IT vacancies in England and Wales up 105% in 2021

A record-breaking year of investment into the UK's tech sector led to a 105% increase in IT vacancies across England and Wales in 2021.

There were more than 12,800 tech jobs published last year, according to a report from recruitment consultancy Robert Walters, with IT roles in 2021 outstripping all jobs in 2020. As such, tech companies accounted for 53.8% of all new IT vacancies in England and Wales.

UK tech is attracting "more money than ever", according to Tom Chambers, an associate director at Robert Walters, with £29.4 billion raised in 2021. That's almost three times more than in 2020 (£11.5bn) and the biggest year-on-year increase since 2013/14.

"More money means more job opportunities - and not just in London," Chambers said. "Although it's the capital where most investment activity is focused, nearly £9 billion went to startups and scaleups outside London and the South East."

London saw tech vacancies increase 121% last year and ultimately remained dominant, accounting for 47.5% of all new jobs. But as Chambers rightly points out, startups based in the South of the country also saw significant investment and a 95% increase in IT job listings. It accounted for 26% of the country's overall IT roles. While Wales couldn't match those numbers, it did see the sharpest increase, with hiring levels up 121.8 year-on-year.

Software development and engineering specialists were the most sought after professions in England and Wales, with recruitment for both up 88.2%. Roles in IT support saw the biggest growth in demand (151.5%) while cyber security experts present the smallest increase at just 70% year-on-year.

The firm that posted the most IT vacancies was actually financial powerhouse JP Morgan, which listed more than 2,600 tech roles, while Amazon fell from the second biggest employer of 2020 to the fourth in 2021, according to the report.

A full breakdown of the top firms in England and Wales is provided below.