• Hays reveals the top twenty salary increases for 2023 based on analysis of over 12,000 salaries across the UK 
• Engineering and manufacturing, finance, sustainability and technology roles dominate the top increases
• According to the Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends guide 2024 – salaries across UK professions rose by an average of 3.5%, lower than the 5.4% increase seen last year  

Engineering and manufacturing, sustainability, technology, and finance roles have secured the top salary increases over the past 12 months according to new data released by leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, Hays. In a list of the top 20 roles which received the highest increases demonstrates the continued demand for staff across a number of skill short industries.

The list published every year by Hays since 2018 and part of the Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends guide 2024 saw machine learning scientists take the top spot this year with an average salary increase of 11.9%.

Overall, according to the 2024 guide which analyses over 12,000 salaries across 21 sectors, salaries across UK professions rose by an average of 3.5%, lower than the 5.4% increase seen last year. 

Top twenty salary increases for 2023:

Simon Winfield, CEO of Hays UK and Ireland, commented: “If you take a look at our list of the top 20 salary increases from 2023, it’s a good indication of where we are seeing the most demand for staff at the moment. Engineering and manufacturing roles are arguably the most skill short across the UK with substantial salary increases and counteroffers becoming commonplace across the sector. 

With sustainability high on the corporate agenda, salaries for specialist roles that incorporate elements of strategy and delivery have seen significant increases this year. Elsewhere in technology, despite there being less technology roles included in our list than previous years – roles in areas such as cyber, data, cloud and AI can expect to secure above average rises.

Whilst the top salary jumps and overall pay increase are more muted than last year, employers are still doing what they can to increase pay to attract and retain talent in a challenging market.”

About the salary collection: The salary data was compiled using information gathered during 2023 from Hays offices across the UK, and is based on job listings, job offers and candidate registrations. 

Contact
Helen Flannery
Senior PR Manager 
helen.flannery@hays.com
T: 020 3040 0282
M: 07548 778306

About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, such as RPO and MSP. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2023, the Group employed over 13,000 staff operating from 252 offices in 33 countries. For the year ended 30 June 2023:

• the Group reported net fees of £1,294.6 million and operating profit of £197.0 million;
• the Group placed around 76,800 candidates into permanent jobs and around 245,000 people into temporary roles;
• 15% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 30% in Germany, 21% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);
• the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 43% of net fees;
• Technology is the Group’s largest division, with 26% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Engineering (10%), are the next largest
• Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, the UK and the USA