Study names Winchester as ‘top city in the UK for job opportunities’

New research has revealed which towns and cities have the best job opportunities for the people living and working there – and Winchester ranks the highest.

The study, conducted by HR software provider Ciphr, compared employment data for 100 of the UK’s most populated towns and cities to determine which locations offer the best potential for job opportunities and good salaries.

Winchester came in first place, ahead of Warrington in second, and St Albans in third. Chelmsford, Sevenoaks, Preston, Cheltenham, Guildford, Aberdeen, and Reading also made the top 10.

Towns and cities were rated (out of 100) across multiple factors, such as average full-time earnings, annual pay growth, the latest employment and unemployment figures, employment rate growth, the number of job listings on Indeed, LinkedIn and Glassdoor (combined) per 10,000 local workers, and business density – or the number of businesses in the area.

Housing costs, as well as life satisfaction and happiness scores, were also considered to reflect the town or city’s affordability and its residents’ general level of wellbeing.

Winchester scored consistently well across many criteria. Some of the reasons it stood out include a higher-than-average salary, a high and rising employment rate, and a very high number of businesses per capita.

Full-time workers living in Winchester typically earn £40,600 a year, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That’s 16% above the UK’s average full-time pay of £34,963. The town’s average wages also saw double-digit growth of 14.8% in 2023 (across the UK it was +5.8%).

Winchester’s unemployment rate is also relatively low at 2.7% and its employment rate is high at 81.1% (the UK averages, for the year to December 2023, were 3.7% and 75.7% respectively).

In 2023, the number of employers in Winchester, with 10 staff or more, increased by 6.3% (vs 2.2% nationally), taking its tally to 179.1 businesses per 10,000 working-age adults – the highest in the study (the UK average is just 70.2 per 10,000).

Based on the results of the Office for National Statistics’ latest annual personal wellbeing survey, the residents of Winchester also enjoy higher levels of life satisfaction than most of the other towns and cities in the study, with an average score of 7.72 out of 10 (the UK average is 7.45).

The city is less competitive in terms of housing affordability though. Rental properties in Winchester average £1,200 a month – over a third (35%) of full-time pay. While, according to Rightmove, properties sold for an average of £665,891 in the last year – that’s 16.4 times the average full-time worker’s earnings here.

Based on Ciphr’s study, the top 10 UK towns and cities for job opportunities are:
1. Winchester
2. Warrington
3. St Albans
4. Chelmsford
5. Sevenoaks
6. Preston
7. Cheltenham
8. Guildford
9. Aberdeen
10. Reading

Ciphr ranked 100 of the UK’s largest towns and cities across 10 metrics – average salary, salary growth, business density, growth in the number of businesses, employment rate, employment rate growth, unemployment rate, number of job listings per 10,000 working adults, rental and homeownership affordability, and life satisfaction and personal happiness – to determine the best UK towns and cities for job opportunities.

Each town or city was allocated points (out of 100) based on where they ranked between the highest and lowest values for each metric (the results were then weighted to calculate the final score/ranking).

The full results are available to view and search at https://www.ciphr.com/infographics/best-uk-cities-for-job-opportunities-2024

Ciphr is the go-to HR software and solutions partner for medium and large organisations in the UK. Its integrated HR, payroll, learning and recruitment software, services and content provide invaluable insights to HR teams to inform their people strategy and grow and develop their organisations. Based in Reading, Ciphr is on a mission to amplify the voice and value of HR through intelligent people data solutions that help HR be heard – in the boardroom and across the business.

For more information, please visit www.ciphr.com.