Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest job and recruiting sites, today announced the results of its newest jobs report to identify the 25 Best UK Towns & Cities to Work In for 2018. Slough retains the top spot this year, followed by newcomer Gloucester and tech hub Cambridge.
Now in its third year, the list is compiled by ranking UK towns and cities with the highest Glassdoor score, determined by weighting three factors equally:
- how easy it is to get a job (hiring opportunity)
- how affordable it is to live there (cost of living)
- how satisfied employees are working there (overall job satisfaction).
As part of this report, Glassdoor includes a comprehensive breakdown of each town and city’s median pay for employees, current average home value, overall job satisfaction rating, population and number of current job openings.
Slough tops the rankings once again this year due to its high number of jobs compared to the local population and relatively high average salaries when compared to living costs in the area. Newcomers to the list in 2018 include Gloucester (No. 2), Guildford (No. 5), Chelmsford (No. 10), Blackburn (No. 12), Liverpool (No. 19), Norwich (No. 20), Preston (No. 24) and Falkirk (No. 25).
“Slough is now firmly established as one of the best areas in the UK to work, because of its consistently high employee satisfaction and job opportunities relative to its population. It is also home to a huge range of employers. With plans now agreed for Heathrow’s third runway and the new Crossrail in 2019, its growth potential is very positive.” said Glassdoor Economic Research Analyst Amanda Stansell.
“While several of the towns and cities highlighted in this report may be surprising, many are experiencing growing local economies, complete with a healthy dose of new job prospects and strong home affordability. Plus, employees working in these areas often find themselves quite satisfied in their jobs. In turn, this can benefit local employers as UK studies show a correlation between high employee satisfaction and better business performance.”
Last year’s runner up, Manchester, drops five places down to No. 7, however, some of the UK’s biggest cities did not make the top 25 this year, including Edinburgh, Sheffield, Glasgow, Cardiff and London.
Cambridge and Reading have the highest median salaries in the top 25, at £30,464 and £30,000 respectively. Employees are most satisfied in Bolton and Cambridge, with both cities sharing a Glassdoor Job Satisfaction rating of 3.6.
The UK’s industrial heartland, Birmingham, leads the way in terms of open jobs with 40,019 available positions, followed by Manchester with 35,369 jobs.
Glassdoor’s Top 5 Towns & Cities to Work In for 2018 are:
1. Slough
Glassdoor Town & City Score (out of 5): 4.3
Job Openings: 22,131
Median Base Salary: £29,500
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4
Median Home Value: £391,218
Hot Jobs: Project Manager, Customer Service Advisor, Recruitment Consultant
2. Gloucester
Glassdoor Town & City Score (out of 5): 4.2
Job Openings: 14,626
Median Base Salary: £24,000
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.5
Median Home Value: £239,054
Hot Jobs: Software Engineer, Account Manager, Quantity Surveyor
3. Cambridge
Glassdoor Town & City Score (out of 5): 4.1
Job Openings: 17,145
Median Base Salary: £30,464
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.6
Median Home Value: £464,852
Hot Jobs: Software Engineer, Electronics Engineer, Maintenance Engineer
4. Reading
Glassdoor Town & City Score (out of 5): 4.0
Job Openings: 20,601
Median Base Salary: £30,000
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.5
Median Home Value: £432,241
Hot Jobs: Recruitment Consultant, Delivery Driver, Site Manager
5. Guildford
Glassdoor Town & City Score (out of 5): 4.0
Job Openings: 21,561
Median Base Salary: £27,500
Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4
Median Home Value: £593,761
Hot Jobs: Sales Executive, Administrator, Chef
Find the full list of the 25 Best UK Towns & Cities to Work In here
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