New research from Reed has revealed that salaries in the human resources (HR) sector are struggling to keep up with inflation demands.

There has been a 4.2 percent rise in advertised salaries in 2022, compared with other industries experiencing more stagnant salaries across the UK. 

From analysis of 6.6 million jobs posted on Reed.co.uk over the last three years, as part of Reed’s suite of annual salary guides, it’s clear that HR remains to show signs of resilience and growth despite the financial challenges that lie ahead, due to the increase in salary over the past year.

The data from Reed’s salary guides also reveals that the engineering and manufacturing sector has seen the biggest pay increase in the past year (5%), compared with the hospitality and leisure sector which is the only industry analysed to show signs of a salary decrease (-3.5%).

Grant Wrigler, Human Resources  Expert at Reed, commented:

“HR has been faced with some huge challenges over the past year but continues to demonstrate its resilience as we enter 2023.

“The changing workplace has led to businesses prioritising the growth of HR teams, and we have seen demand increase over the past year across all areas, particularly in ED&I (equality, diversity and inclusion) and learning and development (L&D). 2023 will see HR once again look at ways to attract and retain talent to ensure future innovation.  

“With there being little slow down in recruitment activity across the UK, we are expecting the  year ahead to present opportunities to those who are looking to progress in HR.”

Reed’s human resources salary guide also gives insights into the regions that are most competitive within this industry. Areas such as Northern Ireland (6.9%) and North East (5%) have seen the biggest increase in wages in engineering and manufacturing, with Scotland being the only region with a salary decrease (-3.3%).

Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.