jobfacts

Human resources administrative occupations

SOC 2020 4136

Human resources administrative occupations provide administrative support for the human resources (HR) operations within organisations.

Also calledAdministrative assistantAdministration assistantAdministratorPersonnel clerkCourse administratorPeople clerkand 33 more titles
Typical full-time pay£26,9002025 Provisional
People in the job60,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month1,000↓ 1.2%on last year · 184th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time human resources administrative occupations earn between £24,800 and £31,800 a year.

What full-time human resources administrative occupations earn, 2025
£26,900 typical£23,500lowest 10%£31,80075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£24,800–£31,800)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£23,500
Lowest 20% earn less than£24,100
25%£24,800
Median£26,900
75%£31,800
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £26,900
London!£28,300
West Midlands!£28,100
South East!£26,900
Scotland!£26,500
East Midlands!£26,100
South West!£25,400
East of England!£25,100
North East!£24,900
North West!£24,600
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £26,900
London£28,300 (small sample)
West Midlands£28,100 (small sample)
South East£26,900 (small sample)
Scotland£26,500 (small sample)
East Midlands£26,100 (small sample)
South West£25,400 (small sample)
East of England£25,100 (small sample)
North East£24,900 (small sample)
North West£24,600 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £23,700
  • 2024 £25,400
  • 2025 Provisional£26,900
↑ 14% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,000 jobs for human resources administrative occupations are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,488
Jul 20261,191
Jun 2026996
May 20261,068
Apr 2026850
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026837
Jan 20261,065
Dec 2025568
Nov 20251,010
Oct 20251,241
Sept 20251,220
Aug 20251,144
Jul 20251,118
Jun 20251,092
May 20251,218
Apr 2025900
Mar 20251,138
Feb 20251,173
Jan 2025962
Dec 2024650
Nov 20241,013
Oct 20241,150
Sept 20241,255
Aug 20241,208
Jul 20241,305
Jun 20241,309
May 20241,424
Apr 20241,369
Mar 20241,177
Feb 20241,371
Jan 20241,590
Dec 20231,076
Nov 20231,255
Oct 20231,313
Sept 20231,317
Aug 20231,679
Jul 20231,866
Jun 20232,204
May 20232,321
Apr 20232,018
Mar 20232,375
Feb 20232,350
Jan 20232,593
Dec 20222,167
Nov 20222,802
Oct 20223,311
Sept 20223,058
Aug 20223,623
Jul 20223,964
Jun 20223,301
May 20223,449
Apr 20222,989
Mar 20223,760
Feb 20223,523
Jan 20223,746
Dec 20212,958
Nov 20213,254
Oct 20213,478
Sept 20213,382
Aug 20212,644
Jul 20212,901
Jun 20212,344
May 20212,027
Apr 20211,664
Mar 20212,518
Feb 20211,275
Jan 20211,226
Dec 20201,066
Nov 20201,073
Oct 20201,156
Sept 20201,006
Aug 2020868
Jul 2020746
Jun 2020551
May 2020436
Apr 2020607
Mar 20201,588
Feb 20202,242
Jan 20202,109
Dec 20191,476
Nov 20192,002
Oct 20192,865
Sept 20192,040
Aug 20192,084
Jul 20192,519
Jun 20192,284
May 20192,263
Apr 20191,826
Mar 20192,046
Feb 20191,844
Jan 20192,157
Dec 20181,436
Nov 20181,889
Oct 20182,215
Sept 20182,342
Aug 20182,331
Jul 20182,263
Jun 20182,440
May 20182,351
Apr 20181,850
Mar 20182,045
Feb 20181,919
Jan 20182,157
Dec 20171,353
Nov 20171,953
Oct 20171,903
Sept 20171,970
Aug 20172,066
Jul 20171,985
Jun 20172,245
May 20172,209
Apr 20172,242
Mar 20172,533
Feb 20172,072
Jan 20172,741
Is there a shortage of human resources administrative occupations?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hours worked, change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
10%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for administrative occupations: records, which includes human resources administrative occupations. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London484
Birmingham77
Manchester69
Leeds58
Bristol, City of44
Glasgow City43
City of Edinburgh38
Oxford36
Liverpool34
Sheffield33
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where human resources administrative occupations are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of human resources administrative occupations
16%!
23%!
26%!
16%!
17%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2416% (small sample)
25–3423% (small sample)
35–4426% (small sample)
45–5416% (small sample)
55–6417% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent41%
Higher education below degree!10%
A levels or equivalent29%
GCSEs or equivalent!16%
Other qualifications!2.4%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent41%
Higher education below degree10% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent29%
GCSEs or equivalent16% (small sample)
Other qualifications2.4% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (4.7%), hospital activities (4.3%), other social work activities without accommodation nec (3.9%), technical and vocational secondary education (3.5%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
41%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • supports senior HR staff in the development and implementation of HR and industrial relations policies
  • arranges advertisements for jobs in the relevant media
  • provides practical support for recruitment and selection procedures such as checking application forms, arranging interviews of candidates and ensuring the interview panel receive all relevant documentation
  • provides administrative support for training courses, work placements etc
  • implements and maintains HR records systems

Skills

  • administer appointments
  • apply company policies
  • assess character
  • communicate by telephone
  • document interviews
  • fix meetings
  • identify with the company's goals
  • listen actively
  • maintain professional administration
  • manage payroll reports
  • observe confidentiality
  • profile people
  • support managers
  • use communication techniques

Knowledge

  • job market offers
  • advertising techniques
  • employment law
  • human resource management
  • human resources department processes
  • labour legislation

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Leading and persuading

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for administrative occupations, a group of 20 jobs that includes human resources administrative occupations.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 12%about 381,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 20351 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

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