UK Salary Trends 2026: Pressure Points Across the UK’s Specialist Sectors

The UK labour market may have cooled from the peaks of recent years, but salary expectations remain firmly elevated across many specialist and public-facing sectors.

According to the Totaljobs Salary Trends Report 2026, advertised median salaries have continued to rise, increasing by 7.5% year on year, with competition for skilled professionals still shaping hiring decisions.

For employers operating across the markets Panoramic Associates supports – including the public sector, built environment, healthcare, social care, IT and consulting – these trends carry some important implications.

Salary growth remains, but pressure is uneven

While salary growth has slowed in some generalist roles, specialist and regulated markets continue to command a premium. Sectors closely aligned to Panoramic Associates’ core markets, such as Built Environment, Education, Consulting, Healthcare and Social Care, remain among those experiencing sustained demand and upward pressure on pay.

In the built environment and infrastructure space, salary growth is being driven less by volume hiring and more by scarcity of experience. Roles linked to project delivery, safety, compliance and sustainability are particularly hard to fill, pushing employers to offer stronger packages to secure talent.

Similarly, healthcare and social care continue to experience long-term workforce shortages. Despite financial pressures across public services, employers are increasingly forced to balance budget constraints with competitive pay to retain frontline professionals and reduce reliance on temporary staffing.

Pay transparency is now a baseline expectation

One of the clearest shifts highlighted in the 2026 data is the growing importance of salary transparency. Around 80% of candidates now avoid applying for roles that do not disclose pay, making transparent salary ranges a minimum requirement rather than a differentiator.

For public sector bodies, local authorities and consultancies operating in regulated environments, this reinforces the need for clear, defensible pay frameworks. Candidates are comparing roles more easily than ever and are far less willing to engage in processes that feel opaque or outdated.

Salary alone is no longer enough

Although pay remains the primary driver of job moves, benefits and working conditions are playing a much larger role in final decisions. Flexible working remains the most desired benefit across industries, with learning, development and progression opportunities also rising up the agenda.

This is particularly relevant in public-facing and people-focused sectors. Professionals in social care, healthcare and consulting are increasingly prioritising workload sustainability, career longevity and wellbeing alongside pay. Employers that cannot compete at the very top end of salary bands are finding success by offering flexibility, supportive leadership and visible progression pathways.

A more cautious but mobile workforce

The data also points to a “split workforce”. While many professionals are choosing stability in an uncertain economic climate, over 40% are still actively looking or planning to look for a new role in 2026.

This creates a more selective candidate pool: fewer speculative applications, but higher expectations from those who do move.

For employers, this means that hiring processes, salary positioning and employer branding all need to be aligned from the outset. Delays, misaligned offers or unclear role scope are far more likely to result in drop-off than in previous years.

What this means for employers in 2026

Across the markets Panoramic Associates works with, the message is consistent: salary benchmarking must be realistic, transparent and combined with a broader value proposition. Employers who rely on historic pay assumptions or generic market data risk losing talent to more informed competitors.

Understanding where salary pressure genuinely exists, and where benefits, flexibility or progression can offset it, is now critical to building resilient teams. To discuss what this means for your organisation, get in touch here.