Everything you need to know about jobs in Manchester

Manchester! Home to the BBC, Coronation Street and a whole museum dedicated to football. The city was the birthplace of votes for women, the first ever computer, and some of the best music in history.

The population of Manchester is younger than other UK cities, so it’s a really fun interesting place to start your career, with plenty of jobs in different areas. So if you’re thinking about making the north-west city your home, read on to find out everything you need to know about jobs in Manchester.

So what's Manchester like?

Manc (as us locals affectionately call it) was recently crowned the country’s trendiest city, beating London and Brighton to the title! The city has loads of great bars, coffee shops and clubs – not to mention world-class football and cycling.

Plus, there’s a really cool tech and creative scene, with fascinating inventions being dreamed up in fun offices every day.

Let’s check out some stats (our fave):

There are more than half a million people living in Manchester city.
More than a third of the people living in Manc are between 20 and 35 years old (compared with a national average of 18.6%).
5 million people visit the city from abroad every year.

What kinds of jobs in Manchester are there?

Here we’ll take a look at the main career zones in Manchester, what types of jobs you could apply for, and who the leading employers are.

Financial and professional services

The financial and professional services sector makes up a sixth of all jobs in Manchester. There are 21,600 employers in this career zone in the Greater Manchester (GM) region. It’s thought that there will be around 55,000 new jobs created between now and 2023.

Jobs you could do: accountants; bookkeepers, lawyers, estate agents, economists.
Employers include: Swinton Group (insurance company), Irwin Mitchell (law firm), Bradley Hall (estate agents).

Healthcare

Medicine and healthcare is a leading sector for Manchester.

By the way, did you know nurses and doctors aren’t the only roles you can get? Read this to learn more about healthcare careers with a difference.

Jobs you could do: social worker, care worker, doctor, ambulance staff.
Employers include: the NHS, Manchester Mental Health & Social Care Trust, St Ann’s Hospice.

Creative industries

Creative jobs in Manchester are booming! From small technology start-ups to big media companies like ITV and the BBC, there are lots of different opportunities. There are also lots of art galleries and museums.

Across GM, there are 4,100 employers in the creative industries. Advertising, film, TV, design and publishing are some of the main areas. (Check out our article on jobs in the arts to learn more.)

Jobs you could do: graphic designer, journalist, advertising manager.
Employers include: the BBC, The Lowry (arts centre), Royal Exchange (theatre).

Education

There are 2,400 education employers in Manchester – that’s a grand total of 117,000 people working in education. However it’s worth bearing in mind that this sector is actually expected to drop by around 4,000 jobs between now and 2023.

Jobs you could do: driving instructor, secondary school teacher, special needs education professional.
Employers include: The Manchester College, schools, The University of Manchester.

Tourism, retail and hospitality

Almost 70,000 people visited Manchester’s brilliant Museum
of Science & Industry in 2014.

Tourism and retail are big business for the city. In fact the tourism economy is worth a whopping £7.5 billion to GM every year! There are 12,200 employers in the retail sector – with another 9,000 retail jobs in Manchester to be created before 2023. Have a read of our guide to jobs in retail.

Jobs you could do: fashion buyer, retail manager, travel agent.
Employers include: Manchester Museum, Missguided (clothes shop), Creamline dairies.

What do people earn in Manchester?

In Manchester city centre, the average annual salary is £28,900 (2015).

If you’re ready to start job-hunting, check out our Career Zones to find out the path that’s right for you, then this list of Jobs and Courses in the North to get applying.

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Image credits

Lead image via Tecmark

Healthcare image via Freepik

Museum image via Wikimedia Commons