The UK digital industry has overtaken both the construction and hospitality sectors in terms of headcount and now employs 2.1 million people, with tech jobs in some parts of the country accounting for huge swathes of the workforce.
Analysis shows that in five UK cities – Oxford, Cambridge, Reading, Belfast and Newcastle – more than 10% of the population is now employed in the digital tech sector. In Cambridge, half the working population is employed in the digital tech sector, while in Reading it is a third.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, London ranks as the top employment hub on 574,562 jobs, followed by Manchester (100,520), Reading (100,507), Belfast (60,041) Birmingham (59,131) and Bristol (51,753).
While Edinburgh is ranked eighth in the UK for the number tech jobs on 48,118, the city commands the highest median salary outside London, research for the Government’s Digital Economy Council has found.
Edinburgh is also the best place in the UK to work for analysts, whose salaries average £33,929 (cost of living adjusted) and Glasgow is rated best for project managers and Python developers at £47,500 and £43,893 respectively.
Outside London, the cities with the most tech openings were Manchester and Leeds, where digital commerce and marketing is strong.
Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright said: “We are one of the best places in the world to start and grow a tech business and this new data shows the success is bringing good jobs and helping spread prosperity across the country.
“We are determined to seize the future opportunities for technology to improve people’s lives by investing heavily to boost the nation’s digital skills.
“Alongside the fantastic talent coming from our world-leading universities, we have revamped the computer science curriculum, announced new funding to support thousands of AI and data science training courses, are rolling out a new National Retraining Scheme, and are investing £84 million in a new centre for computing education led by tech experts.”
Tech Nation chief executive Gerard Grech said: “As countries transition to network based economies in a globalised future, the need for tech jobs and skills is reaching a generational high point, which is why this report is so timely and important in highlighting how the demand for tech skills continues to evolve and grow over time across the UK.”
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