looking for qualified personnel.
5. Belfast
Job Growth: 2.4%
Average Annual Salary: £30,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Chief Director, Payroll Specialist, Human Resources Specialist
Northern Ireland is one of the fastest-growing economies in the UK, with the capital predictably offering the most job opportunities in the region. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Belfast experienced a major decline in economic activity. Today, however, the city is on the rise again, and most companies are actively looking for chief directors to fine-tune their business operations.
Besides, Belfast has many job openings for payroll and human resources specialists — a sure sign that the employment opportunities are growing. Traditionally, Belfast was one of the top cities for jobs in the finance and tech sector, so HRs will most likely be engaged in these niches. Some of the top Belfast enterprises include Random Holdings, Danske Bank, and Alma Group, among many others.
6. Oxford
Job Growth: 1.1%
Average Annual Salary: £35,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Software Developer, DevOps Engineer, User Experience Designer
Despite its iconic University tracing centuries back, Oxford is not as traditional as one might think. In fact, the whole of Oxfordshire is home to innovative companies revolutionising the tech industry and literally changing the world. Oxford’s developments in robotics and high-tech manufacturing are some of the most advanced in Europe, but they would not be possible without highly-trained creative IT staff.
Top in-demand jobs in Oxford are all in the IT and tech niche, with software developers and engineers taking the lead. However, user experience designers will also find plenty of employment opportunities in the city as this job ranks third in the number of available openings. All in all, Oxford is turning into a major hub for creative tech innovation and one of the best places to get a job in this niche.
7. Nottingham
Job Growth: 2.1%
Average Annual Salary: £30,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: B2B Marketing Manager, Marketing & Business Development, Technician Electronic
According to the Office for National Statistics data, in mid-2023, Nottingham experienced a rise in the unemployment rate (compared to 2022). On the other hand, this city ranks high in the number of new job openings, too — B2B marketing managers and business developers are in the highest demand here. This data indicates that Nottingham is going through an economic shift as more international career opportunities become available in the city.
Major finance enterprises, including Capital One, Deloitte, and Experian, are already among the top Nottingham employers. Judging from the common vacancies in the area, it looks like the trend will persist, and Nottingham will join the ranks of UK cities for job search in the finance sector. In the meantime, electronics technicians will also enjoy increasing job opportunities in Nottingham as this occupation is the third one in the highest demand.
8. Bristol
Job Growth: 1.7%
Average Annual Salary: £35,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Business Analyst, Data Modeler, Data Scientist
Bristol is one of the major UK business hubs that offers plenty of job opportunities in finance, tech, and IT niches. Similar to other UK cities for job searches on this list, Bristol companies are looking for business analysts and big data professionals who can ensure steady corporate growth. The city is home to many renowned businesses, including Airbus Operations, Royalty Pharma, Ovo Group Ltd, Brent Cars Limited, and many others. So, business analysts and developers looking to work in Bristol will not be limited to the tech and finance sector alone.
Methodology
SignalHire is a recruiting database that supports individual and bulk searches by job title, location, and other parameters. For this study, we have collected all job opening queries made via our database in autumn 2023. Then, we have filtered into search requests made exclusively in the United Kingdom. This gave a list of all job openings UK recruiters were looking to fill from September 2023 to November 2023.
Afterwards, we narrowed down all UK job searches to locations with the highest number of total searches. This allowed us to shortlist eight cities, where different specialists were searched the most. Further, we have dug deeper into each of the shortlisted locations to see which job titles were in the highest demand in each city, thus getting data on the top three in-demand jobs in a given city.
Finally, we presented our results on the best cities to work in the UK based on the total number of job searches made in each location, sorting it from highest to lowest. Information about each city’s job growth rates and average salaries was taken from the official websites of the UK government and statistical resources, along with a few job aggregating sites and platforms that store information about salary ranges. These ranges include only the base salaries, without bonuses, so the actual annual earnings may be higher. Data about recent job market developments in each city was taken from public and news resources.
Conclusion
UK’s economy is striving, especially in the finance, IT, and high-tech manufacturing sectors. The eight cities above, with London predictably at the lead, offer the most employment opportunities in these niches. Still, the United Kingdom has plenty of other wonderful places for life and work. As one of the top SaaS software solutions for recruiters, SignalHire regularly monitors international employment trends, and you can always find the most recent analytics on our blog. Stay with us to learn about all the latest developments in HR, sales, and business — it is going to be a fun and exciting journey!
