In December 2024 the average advertised annual salary in the UK surpassed £40,000 for the first time, according to the latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna.
This marks a 7.15 percent increase compared to December 2023, when the average was £37,577.
The rise in salaries reflects ongoing demand for skilled workers, even as employers seem hesitant to hire. December saw a 4.01 percent drop in job vacancies month-on-month, falling to 844,152. This decline follows a brief uptick in November. While vacancies were down 9.15 percent year-on-year, this represents the smallest annual decrease since November 2023.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said, “Whilst it appears companies are not hiring as much, they are loosening their purse strings, with the average advertised salary now reaching over £40,000 for the first time since we started tracking the UK job market in 2016.”
Salaries Rise Across Most Sectors
Average annual salaries grew across the majority of sectors on a month-by-month basis from November. Travel saw the highest increase at 5.22 percent, followed by Maintenance (3.41 percent), Logistics & Warehouse (3.34 percent), Manufacturing (2.81 percent), and Graduate roles (1.9 percent). Admin was the only sector to record a slight decrease in salaries, falling by 0.1 percent.
On an annual basis, Legal was the only sector to see a decline in average salaries, dropping by 3.5 percent compared to December 2023. In contrast, Maintenance reported the highest growth in annual salaries, increasing by 19.45 percent, followed by Logistics & Warehouse (16.5 percent) and Retail (15.72 percent).
Northern Ireland recorded the largest annual salary growth, rising by 13.77 percent. The West Midlands and North East England also saw strong salary increases. London and South East England remained at the lower end of regional salary growth, though South West England overtook London with a 5.7 percent increase in December.
Despite the overall rise, salary transparency hit a record low in 2024, with more employers choosing to omit pay details from job postings. In December, 53.71 percent of job listings lacked salary information, compared to 46.29 percent that included it. Notably, February 2024 was the only month in which jobs with disclosed salaries outnumbered those without.
Meanwhile, the average duration of job postings rose slightly, from 32.8 days to 34.1 days.
Jobseeker Competition Rises
With fewer vacancies, competition among jobseekers has intensified. The ratio of jobseekers per vacancy increased to 2.05, up from 1.96 in November. Four regions – Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands, Northern Ireland, and North East England – now have jobseeker-to-vacancy ratios above 3.0. In contrast, South West England, South East England, and Eastern England continue to have the lowest ratios.
Among industries, the time to fill positions varies . Legal jobs were filled the quickest, with an average of 31.1 days, while postings for Healthcare & Nursing take the longest (37.0 days).
Healthcare Support Worker was the most in-demand role on Adzuna’s Trending Roles list in December, based on its Interest Quotient. This metric measures how often job postings are viewed relative to other roles. The occupation reclaimed the top spot after being briefly overtaken by Warehouse Worker in November. Social Care Worker, Sales Assistant, and Cleaner followed closely in demand, with Warehouse Worker falling to second place.
Andrew Hunter added, “Jobseekers who were hoping for a continued streak of growth in available roles following November’s bounce will be disappointed, as vacancies fell again in December. This could be attributed to the seasonal hiring slowing down over the Christmas period.
“Sectors such as Teaching continue to have a high volume of roles whilst Legal, Logistics & Warehouse and Sales roles have all experienced an annual increase compared to the same time last year.”
Alessandra Pacelli is a journalist and author contributing to HRreview, an HR news and opinion publication, where she covers topics including labour market trends, employment costs, and workplace issues. She is a journalism graduate and self-described lifelong dog lover who has also written for Dogs Today magazine since 2014.
- Alessandra Pacelli
- Alessandra Pacelli
- Alessandra Pacelli
- Alessandra Pacelli
