09 Feb UK’s most recession proof occupations are in technology

Due to the increasing demand of technology across the UK, IT jobs have survived the economic crisis better than any other profession.

An analysis of ONS and professional industry data carried out by Randstad Technologies ranked each occupation by the change in aggregate wage bill for full-time employees from 2002 to 2014. The study took account of the resilience of employment levels and real wages to provide a rounded view of how recession-proof each occupation is.

“By its nature, the tech industry is relatively future-proof which has allowed it to survive the economic crash relatively unscathed,” said Chris Sheard, sales manager at Randstad Technologies.

There has been an increase of 400,000 full-time IT jobs from 2002-2014. IT jobs now make up five percent of the total wage bill for all full-time employees in the UK.

The aggregate wage bill has also grown 82 percent from £17bn in 2002 to £32bn in 2014.

However, real average wages fell by 11 percent for tech professionals during this time period since inflation rose faster than wage growth.

“As technology has progressed, the costs associated with the industry have dropped exponentially in line with Moore’s law. This helps to explain why the average wage of tech professionals has declined more than some other sectors. However, IT jobs still offer some of the highest average salaries in the UK, overtaking accountants,” said Ruth Jacobs, managing director of Randstad Technologies.