Study reveals the UK’s most popular jobs in 2026

Care work and software development are among the most common types of full-time jobs held by women and men respectively, according to analysis of new ONS data by HR software provider Ciphr.

Care workers make up the biggest full-time workforce overall, with over half a million (554,000) estimated employees in the year to March 2026. That’s about 2.5% of the UK’s 21.9 million full-time employees (not including self-employed workers).

Just behind, with 492,000 full-time employees, are programmers and software development professionals – an umbrella term that encompasses 127 related job titles. In London, the South East, and East of England, more people work in this occupational role than any other.

The third most popular full-time job is secondary school teachers, with 399,700 employees.

Other jobs employing a significant number of full-time workers include financial managers and directors (340,200 estimated employees), office administrators and clerical assistants (327,900), sales accounts and business development managers (321,300), and warehouse operatives (313,400).

The top 10 most common full-time occupations in the UK

The top five jobs with the most full-time female employees in the UK are care workers and home carers, administrative and clerical assistants (other administrative occupations n.e.c), other nursing professionals (including registered nurses, staff nurses, matrons, sisters and ward managers), and secondary and primary education teaching professionals.

The five jobs with the most full-time male employees are programmers and software development professionals, warehouse operatives, LGV drivers, sales accounts and business development managers, and financial managers and directors. 

The most commonly held jobs by salary

Ciphr’s research also uncovered insights into the most common occupations across different salary groups.

Financial managers and directors may not hold the highest-paying full-time job in the UK (that’s chief executives and senior officials), but it is the most widely held job type among people earning over £60,000 a year, on average.

Programmers and software development professionals, sales managers, and IT managers are the most common job roles for those on £50,000 to £60,000.

Teachers (secondary and primary school) and nurses are the most popular full-time jobs for those earning between £40,000 and £50,000.

LGV drivers and book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks are the most common full-time jobs held by men and women respectively earning an average salary of £30,000 to £40,000 a year.

And care workers, administrative assistants, and warehouse operatives are the most common job types held by those earning £20,000 to £30,000.

Note: Full-time workforce numbers were sourced from Nomis’ Annual Population Survey: April 2025-March 2026 dataset (the latest figures were released on 21 July 2026). Salary figures shown are median gross annual earnings for full-time workers. Based on employee earnings data released by the ONS in October 2025.