What salary should you ask for? Understand Your Salary At A Glance

Over the past few years, the world of work has changed significantly. 2022 saw a resilient UK employment market bouncing back following COVID-19 – unemployment dropped lower than pre-pandemic levels and we saw the lowest ever vacancy-to-unemployment ratio of 1:1.

With growing economic concerns alongside a shrinking workforce, things are shifting again in 2023. We are now estimated to be over a million people short of pre-pandemic labour supply forecasts. As demand for talent rises, salaries are increasing for job seekers across the UK’s industries and regions.

Our most recent Labour Market Outlook report provides you with the insights you need to understand the UK job market and salaries. Whether you’re actively looking for a new job, or are currently employed, you can use this report to find out what to expect from future roles and how competitive your salary is right now.

Searching for a job can be a confusing time. One of the most important questions to ask when seeking your next role is, what salary can you expect?

In the UK, salaries can vary greatly across regions and industries. For example, a payroll administrator in London can expect a salary of £38,300, in contrast to £27,000 in Southeast England. Meanwhile, going into a management role in IT is likely to provide a higher salary than one in the administrative sector.

Salaries have also changed tremendously over the past three years. With more remote workers than before, and companies struggling to find the talent they need, the salaries and benefits candidates can now expect are significantly different than they were even just a few years ago. It’s crucial to understand the typical salary of the role you’re applying for, so you can state your salary expectations with confidence during each interview. This demonstrates to prospective employers that you have done your research and are serious about the role.

With our detailed report, you can quickly discover the salary expectations you should have for your desired role. Having this information at your fingertips enables you to make the best decision for your career.

Have you been working in your current role for a while? It’s likely that, since getting hired, the market has changed. Being secure in a role is important, especially after the past few years of uncertainty. But you also deserve a competitive salary. Knowledge is power – and knowing your worth is key to thriving in your career.

Our report looks at key roles across the UK’s 12 regions, plus the four largest cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds. We studied the most commonly advertised job titles of varying seniority, spanning eight major sectors in the UK.

By downloading our report, you get an at-a-glance view of what salary to expect from your role, your sector, and region. So, wherever you are in the UK, and whatever role you are in, you’ll know if your salary is competitive – and if it needs to change.

Whether you’re searching for a new job or are looking for better pay in your current role, discussing salary expectations can be daunting. But our report will give you the confidence to go into your interview or annual review and tackle that discussion with ease.

When asked in an interview what your salary expectations are, you can simply state, “based on my experience to date, as well as the latest information on salaries for this role and location, I would be looking for a salary of around £XXXXX”. During a salary discussion with your manager, you can say, “looking at current data on average salaries for my role and this region, as well as my experience and skills, a salary of around £XXXXX would be satisfactory”.

You can swiftly make sure your salary meets your expectations by taking a look at our report.