{"id":46074,"date":"2025-12-11T09:09:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T09:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/?post_type=news&p=46074"},"modified":"2026-01-30T07:57:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T07:57:19","slug":"job-opportunities-moving-outside-london","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/news\/job-opportunities-moving-outside-london\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Best Job Opportunities are Increasingly Outside of the Capital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The UK labour market<\/a> is undergoing a structural shift that\u2019s reshaping how workers seek opportunities and income in small businesses, 91±¬ΑΟ data reveals.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New data from 91±¬ΑΟ\u2019s Jobs Report<\/a>, drawn from 4,438 businesses and 112,576 employees in the UK SME labour market <\/em>shows a widening split: workers are  positioned to gain from seeking employment outside of the capital. Those looking for more jobs may be pulled toward the East or South, while those chasing stronger wage growth will increasingly find it in the North. London \u2013 historically the centre of both \u2013 is beginning to slow down on each measure, although it\u2019s worth noting that on average, the capital still has higher wages and employees than all of the regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a divide that signals a labour market that no longer moves uniformly. Instead, employees have been presented with more opportunities to pursue job opportunities in one region or higher pay in another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Job Growth Concentrates in the East<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While employment across the UK continues to recover after the post-Budget 2024 drop, rising 1.7% month-on-month and 4.0% compared to three months prior, a pronounced regional imbalance persists. The East leads the nation with a substantial 12.1% annual rise in employment \u2013 the strongest performance of any region \u2013 followed closely by the South at 9.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figures buck the trend that began in early 2025 as small businesses<\/a> adjusted to a number of new considerations, including higher labour costs, changes to National Insurance contributions and the increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage introduced in April 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full-time work has strengthened sharply, now showing 6.9% growth year-on-year, while part-time and casual work \u2013 once the fastest-growing category \u2013 sits at 3.6%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elsewhere, hiring momentum is far weaker. The Midlands posts a modest 2.6% annual gain. But the North remains in decline at -3.8% year-on-year, with only slight movement over the past quarter. London sits effectively flat at -0.2% annually despite a strong monthly lift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For workers prioritising job availability \u2013 more openings, better odds of placement, stronger employment security \u2013 the East has become the new centre of gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wage Growth Strengthens in the North<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As well as employment, wages are also buoyant in the East, with annual wage growth coming in at a strong 9.7%. The North has seen a 3.6% annual rise in wages, outpacing London, the South and the Midlands year on year. In a period where national wage growth continues to lag inflation at 2.3%, leaving many workers with lower real-term earnings, that matters a great deal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While those figures are encouraging, the region has marginally suffered in the short term with a monthly dip of -0.6%. Though it isn\u2019t concerning now, such dips could become more meaningful if similar trends appear in the months ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As has been the case for some time, London and the South remain subdued, with wage growth of just 1.2% and 1.3% respectively. For workers seeking higher income, the East and the North now offer the clearest advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the country, wages rose 0.8% month-on-month and 6.6% over the quarter, but the regional divergence shows how uneven this recovery truly is. The forces driving job creation aren\u2019t the same as those driving pay increases \u2013 and established trends are becoming less predictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London\u2019s Slowdown Sharpens the Split<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

London\u2019s performance underscores the broader rebalancing we\u2019re seeing. Its flat employment growth and minimal wage gains place it between the poles of East and South-driven job expansion<\/a> and North-driven pay growth, reinforcing the fact that the country\u2019s key dynamics are beginning to migrate outward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For employers, that means more competition for talent in regions they may previously have overlooked. For workers, it signals that staying in London \u2013 where the cost of living is higher  \u2013 no longer guarantees access to either plentiful jobs or better pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Labour Market Defined by Trade-Offs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The data makes it clear: the UK labour market has stopped playing by one set of rules. For SMEs, that comes with consequences. In the South and the East, some employers may find themselves fighting harder for staff, while in the North, pressure to pay more to keep them could mount. In the short term, that means considering which side of the split affects businesses most \u2013 the hunt for talent or the squeeze on wages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

London employment is flat while the East surged 12.1%. Discover why job growth and wage potential are shifting outside the capital in our latest report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":430,"featured_media":46080,"template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"exclude_from_algolia":false,"author_id":70413,"reading_time":"3 min read","display_reading_time":false},"categories":[277],"tags":[],"post_features":[],"class_list":["post-46074","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46074"},{"taxonomy":"post_features","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_features?post=46074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}