New research has revealed the jobs with the most full-time employees in the UK.

There are now more people working full-time as programmers and software development professionals than any other occupation type, according to a new study by HR software provider Ciphr based on the ONS’ latest Annual Population Survey estimates.

In the year to December 2023, there was a 14% increase in the number of programmers and software development professionals – an umbrella term that includes over 120 job titles, such as software engineer, machine learning engineer, app developer, games designer, computer programmer, IT analyst and software architect – employed in the UK.

It’s now the most popular, or widely held, full-time occupation – accounting for 2.5% (531,600) of the UK’s estimated 21.6 million full-time employees (not including self-employed workers). It also pays a higher-than-average median annual salary of £49,430. Notably, over half (56%) of employees in these roles are based in the south and east regions of England, including London.

Other IT jobs that have seen their full-time workforces grow by at least a quarter in the last few years include cybersecurity professionals (up 58% to 63,300 estimated employees); IT professionals n.e.c., such as IT contractors, DevOps engineers, SAP consultants and web managers (up 28% to 139,400); and IT business analysts, architects, and systems designers (up 26% to 180,300).

The number of people employed as care workers and home carers may have shrunk by 10% in 2023, but its workforce is still nearly half a million strong (437,300) – making it the second most common full-time occupation in the UK. It’s among one of the UK’s lowest-paid jobs, however, with typical median pay coming in at just two-thirds of the UK’s average salary (£23,409 vs £34,963).

The job type with the third largest number of full-time workers is administrative and clerical assistants (other administrative occupations n.e.c), with 378,800 estimated employees.

There are also over 300,000 people currently employed as secondary school teachers, financial managers and directors, and warehouse operatives.

The top 20 most common (largest) full-time occupations in the UK – and what they pay:

1. Programmers and software development professionals: 531,600 estimated employees (£49,430 per year)
2. Care workers and home carers: 437,300 (£23,409)
3. Other administrative occupations n.e.c: 378,800 (£25,808)
4. Secondary education teaching professionals: 356,300 (£42,818)
5. Financial managers and directors: 313,600 (£70,000)
6. Warehouse operatives: 305,400 (£24,945)
7. Other nursing professionals: 298,000 (£37,960)
8. Sales accounts and business development managers: 291,300 (£52,495)
9. Business and financial project management professionals: 276,600 (£52,896)
10. Sales and retail assistants: 273,700 (£21,530)
11. Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks: 273,200 (£28,000)
12. Primary education teaching professionals: 272,600 (£40,059)
13. Managers and directors in retail and wholesale: 246,400 (£33,121)
14. Finance and investment analysts and advisers: 236,100 (£40,629)
15. Large goods vehicle (LGV) drivers: 229,900 (£37,256)
16. IT managers: 223,700 (£50,880)
17. Higher education teaching professionals: 207,200 (£47,726)
18. Production managers and directors in manufacturing: 205,900 (£51,469)
19. Customer service occupations n.e.c: 196,200 (£25,000)
20. IT business analysts, architects and systems designers: 180,300 (£51,698)

Based on the latest estimates, the top five jobs with the most full-time female employees in the UK are care workers and home carers, administrative and clerical assistants (other administrative occupations n.e.c), other nursing professionals (including nurses, sisters and matrons), and primary and secondary education teaching professionals.

The five jobs with the most full-time male employees are programmers and software development professionals, warehouse operatives, LGV drivers, financial managers and directors, and sales accounts and business development managers.

What jobs are most common across different parts of the UK?

While there are more programmers and software development professionals in the UK as a whole than any other job, it’s not the most popular job in every part of the UK.

In the northern regions of England, as well as in Scotland and Wales, there are estimated to be more full-time care workers and home carers than programmers and software development professionals.

The West Midlands has a similar number of full-time warehouse operatives, as it does care workers. The East Midlands has more LGV drivers. In Northern Ireland, the data shows that there are more people employed as administrative and clerical assistants than any other job.

Ciphr’s research also uncovered insights into which occupations appear more clustered in some parts of the UK, compared to others.

It may not be surprising to learn that London, the financial centre of the UK, has a higher share of bankers or brokers than elsewhere in the country. It’s perhaps less well-known that the concentration of CEOs in London is nearly twice the UK’s average.

By using location quotient figures, calculated from regional employee estimates, Ciphr was able to compare the concentration of any given full-time occupation in any given region, relative to the UK (subject to available data).

For example, CEOs (and senior officials) only account for 0.39% of all full-time employees in the UK. But when it comes to CEOs in London that figure (employment share) rises to 0.76% – nearly double (or a location quotient of 1.9).

A location quotient (LQ) of 1.1 or more means there’s a higher concentration, or greater proportion, of that job type in that location, compared to the UK average. (If you’re wondering: London has the highest concentration of CEOs in the UK, with an LQ of 1.9, compared to Wales, which has the lowest, at 0.3).

Some occupations have even higher location quotients in some areas. Boat and ship builders and repairers appear to be clustered in the south-west of England (with an LQ of 6.4). Scotland has the highest concentration of early education and childcare practitioners, at four times the UK average, and the East of England has the biggest share (nearly three times the UK average) of people employed full-time in animal care services occupations n.e.c (including animal welfare officers, zookeepers and vet assistants).

Here are the jobs with the highest location quotients across the UK:

Note: A job with a location quotient of 6.4 means that it is 6.4 times more concentrated in this location than the UK as a whole). The chart only includes occupations with 5,000 or more estimated employees in the region/country (in the year to December 2023).

Ciphr also conducted additional research into occupations with the largest job growth, which is available at: https://www.ciphr.com/infographics/jobs-with-inflation-beating-salaries-in-the-uk#fastest