Norman Tebbit’s advice in the 1980s to ‘get on your bike’ and look for work is often misquoted. It is a phrase often used when discussing the state of the nation’s employment. But as the full quote shows, he was talking about his father who ‘got on his bike to look for work. And carried on looking until he found it’. 

Although glorified and lambasted at the same time, it seems that today, in the 21^st century, this advice may still be pertinent. Finding work is difficult in some places but in other cities, depending on the type of work you are looking for, it can be an easier prospect. If you are able to move or be mobile and/or flexible when looking for work, agencies and job listing websites can be a great place to start your quest for a new position.

What do the statistics say?

After studying various jobs and applications per position, a survey has created a list of the top 10 cities for finding work and a list of 10 cities where competition for each job advertised is fiercest. It makes for interesting reading.

The top spot for the most difficult place to secure employment goes to Hull. It is just one of the cities based in the north of the country where getting a job is more difficult than elsewhere. An average of 51 people apply for each vacancy.

Sunderland comes in second with 42 people, on average, applying for each vacancy. The Wirral follows on 38 people per advertised post, followed by Wolverhampton and Bradford in the middle of the top 10 cities with the most people applying per vacancy, with 17 and 16 applicants, respectively.

Of those top 10 worst cities for securing a job, Liverpool completes the list with an estimated 8 people applying per post, a similar number to Glasgow.

What do these figures mean? They mean that for each post advertised there will be more people seeking that position than in other areas of the country. This could be that more people are transient in that area – in other words, more people are seeking work because they want a change in position – or it could be that the unemployment rate is higher and there are fewer jobs up for grabs.

The best places to find a job

On the flip side, there are cities across the UK where there are far fewer people chasing each position; in some cases, some vacancies remain unfilled even after an extensive recruitment drive. But again, the results may surprise you…

The top city for finding a job, where the least number of people are chasing each vacancy, is Aberdeen.

The city furthest north in the top 10 of best and worst places to find a job, Aberdeen has 0.40 people chasing each vacancy advertised. However, considering that this would represent less than a whole person, what exactly does this figure mean?

Essentially, it means that there are more jobs than people seeking them and in Aberdeen, as with many other cities, some of these vacancies remain empty. This brings mixed fortunes to the city, with an incredibly low unemployment rate of 2% but also a lower than average monthly rent on a city-based property. With average salaries £12,000 higher than the rest of the UK, it seems a win-win situation. However, with every winner there has to be a loser and not all Aberdeen residents enjoy the fruits of its success.

The remaining nine cities in the top 10 best places to find a job are all in the South of England, which some people may find a surprise. After all, there is a lot written about astronomical rents on the tiniest of spaces in London and the South East and yet it seems to be the place where the fewest number of people chase each and every job.

Guildford is not far behind Aberdeen, with 0.69 people chasing each vacancy, followed by Cambridge, Reading and Oxford in the middle of the top 10. London came 7^th, with around 2 people chasing each job vacancy and Maidstone is in 10^th position, but still with only 3 people chasing each job vacancy.

Different places, different jobs

Not all sectors are popular in all places, however, and this makes interesting reading too. The survey found that London was the top city for recruiting teachers and chefs, but was not so good with call centre jobs.

Engineering and computing are the two top-hiring sectors across the whole country. But the news isn’t all rosy.

It seems that salaries have taken a little bit of a nose dive. Since the summer of 2014, salaries in Wales have dropped by 9%, by 7% in the West Midlands and by 6% in East England. But those working in Nottingham, Preston and Stoke-on-Trent are not only enjoying buoyant wages, but a slight increase in their salary levels too.

Is it easier to get a job?

It seems that this survey is telling us that the UK economy is relatively buoyant, with many people enjoying good career prospects… but are you in the right place?