In a recent survey of 750 workers carried out by the IT Job Board, 81% of permanently employed tech professionals say they expect a pay rise in 2015. Among those working contracts, 60% expect their earnings to increase this year.
This follows a buoyant 2014 which saw 77% of permanent workers and 55% of contractors surveyed reporting a salary increase. The upward trend in tech workers’ salaries is accelerating more quickly outside London, it would appear.
While prospects are not exactly bleak in the capital, with 74% receiving a pay rise last year, those outside the Big Smoke appear to be benefitting the most, with 78% reaping greater rewards in 2014.
Data from the IT Job Board suggests that Scotland (9%) and the north-east (7%) have seen the most rapid increase in salaries over the last two years. However, while salary growth around other parts of the UK is growing at a faster rate, at the end of 2012 Londoners were expected to enjoy annual rewards of around £12,791-£17,904 higher than their counterparts in the ‘provinces’.
In Q4 2104, the average tech salary for the UK stood at £55,377, some 30% higher than the rest of the country, though growth over the previous two years was smaller, at 3%.
Hourly rates for contractors in the capital still trump those elsewhere by 18% on average, but growth elsewhere means this percentage has shrunk from 23% in 2012.
Jamie Bowler, marketing director of the IT Job Board said: “What we are seeing on the employment front is growth across the country at all levels – no doubt helped by lower living and business costs in centers outside of London and the emergence of vibrant new-start businesses around university cities.”
The UK tech sector now employs around 7.5% of the nation’s entire workforce, with 1.46m people working in digital industries, according to Tech City UK.
Cybersecurity professionals are no exception to this rule, with research last year claiming that wage growth is outstripping the UK average.