New study reveals Reading is the best city for UK job seekers in 2022

New research reveals the UK’s best cities for job seekers in 2022, with over 13,000 job listings on Indeed, from Reading to Manchester. The study by money.co.uk analysed the 30 most populated towns and cities across the UK on their number of Indeed job listings, to reveal the best UK destinations to relocate to for work.

The UK Towns & Cities with the Most Job Opportunities

Rank	City	Population	Job Listings on Indeed	Listings per 100,000 People
1	Reading	160,337	3,945	2,460
2	Manchester	555,741	13,299	2,393
3	Bristol	465,866	11,041	2,370
4	Norwich	142,177	3,024	2,127
5	Nottingham	337,098	6,174	1,832
6	Southampton	252,872	3,994	1,579
7	Newcastle upon Tyne	306,824	4,180	1,362
8	Northampton	230,070	2,875	1,250
9	Edinburgh	527,620	6,472	1,227
10	Derby	256,814	3,129	1,218

 

The place with the greatest job opportunities per person is Reading, where there are currently just under 2,500 job listings per 100,000 people. Reading is one of the largest towns in the UK yet to be granted city status, but its proximity to London makes it a popular place for commuters to live.

One of the biggest cities in the North of England, Manchester, takes second place. While Manchester is much bigger than Reading, the number of jobs on offer is still high, with 13,299 listed on Indeed, equating to just under 2,400 per 100,000 people.

Another of the country’s major cities comes in third place, with Bristol having 2,370 job openings per 100,000 people. Bristol’s economy is built on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries, with its city-centre docklands area being regenerated and becoming a hub for businesses.

The research also revealed the best UK towns & cities to move to by industry:

Industry	Town/City	Job Listings on Indeed	Listings per 100,000 People
Accountancy	Reading	276	172
Construction	Reading	444	277
Customer service	Reading	2,318	417
Engineering	Reading	632	394
Healthcare	Norwich	880	619
HR	Manchester	365	66
IT	Reading	156	97
Marketing	Manchester	667	120
Nursing	Norwich	312	219
Teacher	Reading	114	71

 

When looking at 10 of the most popular industries, once again Reading has the most job openings, topping the ranks for six out of ten of the industries, including accountancy, teaching and IT.

Manchester was the top city for two industries, marketing and HR, having seen a big increase in people moving for work in these industries recently.