Over 25 million people in the UK have LinkedIn profiles. We anonymise and aggregate the information from these profiles to create unique insights into workforce trends.

The LinkedIn Workforce Report is a monthly report looking at hiring and professional migration trends in the UK, and this month’s report looks at the latest data from July 2018. This is our tenth Workforce Report for the UK, and it takes a comparative look at both data from July 2018 and data from the previous 12 months to benchmark our findings and identify trends.

We time the workforce report in order to support the Office for National Statistics (ONS) labour reporting cycle, and the report we issue ahead of the ONS’s Labour Market Review covers the same period, up to the end of July 2018.

LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every worker in the global workforce. We hope that the Workforce Report will be useful to our members, allowing you to better navigate your career, and to businesses and policy makers, who will be able use our insights to better inform their decisions on talent, migration, and employment.

Key Insights

To mark the 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the start of the global financial crisis, we’ve performed a deeper analysis of what is regarded by many as the UK’s key industrial sector: financial services. Looking back over five years of LinkedIn insights, we’ve analysed where the sector is, where its workers come from, and what jobs are on the rise and what jobs are falling.

We have also included relevant insights from a survey of more than 600 recruiters and HR professionals in order to understand the experiences of talent professionals working in this changing environment.

Our key findings on financial services:

• The financial services sector has reinvented itself since the crash of 2008. LinkedIn’s insights reveal that growth in automation and regulation has led to a significant change in the types of roles being hired by the financial services industry. While customer service and sales roles have been decreasing, hires relating to technology and law have been on the rise.

• Companies are looking for different skills, and candidates are looking for different employers. In line with the changing types of roles in finance, the types of skills being recruited for are changing. Half of recruiters and HR managers have seen an increase in demand for AI and cryptocurrency and blockchain skills. Similarly, the types of financial companies that people want to work for are changing, with traditional banks reported as being less attractive to candidates by 32% of UK recruiters and hiring managers.

• Brexit is impacting upon the financial services industry. UK educated workers are taking a larger share of new financial services hires and the industry is becoming less international as a result. Taking the country where a finance worker received their first university degree as their home nation, the number of new hires educated in the UK is rising, from 76.4% in 2013, to 78.6% in 2017.

• London is the UK’s financial services hub, but it’s a national industry. London represents around half of all financial services hires - but it’s important to think beyond London when considering the health of the sector as a whole. London is home to 45% of all financial services workers in the UK but there are still significant hubs throughout the UK - with UK recruiters and hiring managers reporting growth in cities such as Manchester (45% say there is more hiring) and Leeds (40%).

Our key findings on hiring activity in July:

• UK hiring hit a high in July. The S.A. UK Hiring Rate registered the strongest Month on Month (MoM) increase we have seen since publishing the Workforce Report – at 9.8% the largest monthly growth this year. The hiring rate is also stronger than it was at this point last year, with a Year on Year (YoY) increase of 10%. July is traditionally a high point and the figures are in keeping with ONS data for August indicating the lowest unemployment on record.

• Talent continues to move overseas. In July the net flow of workers out of the UK that was evident in the first quarter continued, and nine out of 12 British nations and regions continued to report net movements to other countries. In six regions, the net loss is larger than in our previous report. ONS data for August suggests net migration from the EU to the UK slipped to its lowest level since 2012.

• The rate at which talent is leaving London is slowing. London was again a net loser of international talent in July, as it has been for almost six months. While the size of this difference has fallen again, domestic migration into the capital has been rising and July’s data confirms a clear trend towards a 50–50 split between domestic and international arrivals in London.

• Fewer UK regions are attracting international workers. The East of England and the West Midlands were the only two of the 12 nations and regions to be net gainers of international talent in July, a significant drop from the nine recorded in January.

• Hiring in London has picked up. The MoM Hiring Rate in London grew by 9% in July, reversing the downward trend seen since May. It is the first month of 2018, aside from strong growth in April, in which the capital has achieved healthy positive growth. The East of England, South East, and Yorkshire and the Humber all registered higher than average increases in the hiring rate MoM. Manufacturing was the top sector for new hiring in three regions for the first time.

• Healthcare was the top hiring sector. The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in Healthcare was the highest of any sector in July at 20% indicating, along with healthy growth in Public Administration (14%), a potential rebound in the public services after modest increases in June. Real Estate (17%), Media and Communications (12%), and Corporate Services (12%) all recorded strong hiring activity. IT Hardware and Networking was the only labour market sector to suffer negative growth in July, down 10%. Finance and Energy and Mining are lagging behind the national rate in both MoM and YoY terms.

Financial Services Deep Dive

The Geography of Finance Services

• London is the region where the largest share of its workforce (according to Linkedin Membership) are working in financial services (FS), and there are smaller proportions of the workforce working in FS in Yorkshire and West Midlands than you might expect.

  • The UK’s financial services workforce is, predictably, most dominant in London, where 14.4% of LinkedIn members are employed in the sector.

  • Scotland is second most significant, with 8.6% of the total workforce employed in FS roles.

  • The East of England (7.3%) and South West (7.06%) have larger shares of FS workers than Yorkshire (6.5%), or The West Midlands, which has 5.72% of of its workforce employed in FS.

• As a share of the total FS workforce, London dominates, but some regions are notably absent.

  • London is home to 45% of all FS workers in the UK

  • The South East (10.2%), North West (7.55%), Scotland (7.1%), East of England (6.7%), Yorkshire (5%), and south West (5.7%) all have significant shares of the workforce.

  • Wales (1.8%), the North East (1.6%) and Northern Ireland (1.2%) are the regions that host the smallest shares of the Financial Services workforce.

• Analysing the overrepresented skills of LinkedIn members hired into a FS role across the regions reveal distinct types of activity are taking place in different parts of the UK: with investment banking centred in London, Insurance in the East of England, and customer services in Wales and The North East.

  • East of England is hiring more than the average number of insurance experts

  • North East and Wales stand out for customer services

  • North West for contact centres

  • South East for software and solution architecture

  • South West for pension funds and financial planning

  • East and West Midlands for mortgages

  • London for equity markets, high frequency trading and leveraged finance.

Migration/Country of first education

• UK educated workers are taking a larger share of new FS hires and the industry is becoming less international as a result.

  • Looking at the educational background of the financial services workforce, and specifically where they awarded their first degree, we can see how the share of FS jobs held or taken by workers educated in different countries has changed.

  • In 2018 75.9% of the UK FS workforce was educated in the UK (received their first undergraduate degree there), the rest moved to the UK from elsewhere.

  • However, the trend is away from a more international workforce, as the share of new hires educated in the UK  is rising, from 76.4% in 2013, compared to 78.6% in 2017. The share receiving their first degree in the EU has fallen (excluding 2013, from 9.5% in 2014 to 9.05% in 2017), as has the share from the rest of the world  (from 14.4% in 2013 to 12.4% in 2017-18).

Job role changes

Over the past five years, we’ve seen more hiring of some jobs, and declines for others, reflecting changes in demand and regulation;

Sources of Hiring

• The FS industry is hiring outside of itself more, but significant hiring is limited to the corporate services and software industries.

  • The percentage of new hires into finance roles from other finance companies has dropped by 7.1% since 2013.

  • Corporate Services and Software and IT services were the next most significant talent sources for the industry, and have been a growing source of workers:

    • There has been a 25.7% increase of new hires into FS companies from professional services over the last five years.

    • Coinciding with the increase of technical roles within FS the percentage of new hires from Software and IT services is up 18.1% over five years.

Hiring Rate

• Hiring in Financial Services has been slowly but steadily increasing since the Brexit referendum caused a low in the summer and autumn of 2016.

• The seasonally adjusted month on month hiring rate in financial services increased 7% in July this year. Growth in the hiring rate year on year was 8% compared to July 2017

The Hiring Rate

The S.A. MoM National Hiring Rate for July was up 9.8% on the previous month, building on the momentum achieved in June of 3.9% that had reversed a decline of 5.4% in May.

YoY hiring was up 10% on July 2017, an indication that more people took up new jobs in July 2018 than in the same month last year. This maintained a similar rate of growth in hiring on a yearly basis to that achieved in June.

Regional Hiring Rates

The S.A. MoM change in the Hiring Rate in June grew in all of the 12 UK nations and regions. The most significant growth was registered in the East of England (17%) and in Yorkshire and the Humber (13%).

London was the only region to register a decline in YoY growth in hiring, albeit by only 1%. Scotland achieved the most significant growth in hiring in July compared to the same month last year, at 12%. Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber were not far behind, both registering a 10% increase on last year.

Notable regional activity this month includes:

London  – The S.A. Hiring Rate in London MoM grew by 9% in July, reversing a 3.9% fall in June and the downward trend seen since May. This is the first month of 2018, aside from a strong performance in April, in which the capital has achieved healthy positive growth. However, YoY growth in hiring was down slightly (1%) on July 2017. The top sectors for new hires were Finance, Software and IT Services, and Corporate Services.

The East of England – The East of England achieved the highest rate of growth in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of any part of the UK, with a 17% increase, accelerating momentum that was evident in June (4.1% growth). The YoY Hiring Rate was also up by 6% on July 2017. Corporate Services, Finance, and Software and IT Services attracted the largest proportions of new hires.

Yorkshire and the Humber – Yorkshire and the Humber also experienced healthy growth in its S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in July of 13%, the second highest rate in the country and again building on the 4.3% rate of June. The region saw continued YoY growth in the Hiring Rate of 10% versus July 2017. Most new hires were in Corporate Services, Manufacturing, and Software and IT Services.

South East – Hiring in the South East rose in July with the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate increasing by 12% in a second month of robust growth. The Hiring Rate was also up YoY albeit by a more modest 5% compared to July 2017. The top sectors for new hires were Software and IT Services, Corporate Services, and Manufacturing.

South West – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in July increased by 11% in the South West, marginally less than in June and maintaining healthy growth since May. The Hiring Rate was also up YoY, 9% higher versus July 2017. Corporate Services, Manufacturing, and Finance were the most popular hiring sectors.

The West Midlands – The Hiring Rate in the West Midlands grew by 10% MoM in July, building on the 7.7% growth of June. The YoY Hiring Rate also increased by 3% compared with the same month in 2017. Most new hires were in Manufacturing, Corporate Services, and Software and IT Services.

The East Midlands – The East Midlands registered positive growth in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 9% in July, marginally higher than in June and matching the rate of London. YoY hiring rose 6% versus July 2017. Manufacturing, Corporate Services, and Software and IT Services were the busiest hiring sectors.

The North East – The North East achieved a 7% increase in S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in July, although it lost its spot as the UK’s top performing region in June. YoY the Hiring Rate grew 9% versus July 2017. Hiring was most vigorous in the Manufacturing, Energy and Mining, and Corporate Services sectors.

Wales – In Wales the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was up 6% in July, at the lower end of the scale compared with other parts of the UK and below the 9% average among the regions that returned significant data. YoY this region grew 10% compared with July 2017. Hiring was most healthy in Corporate Services, Manufacturing, and Software and IT Services.

The North West – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in the North West also grew by 6%, also putting this region at the lower end of the scale nationally. YoY, the Hiring Rate grew a modest 3% compared with July 2017. The top hiring sectors were Corporate Services, Software and IT Services, and Manufacturing.

Scotland – Scotland achieved growth of just 1% in its S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in July, the lowest of any part of the UK. By contrast, however, it achieved the highest YoY Hiring Rate of any region, up 12% on July 2017. Energy and Mining was the most popular hiring sector followed by Finance and Corporate Services.

Sector Hiring Rates

A deep dive into the individual Hiring Rates for different sectors of the economy can give us a better understanding of the hiring changes that have been taking place. All but one sector (Hardware and Networking) grew in terms of the S.A MoM Hiring Rate, with the largest increases in Healthcare (20%) and Real Estate (17%). Growth was on average 9% across the sectors that returned significant data.

Healthcare – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in Healthcare was the highest of any sector in July at 20% indicating, along with healthy growth in Public Administration, a potential rebound in the public services after modest increases in June. YoY the Hiring Rate for Healthcare was also towards the top of the chart, up by 12% compared with July 2017.

IT Hardware and Networking – IT Hardware and Networking was the only labour market sector to suffer negative growth in its S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in July, down 10%, reversing a strong performance in June (up 16.5%). YoY the picture was similar, with growth of just 2% on July 2017 a reduction in the strong performance of June (up 23.4%).

Real Estate – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate continued its positive trend since May, registering healthy growth in July of 17%. Real Estate also achieved the highest growth YoY of any sector, up 20% versus July 2017.

Public Administration – As with Healthcare, Public Administration also registered healthy growth in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in July, up 14%, the third highest of any sector. YoY the Hiring Rate was also towards the top of the chart at 13% growth on July 2017.

Media and Communications – Media and Communications reversed a negative performance in June to register 12% growth in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in July. YoY growth was more modest at 5% versus the same month last year.

Legal – The Legal sector also registered 12% growth in the S.A MoM Hiring Rate in June, although this was significantly below the 26.2% figure of June, the largest in the labour market. The YoY  Hiring Rate registered growth of 11% on July 2017.

Corporate Services – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate also increased by 12% in the Corporate Services sector in July, increasing a modest 3.9% performance in June. YoY the Hiring Rate also registered robust growth of 16% versus July 2017, the second highest of any sector.

Nonprofit – The Nonprofit sector gained momentum in July, achieving an increase in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 11%, considerably up on modest growth in June. Growth in the YoY Hiring Rate was 7% compared to the same month last year.

Manufacturing – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in the Manufacturing sector also grew by 11% in July, improving on its 8% performance in June. It achieved the same rate of growth YoY (11%) versus the same month last year.

Software and IT Services – Software and IT Services registered growth in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate of 10% in July. It achieved the third highest rate of growth in the YoY Hiring Rate versus July 2017 (14%).

Design – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in the Design sector was also up by 10% in July, although growth in the YoY Hiring Rate was a more modest 5% on July 2017.

Construction – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate for construction rose by 9% in July, building on the recovery that was apparent in June. The YoY Hiring Rate grew by 7% versus July 2017.

Transportation and Logistics – In July the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate grew by 8% in Transportation and Logistics, improving on the slight increase of 1.8% in June. YoY the Hiring Rate was up 8% on July 2017.

Recreation and Travel – In July the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was up 7%. The YoY Hiring Rate grew 6% on July 2017, continuing the trend of higher hiring YoY in every month this year.

Finance – In the Finance sector, the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate increased 7% in July. Growth in the Hiring Rate YoY was 8% compared to July 2017.

Education – Although the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate was up by 7% in the Education sector, this was the lowest such growth among the public service sectors. It achieved better growth YoY with an increase in the Hiring Rate of 12% on July 2017.

Consumer Goods – There was an increase of 7% in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in the Consumer Goods sector in July. YoY the hiring rate was up 5% versus the same month last year.

Retail – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate in the Retail sector grew 6% in July, maintaining modest growth in the sector since May. YoY growth in the Hiring Rate versus July 2017 was 6%.

Energy and Mining – The S.A. MoM Hiring Rate grew in the Energy and Mining sector by 6% in July, although this was towards the lower end of the chart among labour market sectors and below the national average. YoY growth in the Hiring Rate was 9% versus July 2017.

Entertainment – The Entertainment sector was again among the poorest performers in the labour market in July, with growth of just 3% in the S.A. MoM Hiring Rate. There was no change in the YoY Hiring Rate on July 2017.

Migration

Methodology – Migration

In our migration analysis, members who indicate a change in the location of their place of employment on their profile are considered a migrant.

For this report, we created an analysis pool of members who had indicated that they moved job location within or to the UK from another part of the UK/another country over a 12-month time period. We then measured this number against the number of LinkedIn members in each of the UK’s nations and regions.

This analysis represents the world seen through the lens of LinkedIn data. As such, it is influenced by how members choose to use the site, which can vary based on professional, social, and regional culture, as well as overall site availability and accessibility. These variances were not accounted for in the analysis.

Our April workforce report indicated that migration into the UK has been falling steadily since the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union, and that in Q1 2018 the country became a net exporter of talent. In July the net flows of overseas workers out of the UK that were evident in the first quarter continued, and nine out of 12 British nations and regions continued to report net movements of talent to other countries.

London remains the most attractive region for international arrivals by volume, and continues to attract almost double the amount of overseas talent than its nearest rival Scotland, but Scotland continues to attract a higher proportion of its new arrivals from other countries. London, which became a net exporter of talent to the EU27 in Q1 2018, continued to lose international talent in July, but the rate at which it was doing so slowed again.

Outward migration from the UK’s regions

London, the South East and the East Midlands continue to be the regions from which members are most likely to leave and move to other UK regions or abroad, and the rate at which they are doing so has risen slightly since May.

Of the three regions with the greatest number of overall departures, only London saw a majority of people who were leaving heading overseas in July. More than half of those leaving Scotland also headed abroad.

Inward migration to the UK’s regions

In July, London, the South East and the East of England continued to be the three regions gaining the most members from other UK regions or other countries.

Scotland and London saw the majority of inbound members arrive from another country, but this is no longer the case in Northern Ireland, where since February there has been a significant shift to a majority of arrivals from within the UK. Every other UK region also welcomes most of their arrivals from another part of the UK. A consistent decline since the start of the year in the proportion of migrants arriving in London from other countries compared to those coming from within the UK continued in July, pushing the capital even closer to an even split between international and domestic arrivals.

Net flows to UK regions

In July, London, the South West, the North West and Northern Ireland were net recipients of combined domestic and international migration. The rate at which London has been losing talent overseas has been slowing consistently since Q1, and in turn domestic migration into the capital has been rising. The North East continued to see the largest net movement of people out of the region of any part of the country in July, although the rate at which this has been happening is slowing.

In terms of net domestic migration, London continues to attract more people from within the UK of any region, although there are signs that its attraction is diminishing. The South East and East Midlands are the regions with most people leaving for other parts of the UK.

From the perspective of international migration, just two of the 12 nations and regions were net gainers of international talent in July (the East of England and the West Midlands), a further decline since June and a significant drop from the nine recorded in January. In net terms, the South East did not attract any new talent from abroad in July. The North East, Northern Ireland, Yorkshire and Humber, the East Midlands, the North West, Scotland, Wales, London and the South West all lost more workers to other countries than they gained.

Discuss the report on LinkedIn and Twitter at #UKWFR. Follow @LinkedInUK on Twitter to receive future reports, and follow our UK Country Manager Josh Graff on LinkedIn for additional insights.

Methodology

The results of this analysis represent the world seen through the lens of LinkedIn data. As such, it is influenced by how members choose to use the site, which can vary based on professional, social, and regional culture, as well as overall site availability and accessibility. These variances were not accounted for in the analysis.

Definitions:

• Worker in FS – any member currently located in the UK who states that their current position is with a company which is classified as a “finance company”

• The Finance Sector is defined as companies who are part of any of the following industries:

  • investment banking

  • financial services

  • venture capital and private equity

  • investment management

  • banking

  • capital markets

  • insurance

• New Hire  – any member who changes their job title to indicate they have started/started a new job in the time period in question.

The Geography of Finance Services

• We identified the proportion of LinkedIn members who work for a company in the Finance sector for each UK region (consistent with UK NUTS 1 regions) as a proportion of the members working in any industry in that region;

• We then identified the number of LinkedIn members who work for a company in the Finance sector in each region as the proportion of the total number of members who work in finance in the UK

Migration/Country of first education

• For all new hires in the finance sector in the UK, we categorised them according to where they received their first university degree listed on their profile. We only include those members who list an education on their profile.

Job role changes

• Looking at all new hires in a given calendar year, we calculated the number of job roles as a proportion of new hires. We identified the top five and bottom five occupations where the change in proportion had been greatest.

Sources of Hiring

• For all new hires in the finance sector over the past five years, we looked at the industry in which they worked immediately before taking on the new finance role.

Hiring Rate

• We consolidated the seasonally-adjusted hiring rate data for the previous three years.