Swindon fight back begins as it’s named most employee friendly city in UK

Swindon, which earlier this year was named as one of the most depressing towns in Britain, has picked itself up and dusted itself down, having now been named the most employee friendly city in the UK.

A new study from Adobe Express compared 30 UK cities and looked at various factors affecting workers, including average annual salary, the price of a cappuccino and access to green space.

The Wiltshire city came out on top, scoring 6.541, with Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire coming second, and Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, getting third place. In tenth place was Brighton and Hove.

To see the study in more detail, click HERE.

Unemployment in Swindon was 2.4%, one of the best scores in the Adobe rankings.

In the year ending December 2023, Swindon's employment rate was higher than across the South West as a whole.

Notably, the Swindon and Wiltshire area has an above average number of large companies, including the likes of BMW, the Ministry of Defence and Nationwide Building Society.

The city of Swindon also ranks seventh in Britain when it comes to the rate of productivity per worker, according to the Swindon Borough Council website.

Meanwhile, according to Milton Keynes council, the city has one of the highest rates of private sector opportunities.

There, the private sector brings variety in businesses, while competition between companies means that businesses will offer different set ups and benefits to attract more workers.

In third place, Stoke-on-Trent is centrally located and boats excellent transport links, including a direct rail link to major cities like Birmingham, Manchester, and London.

Known as "The Potteries," it also has a rich cultural history and for employees interested in heritage and arts, there are many museums, galleries, and events.

As part of the study, Adobe also said it had found that as of September 2024, 13% of workers in Great Britain worked exclusively from home, while 23% adopted a hybrid approach.

In February this year, it emerged that after describing Swindon as the eighth-worst place to live in England in 2023, the website ILiveHere had placed the South West city in the list of its top 20 most depressing towns in Britain following a reader poll.

It placed in unlucky 13th and was ranked as more depressing than Chatham, Basingstoke, Wells, Blackpool, Teignmouth, Torquay, and Widnes.