Small Towns Outperform Major Cities for UK Motor Industry Job Opportunities
As youth unemployment hits a decade high, new data reveals which UK towns and cities offer the best motor industry opportunities for young jobseekers
The number of young people in the UK not in education, employment or training (NEET) passed 1 million in early 2026 for the first time since 2013, official figures show, with unemployment among 16-24 year-olds rising over the past year.
Now, new research into the UK's motor trade sector has identified where jobseekers, and young jobseekers in particular, currently stand the best chance of finding work in the automotive industry.
The research, conducted by private plate supplier Regtransfers, combines business registration records, official labour market data and job vacancy figures across nearly 100 UK towns and cities, finding that mid-sized towns are consistently outperforming Britain's largest cities when it comes to genuine automotive job opportunity, and that these same towns tend to have significantly lower youth unemployment.
Guildford topped the indexed rankings, recording 2.5 automotive job vacancies for every existing automotive business in the area over the past 12 months, 2.8 times the national average. Exeter placed second, with 387 automotive businesses supporting 602 vacancies in the past year and an overall job vacancy rate of 34%, among the highest of any location studied. Dartford rounded out the top three, with 259 automotive businesses generating 399 vacancies over the same period.
By contrast, larger cities including Birmingham and Manchester, despite having some of the largest automotive business bases in the country, recorded vacancy-to-business ratios roughly six times lower than Guildford's, suggesting that scale alone does not translate into proportionate opportunity for jobseekers.
Guildford was separately identified in the government's own recent interim report on youth unemployment as having one of the lowest rates of young people claiming Universal Credit while looking for work, in contrast to cities such as Birmingham and Bradford, where more than 8% of 16-24 year-olds are on Universal Credit and seeking work. Its youth claimant rate in this research (40.7 per 10,000 working-age residents) is among the lowest of any location studied.
More broadly, towns with strong automotive vacancy activity also tend to have lower youth unemployment, though this is likely linked to these towns' generally strong local economies rather than the motor trade specifically.
The findings come as the government rolls out its £1.5 billion Youth Guarantee, which includes new Foundation Apprenticeships launching this year, among them a route specifically for electric vehicle charging point installation and maintenance, alongside financial incentives for employers who hire young people.
Commenting on the findings, Regtransfers CEO Mark Trimbee states: “Whether the motor trade itself is contributing to lower youth unemployment in these towns - or simply reflects the same strong local economies that produce it - this data gives a detailed picture of where the motor trade is creating opportunity right now, which is valuable context as the country endeavours to think about where to focus youth employment efforts.”
He continues with a message to young NEETs; “We would encourage young people seeking employment to reach out to local automotive businesses - there are plenty of roles available that don’t necessarily need you to be familiar with the internal workings of an engine!”
