Hot Jobs in the UK’s Best Towns & Cities for Jobs 2020

From recent graduates looking for their first job, to seasoned professionals who’ve grown restless in their current position, job seekers will at many times question where they should work. Not just what company, but what location.

Maybe you’re drawn to the hustle and bustle of London, or perhaps you’re looking to move away from the big smoke to the M4 Corridor, or further afield to northern cities such as Manchester and Leeds?

To make it easier for job seekers to make an informed decision, Glassdoor released its latest jobs report on the 25 Best UK Towns & Cities To Work In 2020. This ranking highlights UK towns and cities according to their Glassdoor Town & City Score, a figure determined by weighting three factors equally: how easy it is to get a job, how affordable it is to live there and how satisfied employees are working there.*

Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, London doesn’t even make it on to this year’s list, despite countless cool jobs and a reputation for being the financial, political and media centre of the country. Why? Primarily because of the cost of living and the competition for jobs.

Here are the five towns and cities that came out on top this year, plus some of the best companies hiring in each location. Whether you are in finance or engineering, construction or consulting, healthcare or marketing, there are exciting jobs in each of these towns and cities. Start your job search today!

Slough

Glassdoor Town & City Score (out of 5): 4.2

Job Openings: 23,387

Median Base Salary: £30,139

Companies Hiring: Lego Group, Equinix, Telefonica, Adecco, ALDI

Slough stands out against other towns and cities because of its reasonable cost of living paired with great hiring opportunity; this has helped it retain its #1 position three times running. A key hub in the M4 Corridor, sometimes described as England’s “Silicon Valley”, retail and transportation are some of the industries - in addition to multinational tech companies - contributing to the over 23,000 open jobs in Slough.

See Open Jobs in Slough

Cambridge

Glassdoor Town & City Score (out of 5): 4.1

Job Openings: 18,514

Median Base Salary: £31,941

Companies Hiring: Arm, AstraZeneca, Graphcore, Jagex, Abcam

Cambridge claims the #2 spot due to its excellent job satisfaction and strong hiring opportunities. Cambridge is home to several biotech companies including Abcam and AstraZeneca. In addition, Cambridge University helps to fuel the local talent pool. It also benefits from convenient transport links into the capital.

See Open Jobs in Cambridge

Gloucester

Glassdoor Town & City Score (out of 5): 4.1

Job Openings: 15,287

Median Base Salary: £25,116

Companies Hiring: Boeing, Hays Travel, Enterprise, British Red Cross, Endsleigh Insurance

The highest newcomer on the list, this area is seeing really strong business growth as part of the city’s Regeneration & Economic Development Strategy which will result in over £700 million pumped into the city by 2021. Gloucester has always had a strong history of advanced engineering and financial businesses, but what’s really exciting is that the council will be offering business grants to assist new startups, expanding businesses and businesses looking to relocate in the future.

See Open Jobs in Gloucester