Belfast rated one of the best UK cities to work in for tech

A new report by Tech Nation makes the case that Belfast is now one of the top cities in the UK for tech workers, competing with London, Manchester, and Reading.

Belfast is now one of just four cities in the UK in which over 10% of people work in the tech sector, with over 60,000 people working in the industry here. Almost 25% of all advertised jobs last year were for roles in the tech sector, and salaries have reached over 17.6% above the city average following a rapid rise in competition for qualified graduates.

Part of the growth is attributed to the influx of global companies setting up offices in Belfast to access Northern Ireland's growing pool of tech talent. The past few years have seen a number of major players from across the cyber-security and emerging tech spaces set up shop in Belfast, as well as the rapid expansion of software engineering firms like Allstate.

While salaries in Belfast haven't reached London levels, Northern Ireland has been hailed as a more desirable place to work based on the significantly lower than average cost of living, with recent research also highlighting its above-average internet infrastructure and local startup culture as positive points for tech sector workers.

Belfast has been rising the ranks in the past few years, with Monster’s Digital Cities report back in February highlighting the city as the fastest-growing tech sector in the UK and one of the top ten cities for Tech based on factors such as salary and cost of living.

Source: Belfast Telegraph