Revealed: These are the top 10 industries hiring in the UK post-lockdown
Small Business Prices reveals the easiest and the hardest sectors to find a new role in right now during these unprecedented times.
- Information, professional and health sectors are named the top 3 for finding a new role
- Agriculture, art, and manufacturing have the most limited opportunities
- Professional services sector offers the most job opportunities across different experience levels
“Approximately 7.5 million people in the UK were away from work in June 2020 with over 3 million of these being away for three months or more.” Gov.uk (11 August 2020)
It’s safe to say that Covid-19 has had a monumental effect on the UK economy and job market. Many Brits have unfortunately found themselves looking for new roles after being furloughed and later made redundant. Having to unexpectedly look for a new career can certainly be a stressful and worrying time in normal circumstances, let alone post-lockdown.
New research by Small Business Prices compares the latest unemployment data to the number of jobs available in the UK– revealing the easiest and the hardest sectors to find a new role.
The top 5 sectors for seeking a new role
By comparing the number of people currently unemployed within each sector, with the number of jobs currently advertised, these are the top 5 industries where there is the most opportunity:
| Rank | Sector | Number unemployed | Available jobs |
| 1 | Information | 45,568 | 100,532 |
| 2 | Professional | 66,061 | 99,219 |
| 3 | Health | 83,201 | 102,054 |
| 4 | Transport | 49,451 | 20,373 |
| 5 | Construction | 45,987 | 15,900 |
The information sector takes the number one spot, with over 45,000 people currently unemployed compared to over 100,000 jobs currently available. At the other end of the scale, the agriculture industry is currently the sector with the least amount of job opportunity, with 28,544 people currently unemployed in the UK compared to just 418 jobs currently on the market. Retail, manufacturing, and art are also named as some of the industries that currently have the least opportunities for job seekers.
The best and worst industries for each level
Experience, of course, has a part to play when seeking a new opportunity, as not all of the jobs currently available will necessarily apply to you. We’ve explored the best and worst sectors for entry, mid-level, and managerial positions:
Assistant Level
| Rank | Sector | Jobs available |
| 1 | Health | 19,120 |
| 2 | Professional services | 13,366 |
| 3 | Information | 11,822 |
For entry-level roles, the healthcare industry is currently seeking a batch of new recruits! If you’re looking to get into the property sector however, this may be a little tricky as it ranks in the bottom position for the amount of opportunity currently available.
Mid-Level
| Rank | Sector | Jobs available |
| 1 | Professional services | 5,122 |
| 2 | Information | 4,402 |
| 3 | STEM | 2,997 |
In comparison to entry-level roles, there are fewer opportunities all-round, with professional services currently advertising 5,122 roles. Energy and administration industries have just a little over 1,000 jobs available each.
Managerial
| Rank | Sector | Jobs available |
| 1 | Professional services | 33,010 |
| 2 | Health | 32,094 |
| 3 | Information | 31,807 |
With the highest number of job opportunities across all levels of experience, managerial roles in the professional services, health, and information sectors top the list as having the most jobs available. At the other end of the scale, finance, construction, and retail are all areas with the least amount of jobs available.
Ian Wright from Small Business Prices comments “Finding a new role is challenging enough in the best of times, let alone in this post-lockdown, recession phase we currently are finding ourselves in. We hope that our research sheds light on the hard stats– how many roles are available (supply) and the amount of people who are finding themselves unemployed (demand) in industries across the UK.”
For more information on the best and worst sectors for job opportunities, you can view the full research here: https://smallbusinessprices.co.uk/hiring-post-lockdown/.
