A recent survey revealed the most common jobs in Manchester. Although the census was carried out in 2021, the results were published in 2023 [1]. Topping the list of jobs in the city
were sales and retail assistants with 10,850 employees. That’s equivalent to one in 35 working-age people (16 to 64) being employed in the sales and retail sector.
Part of the reason more people are working in retail than any other sector is the current state of the market. Retail sales are up, following a slump [2]. Therefore, with more money flowing into the system, retailers have more need for workers. Of course, that’s not the only reason, but it does shed some light on why the sales industry is so big in Manchester.
Next on the list of most common jobs in Manchester were care workers (8,285 people) and cleaners/domestic workers (7,105 people). The data comes at a time when people are considering the advancement of artificial intelligence technology a real threat to certain jobs.
Based on the data, the threat may not be as significant as people think. Retail roles are often about the rapport you build with customers, and the same is true for care workers. As sophisticated as AI robots might become, they will always lack the human touch that many jobs rely on. Therefore, the threat of AI doesn’t appear to be the most pressing. What is, perhaps, more pressing at this point in time are the dynamics of the local jobs market.
There are always going to be more semi-skilled job vacancies in sectors such as retail than opportunities for skilled workers. The consensus makes little mention of skilled jobs in Manchester. That suggests the city could be lagging behind London and other hubs for skilled workers. London may always be the main destination for foreign workers.
In fact, there are immigration lawyers who specialise in helping UK businesses employ foreign workers. Reiss Edwards is an award-winning law firm that’s worked with over 6,000 customers, including companies such as LoopMe, Samsung and TM Lewin. Their immigration lawyers help business owners navigate the often murky waters of UK immigration and the Skilled Worker Visa programme
Manchester Needs to Move with the Times
As per the census, there are more unskilled and semi-skilled workers in Manchester than skilled.
Further evidence for this comes when you scour the local job listings. If we take IT as a sector where most jobs are skilled, there were 559 openings in Manchester when we searched Indeed (on June 27, 2023). The same search in London yielded 2,430 job openings.
London is, of course, much bigger than Greater Manchester. However, even when you account for population differences and density, London is still way out in front. All of these things suggest that, while Manchester’s jobs market is relatively buoyant, the dynamics may be skewed. That’s not necessarily a problem.
If the city wants to be recognised as a national hub that can compete with London, it needs more skilled roles and, in turn, more workers from abroad. These two things define a cosmopolitan, forward-looking economy. Manchester will always be among the UK’s biggest and brightest cities. But, if it wants to remain relevant, particularly in a world that’s increasingly moving towards AI and tech-based jobs, local businesses need to up their employment games.
Further Reading:
1. Most common jobs in Manchester
2. Retail sales up in Manchester
