London tech firms return to hiring after lockdown
London has retained its status as Europe’s tech hub even after the disruption of the pandemic as companies return to hiring after months of lockdown.
The technology sector is one of the capital’s biggest employers with more than a fifth of London’s workforce employed in digital tech.
Jobs in the sector have grown 40 per cent in the past two years, now employing 2.93m nationally, accounting for nine per cent of the UK’s total workforce.
Ahead of lockdown, the sector was advertising over 150,000 jobs a week in the first quarter, according to jobs website Adzuna. Vacancies fell as with other sectors on the imposition of lockdown restrictions but have recovered to stand at just over 90,000 by the second week in August.
After healthcare, technology is the sector posting the highest number of vacancies, with advertised roles jumping 36 per cent since June according to Tech Nation.
There is evidence that tech companies are starting to recruit for non-Stem roles and there has been a rise in advertising for non-technical roles. Amazon recently announced 10,000 new permanent technical and non-technical roles in the UK in addition to 20,000 seasonal roles.
Tech Nation chief executive Gerard Grech said: “With digital adoption accelerating in every area of our lives, it looks likely that the tech sector will continue to be one of the best sources of new jobs this year and can provide the jobs of the future, right across the country.”
Despite the difficult start to 2020, the sector has proved to be resilient and retains its status as the centre of Europe’s tech sector by attracting new capital.
Since January over 27 startups have raised more than $80m (X), with most of these based in the capital according to Tech Nation’s Data Commons.
During this period, two new UK unicorns were created – Gymshark and Cazoo – bringing the total number of UK unicorns to 82. This means the UK is now home to more unicorns than any other country in Europe, with as many as Germany, Netherlands and France combined.
Total venture capital investment in UK startups this year has reached £7.5bn to date, according to Data Commons. This compares to €4.0bn for Germany, and €3.1bn for French startups in 2020. Companies in London have raised £4bn in venture capital so far this year.
Digital minister Caroline Dinenage said: “We were well placed to get through the pandemic thanks to digital technology. We now want to build on the UK’s strengths in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing and encourage people to turn ideas into new businesses and jobs, while supporting businesses to embrace the benefits new technologies bring.