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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Levi Winchester

Best and worst paid jobs of 2022 revealed - including train drivers and teachers

The highest and lowest paying jobs this year have been revealed - and there's a huge gap between the top and bottom earners.

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows chief executives and senior officials make the most - raking in £121,434 a year on average.

On the other end of the scale, leisure and theme park attendants were ranked as the lowest earners, with an average salary of £14,064.

This means there is a massive £107,370 difference between the highest and lowest paid jobs.

Marketing, sales and advertising directors were the next highest on the list, earning an average of £91,818, followed by financial managers and directors, who came third with an average salary of £91,853.

Waiters and waitresses were the second lowest earners (Getty Images)

Without adjusting for inflation, median weekly pay for full-time employees increased 5% to £640 in 2022.

But in real terms - so taking inflation into account - weekly pay for full-time employees fell by 2.6% in the year.

The proportion of low-paid employee jobs also fell to 10.5% in 2022, the lowest since records began in 1997.

Meanwhile, 509,000 people were paid below the National Minimum Wage in 2022, compared with 409,000 in 2019.

The figures were published by the ONS as part of its Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings survey.

However, the ONS admits that any year-on-year changes in the data could be skewed, as the coronavirus pandemic and furlough would have had an impact on 2020 and 2021 results.

You can see the full list of highest and lowest paid jobs in 2022 here:

Top 20 highest paying jobs in 2022

  • Chief executives and senior officials - £121,434
  • Marketing, sales and advertising directors -£95,818
  • Financial managers and directors - £91,853
  • Specialist medical practitioners - £83,482
  • Information technology directors - £82,363
  • Functional managers and directors - £75,477
  • Head teachers and principals - £74,104
  • Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers - £72,131
  • Senior police officers - £64,110
  • Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services - £63,591
  • Solicitors and lawyers - £62,939
  • Production managers and directors in manufacturing - £60,156
  • Train and tram drivers - £59,203
  • Taxation experts - £59,105
  • Research and development (R&D) managers - £57,059
  • IT managers - £56,199
  • IT business analysts, architects and systems designers - £55,346
  • Business and financial project management professionals - £55,124
  • Purchasing managers and directors - £54,862
  • Driving instructors - £54,712

Top 20 lowest paying jobs in 2022

  • Leisure and theme park attendants - £14,064
  • Waiters and waitresses - £16,568
  • Bar staff - £16,699
  • Teaching assistants - £17,747
  • Educational support assistants - £18,032
  • Hairdressers and barbers - £18,290
  • Kitchen and catering assistants - £18,397
  • Launderers, dry cleaners and pressers - £18,577
  • Early education and childcare practitioners - £18,665
  • Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants - £18,821
  • Retail cashiers and check-out operators - £18,893
  • Beauticians and related occupations - £19,211
  • Early education and childcare assistants - £19,577
  • Cleaners and domestics - £19,792
  • Playworkers - £20,033
  • Collector salespersons and credit agents - £20,038
  • Bar and catering supervisors - £20,245
  • Cooks - £20,253
  • Hospital porters - £20,396
  • School midday and crossing patrol occupations - £20,592

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