Engineering and manufacturing jobs market bounces back to pre-Covid levels

Job postings increased by 1 million from 2019 to 2023, according to the latest data from sector skills charity Enginuity.

Enginity’s new Labour Market Information (LMI) snapshot provides a unique insight into the number and nature of jobs and skills in demand in UK engineering and manufacturing.*

Job postings through the years

In 2023 the number of unique annual job postings rose to 2.8 million, up from 1.8 million in 2019. Mechanical Engineer, Manufacturing Machine Operator and Civil Engineer are the top three most sought-after roles by employers.

Year	Total job postings
2019	1.8 million
2020	1.5 million
2021	2.5 million
2022	2.8 million
2023	2.8 million

Top 10 roles in the highest demand in 2023 Mechanical engineer Manufacturing machine operator Civil engineer Electrical engineer Engineering manager Surveyor Production worker Industrial engineer Manufacturing engineer Quality inspector/technician

Regional demand variations

According to the data, the South East remains a hotspot for employer demand for roles with 137,111 job postings, highlighting its pivotal role as a Hub for UK engineering and manufacturing. The West Midlands comes a close second, underscoring its status as a thriving manufacturing stronghold. The North West also shows considerable recruitment activity, reflecting its resilient and innovative industrial landscape. Localised pockets of opportunity are evident with Manchester and Birmingham showing significant employer demand. In contrast, regions such as the North East and Northern Ireland show lower levels of activity.

National and regional governments and policymakers can access the regional employer demand heat map to assess the competitiveness of different regions and locations across the UK to support economic growth and investment decisions.

Supporting the sector

The data is seemingly good news for those seeking employment, but what does it mean for those supporting the future of the sector?

Dame Judith Hackitt, Chair of Enginuity Board said:

“This snapshot shows a resilient engineering and manufacturing sector capable of sustainable growth and retaining its position as 8th worldwide. We hope this data will be used by policymakers as evidence of the areas of the UK that need investment and infrastructure to support key industries as well as capitalising on the buoyancy of the job markets in places like Manchester and Birmingham.

“By tracking the scale and nature of the demand for jobs and skills over time, Enginuity is better placed to carry out our mission to close the skills gaps in UK engineering and manufacturing”

As a charity dedicated to finding new ways to close skills gaps in UK engineering and manufacturing, Enginuity hopes to continue sharing annual changes in demand for different types of roles and skills to help policymakers and training providers plan for a sustainable future. 

Download the full report

*Labour Market Information was captured between 2019-2023.  It is produced using Lightcast Labour Market information on online job adverts or postings, using the ‘common language’ Enginuity created for engineering and manufacturing occupation and skills data.