IT roles lead the UK job market in application volume
If you’re hiring in the UK, you’ll notice this: tech talent is in demand, and everyone wants Software Engineers. The latest data from CV-Library confirms that Software Engineer is the most applied-for role in the UK job market. Average advertised salary? £61,268. People are applying because the economics make sense, and the career paths are visible and future-focused.
You’re not just looking at pay as the motivator. This is about long-term relevance. Candidates understand that the world is shifting, fast. They’re looking to work on problems that won’t go away. Software, AI, and automation tick those boxes. These are high-skill, high-responsibility roles where talent recognizes the upside isn’t just in the salary, it’s in being part of industries shaping the next ten or twenty years. That makes the field attractive even when entry requirements are steep.
For companies, this means preparing for a hiring environment that’s hyper-competitive. If you want top-tier engineers, your offer needs to look like more than a paycheck. It’s the full picture: compensation, yes, but also trajectory, team quality, remote optionality, and access to technology that actually matters. Candidates are weighing all of that, fast. And if you’re slow in responding, you’ll miss them.
Katie Emerton, a recruitment expert at CV-Library, put it plainly: candidates want flexibility, security, and growth. Software Engineer roles offer that balance. That’s why application volumes are sky-high.
High application volumes in administration, distribution, and customer services
Not every applicant is chasing the highest salary. CV-Library data shows that after IT, the roles getting the most attention are in administration, distribution, and customer support. Receptionists, Delivery Drivers, and Customer Service Advisors aren’t posting six-figure earnings, average salaries range from £27,847 to £30,805, but they’re pulling serious application volumes. Why? Accessibility.
These jobs are available across regions and sectors. Barriers to entry are low, and mobility between roles is high. Someone shifting careers, re-entering the workforce, or looking for something stable and immediate sees value here. From a business lens, this tells you something important: while high-skill talent chases potential, a bigger swath of the workforce is moving toward stability and broad opportunity.
As decision-makers, if you’re staffing in these areas, speed and clarity matter. Candidates are applying at scale. You need solid filtering, quick response loops, and a clear employer value proposition. There’s appetite, but also competition. Fail to move fast, and you’re creating churn in your own pipeline.
Again, Emerton’s insight is accurate. “These roles attract such high application numbers because they tick a lot of boxes for today’s jobseekers.” That includes practical benefits like flexible hours, wide availability, and fewer entry requirements. So don’t underestimate them. These functions are your frontline infrastructure, and they demand strategic attention.
Marketing, manufacturing, and public-sector roles maintain steady interest
Interest in roles like Marketing Executive, Production Operative, and Housing Officer remains consistent across the UK. These jobs may not lead application volumes like IT or administration, but they’re strategically important. They sit at the intersection of market growth, operational resilience, and public-sector stability. They also reflect the realities of the current UK labour market, where people are looking for roles that contribute to core activities, either economically or socially.
Marketing Executive was the leading title in the marketing and media sector, with an average salary of £31,869. This points to sustained candidate focus on roles that support commercial performance and brand positioning, essential areas even during times when companies are tightening budgets. In manufacturing and production, Production Operatives earned an average of £26,819 and drew substantial applications, partly because these jobs match the needs of regions with established industrial infrastructure. In the public sector, Housing Officer roles drew applicants at a solid rate, offering £33,000 on average. That’s notable, given the rising demand for public housing and pressure on local councils.
As an executive, pay attention here. These sectors tell you how closely jobseeker behavior aligns with macro needs. Marketing feeds revenue growth. Manufacturing supports supply chain continuity. Public housing answers to civic demand. Candidates are responding to that relevance, and to the perception that these sectors offer a mix of societal contribution and long-term role depth. If you’re hiring in any of these categories, make sure you’re offering meaningful work, scalable career tracks, and a clear sense of value.
CV-Library’s Q4 2025 data supports this positioning: marketing ranks fifth in application volume, manufacturing sixth, and public sector eighth. These are not peak-payout sectors, but they have momentum, and purpose. That matters now, and it’ll matter more in the next cycle.
Lower-paying sectors such as hospitality, arts, and recruitment remain highly competitive
Application activity remains strong in sectors where pay is modest but the jobs are accessible. CV-Library reports that hospitality, arts, and recruitment roles round out the top ten for application volume. Cleaner roles, for example, have an average salary of £25,365, the lowest across the surveyed sectors, but still draw high numbers of applicants. Similarly, Graphic Designer roles earned £30,000 on average, and Recruitment Consultants came in at £35,204. These roles capture interest because they’re available, shift-friendly, and relatively simple for people to enter.
For many workers, they’re pathways, tools to transition, re-enter, or stabilize. Flexibility counts. Volume matters. When jobs can be found in multiple locations, are open to different experience levels, and offer immediate hiring potential, people take action. The mechanism is simple: candidates who aren’t locked into long hiring cycles move where friction is low.
For executives, this is a volume challenge. You might be dealing with hundreds of qualified applicants in a short window. That has cost implications, longer screening times, more resource allocation, and potential delays in onboarding. Address that by simplifying recruitment workflows and prioritizing clear communication with candidates. You’re not just filling roles, you’re managing reputation, efficiency, and candidate experience at scale.
Based on CV-Library’s data, application rates for these sectors prove that flexibility and mass-market appeal can override wage constraints. If you’re thinking purely in compensation terms, you’re missing the broader market signal. Candidates are prioritizing fit, how a role aligns with their immediate lifestyle, geographic availability, and short-term goals. Design your hiring tools and messages to reflect that.
Candidate interest is increasingly driven by the promise of job security
What we’re seeing across the UK job market now is a shift in mindset. Candidates aren’t just reacting to salary figures, they’re selecting roles based on what those roles offer over time. People want stability, growth, and control over how and where they work. Whether it’s a Software Engineer earning £61,268 or a Receptionist making £30,805, the throughline is clear: perceived job security and long-term potential are shaping behavior.
CV-Library’s Q4 2025 insights show this trend consistently. The most applied-for roles span diverse sectors, IT, admin, marketing, customer service, even arts and hospitality. Some of these offer high compensation, others don’t. The common factor is perceived value over time: future-proof skills, open advancement paths, minimal risk of redundancy, and flexibility in how the job integrates into daily life. Candidates are looking beyond immediate gains. They want roles that don’t expire the moment the market contracts.
Executives should factor this into every part of their talent strategy. If you’re not talking about stability, progression, or what future skills your roles help employees build, you’re leaving an open lane for competitors. Candidates want transparency. They want to know how the job grows with them. Your value proposition has to speak directly to that, especially in markets where volume is high and skill levels vary.
Katie Emerton, Recruitment Expert at CV-Library, put it simply: roles that deliver “flexibility, stability and clear progression” are dominating application trends. She points to Software Engineer, Marketing Executive, Graphic Designer, and Receptionist as roles that reflect the current candidate mindset. Each offers something that goes beyond the payslip, whether it’s future-focused skills, creative fulfillment, accessibility, or widespread availability.
In this market, appeal isn’t built around one feature, it’s the sum of several factors. So build hiring practices that mirror that complexity: clearly defined growth tracks, flexibility in working patterns, and role definitions that help candidates see themselves there long enough to stay.
Key executive takeaways
- IT roles attract top-tier interest: Software Engineer tops UK job applications, driven by £61K+ salaries and long-term skills relevance. Leaders in tech hiring must compete on compensation, career clarity, and innovation focus to attract top applicants.
- Accessible roles see high volume: Jobs in administration, distribution, and customer service draw major interest due to broad availability and low entry barriers. Organizations should streamline hiring and retention strategies to handle scale efficiently.
- Mid-tier sectors benefit from perceived value: Marketing, manufacturing, and public-sector roles attract candidates through alignment with economic impact, operational stability, and social purpose. Executives should invest in skill development and messaging that highlights career longevity.
- Lower pay doesn’t reduce competition: Hospitality, arts, and recruitment roles see strong applicant volumes due to flexibility, accessibility, and wide market presence. Leaders should optimize recruiting workflows to manage high volume cost-effectively and protect brand experience.
- Jobseekers prioritize stability and growth: Today’s candidates seek roles that offer security, skill durability, and clear progression, often above salary alone. Employers must position roles with transparent growth paths and long-term relevance to stay competitive in attracting talent.
