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Science And Technical Industries See Highest Pay Increases During Pandemic

Contributor Staff

8 Sept 2022, 5:28 am GMT+1

· Companies providing professional, scientific and technical services have seen an increase in wages of 11.4% from January 2020 to July 2021.

· Businesses in the Arts, Entertainment and recreation sector have seen the second highest increase of 10.84%.

· Accommodation and Food Services have seen the lowest increase, at just 0.75%.

Professional, scientific and technical services – including financial management, scientific research and development and agricultural have received the UK’s highest increase in average wage since the pandemic began, a new study shows.

Comparing ONS average wage figures from January 2020 with those from July of this year, research from leading software developers Bacancy Technology reveals that the average salary for those working in professional, scientific and technical services has gone up by 11.4% - the highest increase across industries in the UK. Overall, this sector’s monthly pay packet of £2,270 per month in Jan 2020 has increased to £2,529 in July of this year.

Roles within the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation sector have seen the second highest average wage increase, going up by 10.8%. The industry’s average has gone from £1,255 in January of 2020 to £1,391 in 2021 – a growth of £136.

Though positions within Finance and insurance saw the third highest percentage increase in wages of 10.6%, the sector saw the highest raw average financial increase from last January to this July, of £308. Average wages in this sector increased from £2,883 to £3,191 per month.

At the other end of the spectrum, employees within Accommodation and Food Services ranked with the lowest wage growth, both in percentage and raw financial increase – seeing an average increase of less than 1% - just £8 per month.

Construction services have also seen slow growth over the lockdown period, placing the second lowest in the table with an average increase of just 1% - an additional £23 per month to their pay checks.

Assessing these findings, a spokesperson for N.Rich commented: “This breakdown shows a number of interesting facts surrounding the UK’s most lucrative industries for personal financial growth over time. The rising demand for financial guidance, agricultural suppliers and medical research and development over lockdown has clearly impacted the wages received by the employees of these businesses.”

The study was conducted by N.Rich, which offers a rich array of intent data and ad inventory that enable marketers to drive awareness and lead generation effectively.

UK industry average wage increases – January 2020 to July 2021

Sector

Avg. wage in GBP (Jan '20)

Avg. wage in GBP (Jul '21)

Increase in GBP from Jan '20 to July '21

Raw financial increase rank

Percentage increase from Jan '20 to July '21

Percentage increase rank

Finance and insurance

2,883

3,191

308

1

10.68

3

Information and communication

2,836

3,129

293

2

10.33

4

Professional, scientific and technical

2,270

2,529

259

3

11.41

1

Arts, entertainment and recreation

1,255

1,391

136

4

10.84

2

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

1,668

1,803

135

5

8.09

5

Energy production and supply

3,228

3,358

130

6

4.03

15

Administrative and support services

1,580

1,707

127

7

8.04

6

Health and social work

1,768

1,895

127

8

7.18

8

Extraterritorial

2,796

2,920

124

9

4.43

14

Education

1,891

2,013

122

10

6.45

9

Real estate

1,995

2,104

109

11

5.46

12

Manufacturing

2,298

2,402

104

12

4.53

13

Other service activities

1,360

1,461

101

13

7.43

7

Transportation and storage

2,254

2,344

90

14

3.99

16

Wholesale and retail; repair of motor vehicles

1,476

1,557

81

15

5.49

11

Mining and quarrying

3,870

3,939

69

16

1.78

19

Water supply, sewerage and waste

2,457

2,517

60

17

2.44

17

Public administration and defence; social security

2,460

2,519

59

18

2.40

18

Households

910

963

53

19

5.82

10

Construction

2,196

2,219

23

20

1.05

20

Accommodation and food services

1,070

1,078

8

21

0.75

21

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