The UKs Fastest Growing Job Sectors According to LinkedIn

The Top 15 'Jobs on the Rise' in the UK

According to the latest LinkedIn Emerging Jobs report, roles in ecommerce & digital marketing are in serious demand in 2021.

As a leading ecommerce recruitment agency, we have certainly seen the same trend as businesses have looked to digitally transform their organisations & hire accordingly. Roles in both ecommerce & digital marketing have seen extraordinary growth since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic as lockdowns led to huge demand for online shopping services & this demand is set to continue as businesses look to strengthen their digital teams further into 2021.

So, what has LinkedIn highlighted as the 'top jobs on the rise' when it specifically comes to ecommerce & digital marketing?

* For other roles in the top 15, please read the full report

** You can also read more about our thoughts on In Demand Digital Jobs via our blog.

#1) E-commerce

It's no surprise that ecommerce comes in at number 1! The rise in online shopping has led to 1000s of new ecommerce jobs – 'from Package Handlers through to Supply Chain Specialists'.

Amazon was the top hiring company

Top jobs: Driver, supply chain associate, supply chain assistant, warehouse team lead, online specialist.

Top skills: Order fulfilment, retail, order picking, warehouse operations, professional driving - we'd add marketplace management.

Hiring hotspots: Birmingham, Northampton, Manchester, Leicester.

The number of people who bought groceries online doubled since the COVID-19 lockdown. The most striking increase in grocery online shopping was amongst those aged over 55, growing from 8% in 2019 to 25% last summer. We saw this reflected across hires on LinkedIn where, to keep pace with demand, there was a 143% increase on those hired in ecommerce related roles.

(LinkedIn)

15% of UK companies have created roles specifically to cater to an increase in digital sales and boost online capacity ...and over a quarter think the pandemic has accelerated a ‘technological revolution’ in retail.

(Barclays Corporate Banking)

#3) Digital Content Freelancers

Mainly due to rising unemployment & the job losses felt during 2020, LinkedIn noted an increase in the number of people turning to freelancing - so much so that it's third on their list. This makes sense; digitally talented - out of work individuals - are using their skills by freelancing (or even setting up their own online businesses) during these uncertain times.

Top skills:
Podcasting, YouTube, Blogging, Video Editing

Top locations hiring:
Manchester, Oxford

Common job titles:
Content Coordinator, YouTuber, Blogger, Podcaster

Digital Content Freelancers, in particular, grew by 118% in 2020.

(LinkedIn)

#9) Social Media and Digital Marketing

Following a surge in 'growth' positions, Social Media and Digital Marketing roles are in the top 10 in-demand roles.

Top skills:
Digital Marketing, Growth Hacking, Growth Strategies, Social Media Marketing, Social Media

Top locations hiring:
London, Manchester, Belfast

Common job titles:
Social Media Coordinator, Social Media Manager, Growth Hacker, Growth Specialist, Marketing Consultant

Social Media and Digital Marketing grew by 52% in 2020.

(LinkedIn)

"The digital media and marketing industry remains confident, with 64% predicting revenue to increase over the next 12 months and 18% believing it will be up by more than 50%."

(New Digital Age)

#11) Education & E-learning

Online learning has seen significant growth as schools & universities closed their doors at the end 2020 & into 2021. We think it is very likely that far more universities will be offering digital courses or white-collar apprenticeships to students (as long as it is a quality offering and they learn from their latest mistakes).

We actually highlighted this in our recent Workplace Trends article.

Top skills:
Tutoring, Teaching, E-Learning, History, Language Teaching

Top locations hiring:
London, Manchester, Birmingham

Common job titles:
English Tutor, Academic Tutor, Mathematics Tutor, Instructional Design Specialist, Psychology Teacher