Tax specialist, property, childcare: 30 UK jobs with low demand

These jobs aren't attracting much interest from workers, despite some eye-catching salaries on offer.

Working is a fact of life for most of us.

The reality is that if you want to enjoy a decent standard of living, and provide for your family, you'll have to devote a large part of your day to some sort of job.

Jobs aren’t all made equally, however.

While some are incredibly sought after, others are less desirable.

And a study has pinpointed some of the most unpopular jobs around. So which are the jobs people in the UK don’t want to do?

The most unpopular jobs in the UK

Research from the jobs website Adzuna has dug into what are the least popular jobs in the country, with the analysis based on the job titles that attract the least interest from job seekers.

Let’s take a look at the least popular jobs, as well as what they could deliver in terms of the advertised salary:

First and foremost it’s worth pointing out that this isn’t the most scientific way of working out the least popular job roles, but rather those which don’t tend to attract much interest through online job listings. 

There are other reasons, besides the general attraction of the job role, which could contribute to that lack of interest, such as the qualifications required.

However, it does offer an insight into the job roles that employers might have a tougher time filling.

Beyond that, it’s worth highlighting just how impressive the salaries are on this list.

Tax specialists take top spot, but with a salary of over £55,000 it’s an extremely well-paid position.

In fact, as Adzuna points out, 20 of the least popular 30 roles pay more than the UK average salary.

There are certain industries that feature more frequently too.

Property for example is a big contributor to the list, with town planners, property solicitors, lettings managers, structural engineers and building surveyors all featuring. 

Education and childcare roles pop up a few times too, though again this may be as much down to the required qualifications as any lack of interest in the job itself.

What do I want from a job?

One interesting trend from the last few years according to those working in recruitment has been the changing attitude from employees.

Where once salary would be the primary driver in how attractive a job is, there are now other factors that are growing in importance.

Flexibility over job hours, and where you can work from, are big ones.

The pandemic opened plenty of eyes around how productive people can be working from home rather than a central office, while workers have obviously seen the benefit of being able to drop the commute for at least part of the week.

Jobs that allow at least an element of home working have become more popular.

Health and wellness have also become bigger players here.

Employees are reportedly more likely to value things like gym memberships or wellness programmes compared with in years past. 

This has all presented employers with a challenge. In order to stand out from the crowd there needs to be more than just a good salary on offer.

In fact, that’s pretty clear from the Adzuna list ‒ listing a salary that’s above the national average does not mean you’re going to attract higher levels of interest from prospective employees.

Check out our guide to making sure you’re getting the full benefit from your work perks.

Boosting income

While these additional perks are clearly welcome, it’s equally true that the last year has been a good one for those looking to boost their salaries too.

It’s been very much a job hunter’s market, with workers able to negotiate significant wage hikes from bosses desperate to recruit, or even just keep them.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics bears this out, with average total wage growth at 8.5% for the period between May and June 2023.

What’s really significant about these latest wage hikes is that they are now above inflation, meaning pocketing a payrise at this level actually leaves you better off in real terms.

That’s important given the high rates of inflation we have had for some time, which meant that even though many managed to negotiate a higher salary they were still worse off in real terms.

With inflation expected to fall further, that’s good news for those only able to bag more modest pay increases, whether that’s through a pay rise with their employer or by moving to a new job. 

Check out our guide to asking for a pay rise.

And if all else fails, at least you can opt for one of these unloved jobs ‒ if nothing else, at least you shouldn’t face enormous levels of competition.