New figures from Deputy’s The Big Shift Report 2025 show that the UK’s services sector has returned to pre-pandemic employment levels, with London leading a strong rebound.
However, the recovery is leaving large parts of the country — and many women — behind.
Services employment — across industries like professional services, delivery, in-home care, and beauty services — grew 5% over the past year, the highest of any sector.
Average hourly pay has surged by over 60% since 2022, rising from £10.20 to £16.30, as businesses competed for talent.
However, despite this wage growth, the benefits have not been shared evenly. Male workers now account for 57% of all shift work hours in services, up from 55% a year earlier, as the share of female workers declined.
Meanwhile, outside London, services employment is flat or falling, with Scotland, Wales, and Yorkshire & The Humber among the regions recording declines.
“The services sector has shown resilience, but the recovery is heavily concentrated in London and among certain workforce groups,” said Dr. Shashi Karunanethy, Labour Economist and Chief Economist at Geografia.
“Without targeted action to lift regional economies and close gender participation gaps, today’s progress risks becoming tomorrow’s missed opportunity. Wage growth alone is not enough — we need to build a services economy that includes more workers, more places, and delivers more predictable, sustainable jobs across the country.”
Despite these underlying gaps, shift worker sentiment in the services sector remained relatively stable through 2024. Deputy’s Shift Pulse data shows that only 9% of services shift workers reported feeling ‘Stressed,’ ‘Frustrated,’ or ‘Okay’ about their shifts — a figure largely unchanged year-on-year. Termination rates in services also declined modestly, suggesting that after years of volatility, workforce retention is starting to improve.
As the sector moves into a new phase of recovery, the challenge will be ensuring that stability extends beyond London and reaches a broader, more diverse workforce. Without investment in regional growth, predictable scheduling, and inclusive workforce policies, any gains could disappear, creating deeper inequalities.
Deputy’s Big Shift Report 2025 provides a detailed analysis of how inflation, technology, demographics, and labour reforms are reshaping the future of shift work in the UK.
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