London ranked most optimistic UK city for career prospects
Londoners have been crowned the most optimistic about their career prospects, according to research by LinkedIn, as the City emerges from a third national lockdown.
LinkedIn’s latest research has found that 68 per cent of people in the capital are feeling optimistic about their job chances.
Across the rest of the country, 61 per cent of people are said to optimistic about their career prospects, which jumped to 83 per cent among 16-34-year-olds.
“As the economy reopens and people start getting back to doing the things they love, it’s great to see people feeling more optimistic about their job prospects, and companies hiring again,” UK country manager at LinkedIn, Janine Chamberlin, said.
The research, conducted by Censuswide for LinkedIn, found that for 36 per cent of people, the easing of lockdown restrictions has spurred optimism.
For others, 34 per cent noted that the sense of normality resuming has fuelled their positive outlook, while 28 per cent cited the economy reopening and 27 per cent reported high job security.
But for those unemployed, or furloughed and looking to branch out, Norwich followed London in close second, where 66 per cent of people feel optimistic about future work.
Birmingham, Sheffield and Manchester made the top five cities in the UK, where over 60 per cent of people felt positive about their career.
However, Brighton was ranked the least positive, as 48 per cent of Brighton residents said they do not feel optimistic about their career prospects.
46 per cent of people in Edinburgh, Nottingham and Belfast all described pessimism towards future work. Meanwhile, 45 per cent of those in Cardiff reported the same feelings.
“The past year has been extremely difficult for so many people, particularly those that have faced redundancy, found themselves out of work or have been forced to switch career,” Chamberlin continued.
Silver lining
There is a silver lining, however, as employers are also feeling buoyed by the easing of restrictions and the recent surge in consumer spending, according to LinkedIn and the Office for National Statistics.
Data from LinkedIn found that hiring in the UK has shot up 22 per cent compared to April 2020, as the jobs market begins to gain confidence.
A near quarter of people surveyed said that their company is currently performing well.
Chamberlin noted that employers should foster a fresh perspective when hiring new employees, adding that “it’s more important than ever that companies move to assess candidates on their future potential and skills as much as their previous experience and formal qualifications to get people back into jobs quickly.”