Technology, engineering and marketing roles have secured the top salary increases over the past 12 months in Northern Ireland, according to new data released by recruiting experts Hays.
In a list of the top 20 roles which received the highest percentage increases, six were in engineering, four were in technology, three were in marketing and communications, three were in legal, two were in HR, one in production, supply chain & logistics and one in business support.
This compares to a UK-wide report which was similarly dominated by technology and engineering, with 7 of the roles with the highest salary increases in technology and 5 in engineering. Life sciences also made a strong appearance in the UK-wide survey, with 3 of the roles in the top 20 list.
In Northern Ireland, Electrical CAD (computer-aided design) technicians and cyber security analysts saw a salary increase of 26.7%, the highest increase within the top twenty, followed by marketing analysts and PR managers who saw an increase of 25%. Other job roles which experienced above average increases included import/export administrators (20%), heads of legal (18.2%) and heads of talent/resourcing (17%).
In the UK-wide analysis, salesforce solutions architects saw an increase of 18.5%, the highest increase within the top twenty, while systems design engineers saw an increase of 18.2%. Three of the top twenty UK salary rises were for life sciences roles, receiving increases above 11.9%.
Overall, salaries across the UK increased by 5.4% according to the Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends 2023 guide, above the 2.8% witnessed last year and 1.2% the year prior. In Northern Ireland, the data showed that the average salary increase was slightly higher at 5.6%
The salary guide reports annually on recruitment intentions across the UK and this year is based on the analysis of over 10,000 salaries, alongside survey data of over 13,500 employees and professionals.
Despite wider economic uncertainty, four out of five employers across the UK, and 85% of those surveyed in NI, said they intend on hiring staff over the next 12 months. Close to three-quarters of employers (72% in the UK and 66% in NI) said they would be willing to hire staff without all the necessary skills, with a view to training them on the job to meet the demand for talent.
John Moore, Managing Director of Hays in Northern Ireland, said:
“As demand for staff continues to increase, we have seen double digital salary growth across a range of industries. This high demand paired with the squeeze for talent in certain sectors means that salary increases are likely to continue into the new year, though perhaps not at the same pace.
“Although salary is important and a competitive salary is clearly a good way to attract and maintain talent, we are increasingly seeing employees caring about other factors such as career progression, wellbeing, work life balance and hybrid working. People are motivated to work for organisations who prioritise social responsibility so we would encourage employers not to neglect these areas.”
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