Average North West salary rises above £30k

The average salary in the North West has risen over the last 12 months, placing the region above the North East, East Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In the North West the average salary is now £30,175, according to the latest UK Job Market Report from job website Adzuna. The figure represents a year-on-year increase of 5%, putting the North West ahead of most regions in terms of growth; only the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber performed better.

The website’s co-founder, Andrew Hunter, commented: “The North is starting to come into its own. Northern employers are expanding salaries far faster than in the South, to try to attract top talent to their expanding businesses.

“But these things don’t happen overnight, and there are bound to be some delays and growing pains. Infrastructure and housing have as much a part to play in building the North into a well-oiled economic machine as much as attractive salaries.”

He added: “Looking forward, it won’t be long until more people start to realise that the cost of living is seriously tipped in their favour if they can find the right job in places like Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.”

Manchester made it into Adzuna’s list of the 10 best places to find employment in terms of job competition, with just 0.31 jobseekers for every opening. Two North West spots, the Wirral and Rochdale, were listed among the 10 worst, with 2.70 and 2.71 jobseekers per post respectively.

Speaking further about the findings, Andrew Hunter said: “Manchester is one of the exceptions to the rule, buoyed by a thriving professional services industry which has created many new jobs in areas like law, finance and consulting. Many of our northern cities are making a comeback and competition for jobs is falling fast.

“The struggle isn’t in pulling these recovering cities up to scratch – it’s working out how to better support those places where businesses are still struggling to flourish and provide opportunities to the local area.”

He concluded: “Manchester might be the wunderkind of the Chancellor’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’ scheme, but it’s important not to let one shining example mask a more deeply-rooted problem.”

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