National labour market statistics average across regions with very different conditions. If you are deciding where to work, or judging your local prospects, the regional data is what matters - and most of it is free and public.
Where the official UK regional data lives
ONS regional labour market statistics. Published monthly, broken down by region, and in some series by local authority. Covers employment rate, unemployment rate, economic inactivity and claimant counts. The claimant count is available at very local level and is the most granular regular indicator available.
Nomis (nomisweb.co.uk), run by the ONS, is the tool most people do not know about. It gives you labour market data down to local authority and ward level - employment by occupation, by industry, earnings, qualifications and more. It is free and genuinely the best resource available for this question.
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). Earnings by region, occupation and industry. Essential for salary benchmarking, and much more reliable than salary-survey marketing material.
Local enterprise partnerships, combined authorities and city councils publish local economic assessments and skills plans, often with detailed sector analysis.
What varies most between UK regions
- Salary levels, with a substantial London premium - much of which is absorbed by housing costs, so compare adjusted figures rather than headline pay
- Sector composition. Finance concentrates in London and Edinburgh; advanced manufacturing in the Midlands and North West; energy in Aberdeen and the North East; public sector employment is proportionally larger in some regions than others
- Vacancy density relative to the working-age population
- Competition levels, which do not simply track vacancy counts - a city with fewer vacancies may also have far fewer applicants
That last point matters and is frequently missed. What determines your odds is the ratio of vacancies to candidates in your specific field, not the absolute number of vacancies.
Build your own local picture in an hour
- Nomis: pull employment by occupation for your local authority. This tells you how many people in your area do what you do - a proxy for both opportunity and competition.
- ASHE: get median earnings for your occupation in your region. That is your negotiation benchmark.
- Job board counts: search your role title within a fixed radius, weekly, for a month. Record the counts. This is your own vacancy trend, more current than any published series.
- Applicant counts: note the displayed applicant numbers on twenty local postings.
- Compare with one alternative city using the same method, if relocation is an option.
That five-step process produces a genuinely useful local analysis - and it is exactly the kind of thing worth describing at an interview if you are applying to analytical roles.
The comparison people get wrong
Comparing raw salaries between cities without adjusting for housing costs. A £6,000 London premium against a £15,000 difference in annual housing cost is a pay cut. Always compare on a cost-adjusted basis, and note that regional cost-of-living indices are themselves rough.
The general point
Aggregate national data averages across places moving in different directions - the same reason sector disaggregation matters. The unit of analysis should match the decision you are making, and for a job search that unit is usually your travel-to-work area, not the country.
Learning to find, combine and interpret public datasets is a genuine analytical skill. The Statistics for Business course at London School of Business UK develops it. Enquire today.