Profession summary · Jobmundo analysis
Cooks demand is falling in Northern Ireland.
ONS recorded 51 new online adverts for cooks in Northern Ireland in Jul 2026. That is 8.9% lower than a year earlier. Advertised salary for the UK benchmark is £26,500.
Occupation pages use official SOC classifications. Local comparisons are shown only where ONS publishes an aligned observation. ONS data is generally two months late.Cooks hiring demand
New online job adverts for cooks in Northern Ireland
New online job adverts have decreased since Jul 2025.
51
Jul 2026 · Northern Ireland
Median advertised salary
Annualised asking salary for cooks across the UK
Advertised pay is 6.0% higher than a year earlier, before inflation.
£26,500
May 2025 · UK
Skills in demand
Requirements reported in UK adverts for this occupation
| # | Skill | Share of adverts | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hospitality and Culinary Arts | 89.4% | |
| 2 | Hospitality and Food Science | 77.7% | |
| 3 | Professional and Interpersonal Competencies | 71.2% | |
| 4 | Business Operations, Process and Program Management | 70.3% | |
| 5 | Food and Beverage Production | 64.0% | |
| 6 | Construction and Built Environment | 60.1% | |
| 7 | Risk and Safety | 50.4% | |
| 8 | Hospitality and Travel | 46.8% | |
| 9 | Healthcare and Life Sciences | 42.6% | |
| 10 | Supply Chain and Logistics | 37.5% |
Experience employers ask for
Typical minimum: 0.6 years · UK live adverts
| # | Minimum experience | Share of adverts | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 years | 63.7% | |
| 2 | 1 years | 21.7% | |
| 3 | 2 years | 9.9% | |
| 4 | 3 years | 2.8% | |
| 5 | 4+ years | 1.8% |
Northern Ireland compared with the UK
New adverts in the aligned ONS reporting period
| # | Area | New adverts | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern Ireland | 51 | |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 1,202 |
Where hiring is strongest
New online job adverts by local authority
| # | Location | New adverts | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 165 | |
| 2 | North Yorkshire | 84 | |
| 3 | Cornwall | 52 | |
| 4 | Highland | 46 | |
| 5 | Somerset | 43 | |
| 6 | Cumberland | 36 | |
| 7 | Westmorland and Furness | 34 | |
| 8 | Birmingham | 33 | |
| 9 | Wiltshire | 31 | |
| 10 | Bristol, City of | 30 |
Where advertised pay is highest
Broader occupation group: Textiles, printing and other skilled trades
| # | Location | Annual salary | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford | £33,500 | |
| 2 | London | £33,300 | |
| 3 | Watford | £33,200 | |
| 4 | Slough | £33,000 | |
| 5 | Bracknell Forest | £32,800 | |
| 6 | Na h-Eileanan Siar | £32,600 | |
| 7 | Basildon | £32,200 | |
| 8 | Cotswold | £32,200 | |
| 9 | Hertsmere | £32,200 | |
| 10 | Spelthorne | £32,200 |
Explore related occupations
Compare occupations in the same ONS group (SOC 543) across the UK
| # | View | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chefs Chef · Head chef · Chef manager — 68.5% of group adverts | 10,724 | -16.8% | |
| 2 | Catering and bar managers Bar manager · Club steward · Duty manager — 20.2% of group adverts | 3,168 | -1.4% | |
| 3 | CooksYou’re viewing this Cook · Head cook · Fish fryer — 7.7% of group adverts | 1,202 | -12.5% | |
| 4 | Bakers and flour confectioners Flour confectioner · Table man · Cake maker — 2.2% of group adverts | 349 | -6.4% | |
| 5 | Butchers Butcher · First hand · Meat cutter — 1.3% of group adverts | 204 | -21.2% |
About the data
Source: Office for National Statistics. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Online job adverts indicate labour demand and are not the ONS Vacancy Survey. ONS does not endorse Jobmundo.
Methodology and metric definitions
New adverts and snapshot/live adverts remain separate. Advertised salary is asking salary, not employee earnings. Hiring charts offer six-month to five-year ranges. Salary charts show up to 60 published observations.