New data from CV-Library has found that Brighton, Manchester and Glasgow are the top locations to find a new job this year, showing great promise for local job hunters looking for work in these areas.

The data, which analysed the total number of jobs in the UK’s key cities in 2017, compared with 2016, found that the top ten cities to look for work in 2018 are:

1. Brighton – up 19.9 per cent
2. Manchester – up 15.3 per cent
3. Glasgow – up 14.6 per cent
4. Portsmouth – up 13.5 per cent
5. Sheffield – up 13.5 per cent
6. Birmingham – up 11.4 per cent
7. Bristol – up 8 per cent
8. Leeds – up 7.6 per cent
9. Aberdeen – up 7.1 per cent
10. Edinburgh – up 5.9 per cent

Interestingly, Liverpool and London didn’t appear in the top ten, despite seeing the biggest growth in 2016, while Edinburgh, which also appeared in the top three cities last year, edged to the bottom of the table in 2017.

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, comments, ‘The New Year is an exciting time for employers and candidates alike. Many UK professionals will be ready to embark on a fresh job hunt and it’s clear that this appetite is being reciprocated by businesses all over the UK. Brighton, Manchester and Glasgow in particular are home to a hub of organisations specialising in creative and technology roles so it’s fantastic to see these sectors thriving right now.’

In addition, while there are more jobs available, there is fierce competition for these roles, particularly in Bristol, Brighton and Birmingham where applications rose by 9.8 per cent, 8 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively. What’s more, some cities saw substantial increases in pay last year, making them promising locations for salary increases in 2018:

1. Aberdeen – salaries up 10.8 per cent
2. Hull – salaries up 8.5 per cent
3. Edinburgh – salaries up 6.2 per cent
4. Brighton – salaries up 6.1 per cent
5. Sheffield – salaries up 5.3 per cent
6. Bristol – salaries up 5.1 per cent
7. Birmingham – salaries up 1.9 per cent
8. Manchester – salaries up 1.6 per cent
9. Cardiff – salaries up 1.3 per cent
10. Liverpool – salaries up 1.1 per cent

Biggins continues, ‘The economy may have been in a tricky place as of late, but it’s clear that organisations in Aberdeen, Hull and Edinburgh are feeling confident and are willing to push up their pay packets in order to attract the very best workers. If you’ve got your eyes on a new job this year, now could be the perfect time to land one – and you may even get a pay rise!’

Further reading on finding a job

• Almost half of UK adults have thought about changing their career