Tech sector ‘fastest growing’ for jobs and salaries, report finds

SALARIES in Britain’s technology industry surged in 2019 with cyber security experts among those enjoying hefty pay increases as the threat of online attacks sent demand soaring, new figures have shown.

A salary report from Reed Specialist Recruitment revealed that technology was the fastest-growing sector last year after a 13.8 per cent hike in jobs posted and a 4.7 per cent increase in the average salary.

Its Salary Guide – which analysed 7.5 million jobs posted since the start of 2016 – showed new data protection rules, and the rising threat of cyber crime in particular, have seen demand for some roles rocket, which is pushing up salaries.

A network security analyst has seen a 34 per cent rise in average salary since 2017, to £63,000, the report found.

But the overall number of UK jobs advertised fell in 2019 after two years of growth, according to the figures.

Other IT roles that saw significant salary hikes over the £40,000 mark include a 22.4 per cent rise for network security analysts, an 11.5 per cent increase for infrastructure security engineers and a 7.5 per cent jump for user interface designers.

Brexit also had an impact as some sectors face a skills shortage as a result of the country’s impending withdrawal from the EU, with pastry chefs among those benefiting from surging wages in a bit to attract applicants – up 28.2 per cent in 2019. The report showed that engineering jobs were likewise in high demand, with a 0.9 per cent rise in jobs advertised last year.

However, engineering wages edged only 2.1 per cent higher compared with the national average of 3.4 per cent.

Tom Lovell, inset, global managing director at Reed Specialist Recruitment, said: “With continued record levels of employment, salaries are rising in response to skills shortages.

“This is particularly acute in the technology sector as digital transformation continues to be an area of significant investment.

“An ageing workforce combined with a lack of new talent entering the engineering sector is also a challenge, leading to higher vacancy levels.”