Pay

9.2% of UK "manager" and "head of" jobs are advertised on under £28,000

Job title inflation, measured: 1,685 senior-titled adverts with pay shown, from 926 UK employers.

Data to 28 October 2026
James Costello
By James Costello, Founder · last updated 28 October 2026

A manager title used to mean manager pay. Across 926 UK employers that show pay, 9.2% of adverts titled manager, head of, lead or director offer under £28,000 a year (averaged across employers).

By region

The share is highest in the West Midlands (17%) and lowest in London (4.1%).

  1. West Midlands: 17%
  2. South West: 13%
  3. Yorkshire and The Humber: 11.9%
  4. North West: 10.7%
  5. East of England: 8.3%
  6. East Midlands: 8.1%
  7. Scotland: 7.9%
  8. South East: 7.7%
  9. London: 4.1%

By sector

  1. Arts, entertainment & recreation: 18.2%
  2. Wholesale & retail: 17.3%
  3. Hospitality & food service: 14.8%
  4. Other services: 11.1%
  5. Administrative & support services: 10.9%
  6. Health & social care: 10.1%
  7. Education: 8.1%
  8. Information & communication: 7.9%

How we measured it

We took job adverts on UK employers' own careers pages whose title contains manager, head of, lead, director or chief and that show a salary, leaving out assistant, trainee, junior, apprentice and graduate titles. Pay is the midpoint of the advertised range. Each employer counts equally.

When every developer is a senior engineer, the title tells you less about the job. We read what the adverts themselves actually demand.
— James Costello, Founder, ProdReady Recruitment
Headline
9.2%

9.2% of UK job adverts titled manager, head, lead or director offer under £28,000 (averaged across employers; n=926 employers).

Sample: 926 employers · source: UK employers' careers pages · data to 28 October 2026

By region (registered office)

RegionFigureSample (employers)In words
West Midlands 17% 49 West Midlands: 17% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=49 employers).
South West 13% 59 South West: 13% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=59 employers).
Yorkshire and The Humber 11.9% 66 Yorkshire and The Humber: 11.9% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=66 employers).
North West 10.7% 89 North West: 10.7% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=89 employers).
East of England 8.3% 69 East of England: 8.3% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=69 employers).
East Midlands 8.1% 37 East Midlands: 8.1% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=37 employers).
Scotland 7.9% 44 Scotland: 7.9% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=44 employers).
South East 7.7% 114 South East: 7.7% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=114 employers).
London 4.1% 146 London: 4.1% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=146 employers).

By sector

SectorFigureSample (employers)In words
Arts, entertainment & recreation 18.2% 61 Arts, entertainment & recreation: 18.2% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=61 employers).
Wholesale & retail 17.3% 52 Wholesale & retail: 17.3% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=52 employers).
Hospitality & food service 14.8% 62 Hospitality & food service: 14.8% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=62 employers).
Other services 11.1% 91 Other services: 11.1% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=91 employers).
Administrative & support services 10.9% 43 Administrative & support services: 10.9% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=43 employers).
Health & social care 10.1% 126 Health & social care: 10.1% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=126 employers).
Education 8.1% 66 Education: 8.1% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=66 employers).
Information & communication 7.9% 107 Information & communication: 7.9% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=107 employers).
Finance & insurance 7.7% 37 Finance & insurance: 7.7% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=37 employers).
Real estate 7.6% 39 Real estate: 7.6% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=39 employers).
Manufacturing 5.6% 54 Manufacturing: 5.6% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=54 employers).
Professional, scientific & technical 2.8% 100 Professional, scientific & technical: 2.8% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=100 employers).
Construction 0% 39 Construction: 0% of "manager"-titled adverts offer under £28,000 (n=39 employers).

About the author

James Costello
James Costello
Founder, ProdReady Recruitment

The research is produced by the founder of ProdReady Recruitment, a UK AI recruitment business. Every figure on this page is computed from UK employers' careers pages, and the text-reading measures are checked by hand against real pages.

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James Costello (2026). Job title inflation. ProdReady Recruitment. Data to 28 October 2026. https://ProdReadyRecruitment.com/research/title_inflation

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