{"id":111,"date":"2015-03-10T02:46:04","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T02:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ofwuk.wpengine.com\/?p=111"},"modified":"2026-01-11T05:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:00:13","slug":"worst-paid-jobs-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/111-worst-paid-jobs-uk.html","title":{"rendered":"What Are the Best and Worst Paid Jobs in UK?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) for 2024 and 2025 shows significant wage growth across UK occupations, driven by National Living Wage increases and economic recovery<\/a>. Median gross annual earnings for full-time employees reached \u00a337,430 in April 2024, rising to \u00a339,039 in April 2025.<\/p>\n

While nominal growth was strong, the impact was tempered by inflation. In\u00a0real terms\u00a0(adjusted for CPIH), median weekly earnings for full-time employees increased by\u00a01.1%\u00a0in the year to April 2025. By late 2025 (August to October<\/a>), annual real regular pay growth was approximately\u00a00.5%<\/p>\n

Hospitality and service roles continue to dominate the lowest-paid lists, while managerial and specialist professional roles lead the highest-paid, reflecting demand for leadership and technical skills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Highest-Paid Jobs<\/h2>\n

ONS ASHE<\/a> data highlights managerial and aviation roles at the top<\/a>, with median annual full-time earnings often exceeding \u00a380,000, up from older figures due to inflation and sector growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rank<\/th>\nOccupation<\/th>\nMedian Annual Salary (2024\/2025 est.)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/td>\nAircraft pilots and air traffic controllers<\/td>\n\u00a391,208<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nChief executives and senior officials<\/td>\n\u00a381,328<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nIT directors<\/td>\n\u00a381,588<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nMarketing, sales, and advertising directors<\/td>\n\u00a380,912<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nFinancial managers and directors<\/td>\n~\u00a380,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nPublic relations and communications directors<\/td>\n\u00a373,944<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nProduction managers and directors<\/td>\n~\u00a368,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nSenior officers in protective services<\/td>\n\u00a368,136<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\nTrain and tram drivers<\/td>\n\u00a364,397<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nLegal professionals (solicitors\/lawyers)<\/td>\n\u00a362,535<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Lowest-Paid Jobs<\/h2>\n

Low-paid roles cluster around hospitality, childcare, and elementary services, with median annual full-time earnings below \u00a322,000 in 2024 data\u2014still roughly half the UK median of \u00a337,430, though uplifts from NLW hikes (to \u00a311.44 in 2024, \u00a312.21 in 2025) have narrowed gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rank<\/th>\nOccupation<\/th>\nMedian Annual Salary (2024 est.)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/td>\nSchool midday and crossing patrol occupations<\/td>\n\u00a319,860<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nCoffee shop and fast-food counter attendants<\/td>\n\u00a319,990<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nChildminders and nursery assistants<\/td>\n\u00a320,189<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nBar staff<\/td>\n\u00a320,837<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nWaiters and waitresses<\/td>\n\u00a321,588<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nKitchen and catering assistants<\/td>\n\u00a321,716<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nHairdressers and barbers<\/td>\n\u00a321,802<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nTeaching assistants and educational support<\/td>\n~\u00a320,700<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\nLeisure and theme park attendants<\/td>\n\u00a322,386<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nCleaners and elementary service roles<\/td>\n~\u00a322,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Key Trends<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Wage growth was strongest in low-paid sectors like caring, leisure, and sales (7-9% annually), outpacing professionals (5%), thanks to NLW expansions.]<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Public sector pay lagged private in some areas, but regions like Northern Ireland saw 7.4% rises in 2025.<\/li>\n
  • For migrants or newcomers, high-skill visas favor top roles, while low-paid jobs often require no qualifications but face high turnover.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) for 2024 and 2025 shows significant wage growth across UK occupations, driven by National Living Wage increases and economic recovery. Median gross annual earnings for full-time employees reached \u00a337,430 in April 2024, rising to \u00a339,039 in April 2025. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-111","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-jobs-careers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":909,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions\/909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinoy-ofw.com\/united-kingdom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}