Find Out How to Get a Job and Work in Leeds

Employment in Leeds

Historically, Leeds has been an industrial city, but recent decades have seen it grow into an internationally recognized hive of service centers and financial institutions. Voted as ‘Britain’s Best City for Business’ in 2003, it is home to the head offices for many companies and as such, expats are likely to find a wide range of jobs available.

Local Economy

Following substantial rejuvenation in the late 1990s, Leeds expanded rapidly during the years that followed the Millennium and continued to grow by a total of 39% between 2002 and 2012.

Banking is the city’s largest industry with more than 133,000 employees (the largest number outside of London). Financial bodies headquartered in Leeds include First Direct, Yorkshire Bank and the Leeds Building Society. There are also large operation centers for Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and Barclays located just outside the city center.

The internet plays a huge role in the city’s economy, too, with estimates suggesting that 33% of all UK online traffic passes through Leeds in some way. Large online enterprises calling the city home include Contactmusic.com and TEAMtalk.com.

In 2012, Leeds had the fourth largest GVA (gross value added) in the UK at 18.7 billion pounds. Per head this worked out at 24,800 GBP and the average employee’s productivity was rated at 46,900 GBP.

Official employment statistics for 2012/13 shows that the average Leeds male earned 27,747 GBP while the figure for women stood at 23,894 GBP, indicating a gender gap of 13.9%.

Job Hunting in Leeds

Leeds has two main newspapers that feature weekly job supplements. The Yorkshire Evening Post is a tabloid with a daily circulation of over 33,800 copies per day, while the Yorkshire Post is a broadsheet that sells an average of 34,000 daily.

A good place to also look is online. Many employers now only list openings on websites and a failure to get online could mean missing out on some great opportunities. Good sites include Indeed.com, Monster.com, Reed.co.uk, MyLeedsJobs.co.uk and Jobsite.co.uk. Local government roles can be found by visiting Leed’s government website.

It may also worth registering as a jobseeker with the local job center. Full details of the UK’s Universal Jobmatch scheme can be found on the scheme’s website.

Income Taxation in Leeds

People working in Leeds are subject to the same income taxation rules that apply to the rest of the UK.

All people born after 5th April 1948 and earning less than 100,000 GBP receive a personal allowance. For 2014/15, this means they can earn 10,000 GBP before they are required to pay income tax.

Those earning over 100,101 GBP have their allowance reduced by 1 GBP for every 2 GBP earned and people with an income exceeding 120,000 GBP do not receive an allowance at all.

Income earned between the allowance and 31,865 GBP is charged a basic rate of 20%. Between 31,866 GBP and 150,000 GBP, 40% is levied and those with an income of 150,000 GBP or more are charged 45%.

Self-employed people are required to file an annual tax return either online or through an accountant. Anyone with a tax bill of£1,000 GBP or more is also required to make payments on account, which means payments in advance based on 50% of their last tax bill.