East Midlands is best for truckers

There’s good news for HGV drivers living in the East Midlands. Outside of London, they command the highest annual pay – currently £30,496. That’s what a survey conducted by the financial website, NimbleFins, has revealed. In fact, thanks to a number of factors, the East Midlands is the best location in the UK to be a truck driver. The area has a relatively low cost of living combined with a high job density (the number of HGV driver jobs per 1,000 working people). It’s estimated that 9% of all East Midlands’ jobs are related to transport and logistics with 140,000 HGV journeys completed per day in the area. The survey shows that there are around 16,000 HGV jobs located in the East Midlands. In fact, the Midlands as a whole fares well in the survey. The West Midlands came second in the best location stakes. The average annual earnings here are £29,567 and, with a lower cost of living, your money goes further. However, the region doesn’t fare as well on job density. Overall, Yorkshire & Humberside had the highest job density but scored lower on annual salary (£28,923). Despite offering the highest annual salary – in excess of £31,000 – London was ranked as the least favourite because of its high cost of living and a lower job density. Commenting on the survey, Chris Chidley, Driver Hire’s Chief Executive said: “The survey confirms what we’re seeing across our nationwide network; continued high demand for HGV drivers. Road transport is an essential and sizeable industry, and figures from the Office for National Statistics, quoted by NimbleFins, suggest that demand for HGV drivers is actually growing by 3.6% per year.”