Indeed data maps UK job hotspots: London leads, cities show distinct hiring specialisms

# What the data covers

# The headline numbers you need London accounts for 13.1% of all UK postings on Indeed in the period analysed. The next biggest cities by share are Manchester (2.1%), Birmingham (1.7%), Bristol (1.7%), Glasgow (1.5%), Edinburgh (1.3%), Leeds (1.3%), Liverpool (1.0%), Nottingham (0.8%) and Belfast (0.8%).

Food preparation and service is the single largest occupation category, making up 13.1% of classified postings. Management roles are second at 10.5%. Other top occupation shares are personal care and home health (6.3%), administrative assistance (5.6%), sales (5.5%), cleaning and sanitation (5.4%), installation and maintenance (4.8%), education and instruction (4.7%), retail (4.1%) and driving (3.4%).

# How cities differ Across the ten biggest hiring cities, management and hospitality roles are consistently large parts of hiring. Beyond those, each city shows distinct strengths:

• London: media and higher shares of software development among top occupations.
• Manchester: strong for marketing and software development.
• Bristol: a heavier share of engineering and installation/maintenance roles.
• Birmingham: childcare and installation/maintenance feature prominently.
• Nottingham: manufacturing and related roles show up more than in many peers.
• Edinburgh: hospitality and related service roles punch above the city's overall posting share.

These local differences show that opportunities outside London are concentrated in different sectors rather than being uniformly lower.

# AI is reshaping parts of the market unevenly

# Practical implications for jobseekers and employers Jobseekers should match target cities to sector strengths: those seeking marketing or tech roles may find more options in Manchester or London, while people targeting manufacturing or installation roles could focus on Nottingham, Bristol or Birmingham. Employers can use the city-level breakdown to plan local hiring strategies and competitive pay offers where talent demand is concentrated.

# What the analysis does and does not show The figures report shares of job postings on Indeed, not total jobs or hires. They highlight where demand is concentrated on the platform and how often employers reference AI-related skills in their listings during the seven-month window.

# Bottom line London remains the single largest centre for postings, but most hiring occurs outside the capital and takes different shapes in different places. Hospitality and management are widespread hiring anchors, and AI-related demand is growing rapidly in data and software roles.