Tech job numbers and salaries drop in London
The number of tech jobs on offer in the Capital has dropped in the past quarter, according to the latest Tech Cities Job Watch report from resourcing giant Experis, with salaries in London also experiencing a downturn.
The company’s Q3 analysis of 52,000 tech jobs advertised across 10 UK tech hubs saw an 8% drop in the number of job ads in London, to 35,610, as well as a 1% fall in salaries.
London jobs still offer the highest average permanent salary, £52,649 in Q3, but average pay is creeping up elsewhere.
Cambridge experienced a 7% increase in tech salaries, to £44,821, Manchester’s pay grew 5% to £38,474, and Leeds saw a 2% increase to £38,900.
“London’s top position as one of the world’s tech capitals is secure for a while to come,” Experis Europe MD Geoff Smith told Tech City News.
“The sheer volume of both startups and major company headquarters located in the Capital will keep it in a dominant position.
“However, our research shows that the continual rise of tech cities outside of the Capital will allow for more options for both companies and workers alike.
“The biggest offer from alternative tech cities is affordability and lower costs for businesses, as well as quality of life for individuals.”
Contractor roles across the UK are also increasing both in volume and average pay rate, the report found, at the expense of the number of and pay for permanent posts.
The average contractor day rate increased by 4% across the board, to £410 per day, while the average permanent salary fell by 1%.
Big data jobs continue to offer the highest pay across the five areas analysed, which also included web development, mobile, cloud and IT security.
But both Edinburgh and Birmingham now offer London-beating average salaries for big data jobs, of £69,733 and £66,667 respectively.
“It’s important that firms in London don’t get complacent and recognise that some of the best talent may be outside of their regular hunting grounds,” Smith continued.
“Flexible working schemes and benefits packages need to be considered, but firms should also ask themselves if contract or permanent hires are really the most appropriate for their goals.
“In a buoyant market, many expert tech professionals will feel more confident pursuing contract work, especially in large markets such as London.”
The number and salary for jobs requiring cloud expertise have increased the fastest over the course of this year across the UK’s ‘top ten tech cities’ included in the report.
The cities analysed were: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle upon Tyne.
This is the fourth Tech Cities Job Watch report from Experis, which does not take into account the potential that many jobs in tech simply aren’t advertised.
The full report can be found here.