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2025 Local Salary Survey Results
Stay ahead in a shifting job market with our latest insights into salary expectations, hiring challenges, and employee benefits in Staffordshire.
Unlocking the 2025 Salary Trends for Stoke-on-Trent Employers
As the job market continues to shift in 2025, businesses in Stoke-on-Trent must stay ahead of salary trends to attract and retain top talent. Our latest 2025 Salary, Benefits & Recruitment Outlook provides valuable insights into regional pay scales, hiring challenges, and employee expectations. If you’re responsible for recruitment, HR, or business leadership, this guide is an essential tool to ensure you remain competitive.
Key Insights from the 2025 Salary Guide
1. The Challenge of Talent Acquisition
Despite an expanding talent pool, 60% of employers still struggle to recruit the right candidates. The hardest-to-fill roles include technical, sales, administrative, and finance support positions. With increased competition, businesses need to refine their hiring strategies.
Top challenges include:
- Skills shortages in key industries.
- Salary competition—50% of companies lost employees in 2024 to higher-paying competitors.
- Evolving candidate expectations—employees are prioritizing work-life balance, hybrid working, and career development over salary alone.
- Time-intensive hiring processes, with recruitment taking an average of 8 weeks.
2. Salary Trends & Compensation Adjustments
With the rise in the National Minimum Wage, 77% of employers say it will significantly impact their business in 2025. Additionally:
- 30% of businesses plan salary increases in line with inflation.
- 60% of employers lost staff in 2024 due to salary competition.
- The average working week is 37.5 hours for office workers and 40 hours for manufacturing roles.
3. Sector-Specific Salary Benchmarks
To stay competitive, understanding pay benchmarks is essential. Here are some key figures from our 2025 Salary Guide:
Finance & Accountancy:
- Finance Director: £90,909 - £110,600
- Finance Manager: £43,688 - £58,227
- Accounts Assistant: £25,545 - £32,500
Manufacturing & Production:
- Factory Manager: £43,000 - £59,000
- Production Supervisor: £27,636 - £33,276
- CNC Operative: £25,396 - £31,293
Office & Administrative Roles:
- Executive Assistant: £44,350 - £50,150
- Office Manager: £30,000 - £40,104
- Customer Service Manager: £32,600 - £45,930
4. Employee Satisfaction & Workplace Trends
Understanding employee priorities is key to retention. Our research found that 70% of employees are considering moving jobs in the next 12 months, with job satisfaction and salary being the top influencing factors.
Working arrangements are split:
- 40% prefer full-time office work
- 40% prefer hybrid work
- 20% want fully remote roles
- Annual leave expectations: 52% of employees are dissatisfied with their current holiday allowance.
5. Benefits That Matter Most to Employees
While many businesses offer standard benefits, there’s often a gap between what’s provided and what employees truly value. The top benefits employees look for include:
Flexible working arrangements
Annual bonuses
Enhanced pensions
Career progression opportunities
Free car parking
Download your free copy of the 2025 Salary Guide to see how your business compares.
If you want a tailored salary benchmarking report, get in touch today.
Call us on 01782 338787.
Email us at
kerry@appointmentspersonnel.co.uk
