The market at a glance · Jobmundo analysis
UK hiring demand is rising, though still well below the 2022 peak, while employee pay is rising.
New online job adverts in UK were 5.5% higher than three months earlier, in August 2026. Average employee earnings in Great Britain were 3.7% higher in August 2026 compared with a year earlier.
Latest available releases can cover different periods. Pay figures are nominal, before inflation. ONS data is generally two months late.Comparing a job offer? See what common UK salaries pay after tax.
UK hiring demand
New online job adverts in the UK
New online job adverts have decreased since Aug 2021.
720,638
Aug 2026 · UK
Average annual earnings
Average pay for employees across Great Britain
Employee pay is 3.7% higher than a year earlier, before inflation.
£39,353
Aug 2026 · Great Britain
Jobs in the economy
Total workforce jobs across the UK
Workforce jobs have increased since Apr 2025.
36,734,000
Apr 2026 · UK
Median advertised salary
Job adverts by annual salary range (ONS)
The median annualised asking salary is £33,000.
£33,000
May 2025 · UK
Number of job adverts · annual salary bands in GBP
Pay by region
Median advertised salary across UK regions
London has the highest regional pay benchmark at £40,500.
£33,000
UK median advertised salary
Occupations with strong demand and pay
How this ranking is calculatedOccupations are ranked by balancing hiring demand and median advertised salary. Each occupation gets a percentile for new adverts and a percentile for pay. Those two are combined into a single score using a geometric mean, so roles that do well on both rise to the top.Ranked by a combination of hiring demand and median advertised salary.
| # | Occupation | New adverts | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IT business analysts, architects and systems designersSystem analyst · Ai scientist · Bi architect · IT architect | New adverts9,861Very high demandTop 5% for demand | Median pay£60KVery high payTop 5% for pay |
| 2 | Programmers and software development professionalsSoftware developer · IT analyst · Team leader · BI developer | New adverts11,591Very high demandTop 5% for demand | Median pay£55KHigh payTop 10% for pay |
| 3 | Business and financial project management professionalsProject support business manager · Agile coach · Pmo manager · Project lead | New adverts11,157Very high demandTop 5% for demand | Median pay£54KHigh payTop 10% for pay |
| 4 | Specialist medical practitionersMedical consultant · Clinical fellow · Research fellow · Specialty doctor | New adverts3,356High demandTop 15% for demand | Median pay£104KVery high payTop 5% for pay |
| 5 | Finance and investment analysts and advisersFinance adviser · Money agent · Finance agent · Bank associate | New adverts6,205Very high demandTop 10% for demand | Median pay£50KHigh payTop 10% for pay |
Where hiring is strongest
New online job adverts by region and change
| # | Region | New adverts | Change (60d) | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 117,803 | +10.8% | |
| 2 | South East | 115,334 | +5.0% | |
| 3 | North West | 75,448 | +35.6% | |
| 4 | South West | 68,871 | +31.6% | |
| 5 | East of England | 67,527 | +12.9% | |
| 6 | West Midlands | 59,720 | +26.6% | |
| 7 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 51,043 | +18.9% | |
| 8 | East Midlands | 49,167 | +44.9% | |
| 9 | Scotland | 44,931 | +2.4% | |
| 10 | North East | 20,846 | +50.7% | |
| 11 | Wales | 20,671 | +48.8% | |
| 12 | Northern Ireland | 12,656 | -1.1% |
Highest in demand careers
New online job adverts and year-on-year change
| # | Occupation | New adverts | Change (YoY) | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Care workers and home carers | 15,801 | -15.3% | |
| 2 | Cleaners and domestics | 13,869 | +19.0% | |
| 3 | Delivery drivers and couriers | 13,415 | +35.8% | |
| 4 | Sales accounts and business development managers | 12,837 | +7.1% | |
| 5 | Programmers and software development professionals | 11,591 | +49.7% | |
| 6 | Business and financial project management professionals | 11,157 | +53.2% | |
| 7 | Metal working production and maintenance fitters | 10,992 | +8.8% | |
| 8 | Sales and retail assistants | 10,301 | -4.1% | |
| 9 | Business sales executives | 10,277 | -5.1% | |
| 10 | IT business analysts, architects and systems designers | 9,861 | +81.6% | |
| 11 | Chefs | 9,831 | -23.8% | |
| 12 | IT user support technicians | 9,434 | -2.2% |
Careers gaining momentum
Occupations with the strongest year-over-year rise in new adverts
| # | Occupation | New adverts | Change (YoY) | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air travel assistants | 532 | +220.5% | |
| 2 | Market research interviewers | 1,278 | +133.2% | |
| 3 | Health care practice managers | 965 | +109.8% | |
| 4 | Veterinarians | 1,961 | +105.6% | |
| 5 | Public relations and communications directors | 393 | +103.6% | |
| 6 | Ship and hovercraft officers | 265 | +96.3% | |
| 7 | Prison service officers (below principal officer) | 724 | +90.5% | |
| 8 | Veterinary nurses | 1,207 | +88.6% | |
| 9 | IT business analysts, architects and systems designers | 9,861 | +81.6% | |
| 10 | Bank and post office clerks | 3,341 | +78.7% |
Careers losing momentum
Occupations with the steepest year-over-year fall in new adverts
| # | Occupation | New adverts | Change (YoY) | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sports players | 119 | -68.7% | |
| 2 | Elementary cleaning occupations n.e.c. | 152 | -51.3% | |
| 3 | Probation officers | 120 | -40.3% | |
| 4 | Paramedics | 152 | -37.7% | |
| 5 | Ambulance staff (excluding paramedics) | 272 | -36.6% | |
| 6 | Registered children's nurses | 433 | -35.7% | |
| 7 | Further education teaching professionals | 116 | -35.6% | |
| 8 | Generalist medical practitioners | 885 | -34.9% | |
| 9 | Bricklayers | 378 | -33.9% | |
| 10 | Medical and dental technicians | 957 | -33.4% |
Skills gaining momentum
Skills rising fastest in share of new UK job adverts
| # | Skill | Share | Change (YoY) | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Healthcare Clinical Systems | 17.7% | +5.2 pp | |
| 2 | Recruitment, Payroll and Employee Performance | 26.5% | +4.2 pp | |
| 3 | Legal, Regulatory Compliance and Governance | 19.1% | +3.7 pp | |
| 4 | Risk and Safety | 29.8% | +3.7 pp | |
| 5 | Business Operations, Process and Program Management | 83.2% | +3.3 pp | |
| 6 | Professional and Interpersonal Competencies | 78.0% | +3.2 pp | |
| 7 | Proficiency in Individual World Languages and Dialects | 12.5% | +2.9 pp | |
| 8 | Public Health and Safety | 4.8% | +2.8 pp | |
| 9 | Construction and Built Environment | 23.9% | +2.6 pp | |
| 10 | Engineering and Manufacturing | 20.9% | +2.6 pp |
Skills losing momentum
Skills falling fastest in share of new UK job adverts
| # | Skill | Share | Change (YoY) | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Social Sciences | 7.3% | -1.4 pp | |
| 2 | Mathematics, Computational and Computer Sciences | 8.8% | -0.9 pp | |
| 3 | Education and Workforce Development | 3.2% | -0.4 pp | |
| 4 | Industrial Safety and Compliance | 0.2% | -0.3 pp | |
| 5 | Genomics, Bioinformatics, and Molecular Sciences | 0.3% | -0.2 pp | |
| 6 | Technical Documentation and Services | 0.8% | -0.2 pp | |
| 7 | Education and Learning Systems | 12.5% | -0.2 pp | |
| 8 | Emergency Services | 5.0% | -0.2 pp | |
| 9 | Nonprofit Management | 0.7% | -0.1 pp | |
| 10 | Healthcare and Emergency Response | 0.0% | -0.1 pp |
Employment rate
Share of working-age people in work
Employment rate have increased since Jul 2025.
75.3%
Jul 2026 · UK
43.5m aged 16–64
Unemployment rate
Share of the economically active who are unemployed
Unemployment rate have decreased since Jul 2025.
4.7%
Jul 2026 · UK
Economic inactivity
Share of inactive people by reason (ONS)
Long-term sick is the largest reported reason for economic inactivity.
20.9%
43.5m aged 16–64
About this report
Sources, periods & methodology
Each chart shows its own reporting period. These are observation dates, not publication dates. ONS data is generally two months late. Missing comparisons stay unavailable. The hiring glance compares the latest month with three months earlier. Pay still uses published annual changes and does not compare mismatched pay periods.
Hiring demand August 2026
UK · New online adverts first appearing in each period. This is not the ONS Vacancy Survey.
Office for National Statistics · textkernel_job_adverts · Release: September 2026Employee earnings August 2026
Great Britain · Average weekly total pay, seasonally adjusted, multiplied by 52. Monthly display divides by 12.
Office for National Statistics · average_weekly_earnings · Release: October 2026Advertised salary May 2025
UK · Annualised advertised asking pay. This is not employee earnings.
Office for National Statistics · online_job_advert_salaries · Release: January 2017 to May 2025Regional pay May 2025
UK regions · Median of local-authority median asking salaries. This is not a pooled median of all adverts.
Office for National Statistics · online_job_advert_salaries · Release: January 2017 to May 2025Labour force July 2026
UK · Employment and inactivity use ages 16–64. Unemployment uses the economically active population aged 16+. Workforce jobs count jobs, not people.
Office for National Statistics · labour_market_rates · Release: October 2026Skills January 2025
UK · Share of new adverts. Changes are in percentage points. Large growth rates can reflect small starting counts.
Office for National Statistics · skills_competencies_job_requirements · Release: January 2017 to September 2025Source: Office for National Statistics — employment and labour market. Charts and interpretation by Jobmundo. ONS does not endorse this analysis.
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