Cheltenham has been named one of the best towns in the UK for job opportunities, according to a new study.
The Regency town placed seventh in the top 10 towns and was the only location in the south west to make the list.
The study, conducted by HR software company Ciphr, complied the list using employment data from 100 UK towns and cities, comparing which places offered local workers the best potential job opportunities and salaries.
Factors taken into consideration included full-time earnings; annual pay rises; employment and unemployment figures; the number of jobs listed on LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor per 10,000 workers; and growth in the number of businesses in the area — as well as housing costs and life satisfaction scores.
Cheltenham boasts a higher-than-average full-time salary of £35,973, according to the latest ONS data — and higher-than-average job opportunities, with 81 businesses employing over 10 employees for every 10,000 local workers.
There were 562 Cheltenham jobs advertised on LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor per 10,000 working-aged residents, as of July 2024 — more than double the national average of 243.
At 82.9 per cent, it has one of the highest employment rates in the study — much higher than the national average of 75.7 per cent — and one of the lowest unemployment rates, at just 2.5 per cent compared to the national average of 3.7 per cent.
And while housing prices in Cheltenham were less competitive than other places on the list, Cheltenham residents report some of the highest personal happiest scores in the UK, too.
Three cheers for Cheltenham!
