Pay

Salary transparency.

What share of adverts state a salary rather than "competitive"?

Data to 18 October 2026
Headline
34.3%

Only 34.3% of UK employers' job adverts state a salary; 19.1% just say "competitive" (n=6,957 employers).

Sample: 6,957 employers · source: UK employers' careers pages · data to 18 October 2026

By job function

FunctionFigureSample (employers)In words
Healthcare & Care 46.2% 1,051 Healthcare & Care: 46.2% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=1,051 employers).
Customer Service 44.1% 380 Customer Service: 44.1% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=380 employers).
Education 43.8% 538 Education: 43.8% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=538 employers).
Hospitality & Catering 43.6% 416 Hospitality & Catering: 43.6% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=416 employers).
Admin & Office 41.8% 521 Admin & Office: 41.8% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=521 employers).
Operations & Logistics 39.6% 878 Operations & Logistics: 39.6% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=878 employers).
HR 38.4% 276 HR: 38.4% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=276 employers).
Management & Executive 36.8% 596 Management & Executive: 36.8% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=596 employers).
Science & Research 36.3% 114 Science & Research: 36.3% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=114 employers).
Sales 34.3% 1,085 Sales: 34.3% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=1,085 employers).
Finance & Accounting 32.5% 543 Finance & Accounting: 32.5% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=543 employers).
Manufacturing & Production 32.1% 275 Manufacturing & Production: 32.1% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=275 employers).
Other 29.8% 1,072 Other: 29.8% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=1,072 employers).
Marketing 29.5% 491 Marketing: 29.5% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=491 employers).
Construction & Trades 28.8% 647 Construction & Trades: 28.8% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=647 employers).
Engineering 28.2% 1,224 Engineering: 28.2% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=1,224 employers).
Retail 28.1% 148 Retail: 28.1% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=148 employers).
IT & Software 24.8% 897 IT & Software: 24.8% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=897 employers).
Creative & Design 24.3% 430 Creative & Design: 24.3% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=430 employers).
Legal 17% 296 Legal: 17% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=296 employers).

By region (registered office)

RegionFigureSample (employers)In words
South West 41.1% 452 South West: 41.1% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=452 employers).
North East 38.6% 175 North East: 38.6% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=175 employers).
West Midlands 37.2% 434 West Midlands: 37.2% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=434 employers).
South East 37.1% 853 South East: 37.1% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=853 employers).
North West 36.6% 591 North West: 36.6% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=591 employers).
East Midlands 36.4% 297 East Midlands: 36.4% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=297 employers).
Wales 34.4% 156 Wales: 34.4% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=156 employers).
East of England 33.7% 448 East of England: 33.7% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=448 employers).
Yorkshire and The Humber 33.2% 440 Yorkshire and The Humber: 33.2% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=440 employers).
Scotland 32.7% 312 Scotland: 32.7% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=312 employers).
London 29.4% 1,103 London: 29.4% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=1,103 employers).
Northern Ireland 23% 79 Northern Ireland: 23% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=79 employers).

By sector

SectorFigureSample (employers)In words
Public administration & defence 51.4% 52 Public administration & defence: 51.4% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=52 employers).
Water, sewerage & waste 48.4% 55 Water, sewerage & waste: 48.4% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=55 employers).
Education 47.8% 395 Education: 47.8% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=395 employers).
Health & social care 46.3% 811 Health & social care: 46.3% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=811 employers).
Arts, entertainment & recreation 45.1% 220 Arts, entertainment & recreation: 45.1% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=220 employers).
Hospitality & food service 42% 340 Hospitality & food service: 42% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=340 employers).
Real estate 39.8% 190 Real estate: 39.8% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=190 employers).
Other services 39.3% 423 Other services: 39.3% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=423 employers).
Agriculture, forestry & fishing 37.6% 65 Agriculture, forestry & fishing: 37.6% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=65 employers).
Wholesale & retail 35.6% 449 Wholesale & retail: 35.6% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=449 employers).
Administrative & support services 34.5% 403 Administrative & support services: 34.5% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=403 employers).
Transport & storage 33.7% 231 Transport & storage: 33.7% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=231 employers).
Finance & insurance 33.7% 277 Finance & insurance: 33.7% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=277 employers).
Energy supply 31.6% 49 Energy supply: 31.6% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=49 employers).
Manufacturing 28.3% 595 Manufacturing: 28.3% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=595 employers).
Construction 26.3% 609 Construction: 26.3% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=609 employers).
Information & communication 26.2% 810 Information & communication: 26.2% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=810 employers).
Professional, scientific & technical 24.3% 918 Professional, scientific & technical: 24.3% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=918 employers).

By company size

Size bandFigureSample (employers)In words
Group-accounts filers 40.9% 377 Group-accounts filers: 40.9% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=377 employers).
Full-accounts filers (size unknown) 36.7% 730 Full-accounts filers (size unknown): 36.7% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=730 employers).
Medium-sized companies 35.7% 127 Medium-sized companies: 35.7% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=127 employers).
Micro companies 32.4% 659 Micro companies: 32.4% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=659 employers).
Small companies 31.9% 1,921 Small companies: 31.9% of employers' adverts state a salary (n=1,921 employers).

How this is measured

Region segments are the employer's registered-office region (Companies House), not the job's location. Job pages with a confidently parsed GBP salary (ATS job_meta first, then text). value_json.competitive_pct = adverts saying "competitive"/"DOE" with no figure. Employer-weighted: each employer's share of its own adverts is computed, then averaged across employers, so every employer counts once however many adverts it posts; n = employers (min n applies to employers), value_json.adverts = adverts behind them. value_json.employers_any_pct = % of employers stating a salary on at least one advert. Adverts: job pages whose linked title the title classifier settled as a real job (an "Apprenticeships", "Early Careers" or "Graduate programme" page is not an advert); pages whose title is not classified yet are left out, so coverage grows as titles are classified. Adverts whose own stated posted / closing date is more than 180 days old are stale and left out.

Cite this

Free to quote with a credit and a link.

ProdReady Recruitment (2026). Salary transparency. Data to 18 October 2026. https://ProdReadyRecruitment.com/research/salary_transparency

Need a custom cut?

Journalists and analysts can ask for a breakdown by sector, city, region or language, or the underlying table.

Ask us

Related research