Future-Ready Industries: Professional & Business Services

About the Professional & Business Services Industry

Professional and business services are at the heart of how economies function - and among the fastest-changing areas of the labour market. From marketing to finance, business analytics to HR, roles are evolving rapidly as new technologies, particularly AI, reshape skill needs. For the sector to grow, companies must be able to access new talent and invest in upskilling to keep their workforce ahead of the curve.

Our definition of this sector includes all occupations within the within Lightcast Occupation Career Areas, “Social Analysis & Planning”, “Human Resources” , “Business Management & Operations”, “Sales”, “Finance”, “Law, Compliance, and Public Safety”, “Marketing & Public Relations”.

The approach we’ve taken to define the sector, which we’ve set out more fully in the methodology section, means that some of the insights might at first appear counterintuitive. The reason for this is that industries employ a far wider range of occupations than those that might typically come to mind. In every sector, jobs can broadly be split into two categories: “core occupations” – such as Financial Analysts in Finance or Scientists for Life Sciences – and “business support occupations” – such as Marketing and HR. The latter group stays the same, regardless of the industry, meaning there is nothing inherently industry specific about these roles. The former group is what makes an industry distinct. Knowing whether key competitors for these jobs are within or outside the sector is essential to taking strategic decisions.

Hot Jobs

Here are the Top 10 roles employers are hiring for in this sector. For employers, the data underscores where competition for talent is fiercest. For education providers, it shows where training is most needed to fill that demand. For government, it identifies the roles that need to be supported, attracted and sustained to underpin economic growth.

Top Companies

Here are the Top 10 companies for numbers of workers with online professional profiles and their associated hiring activity. For employers, the data shows which competitors are most active in the talent market. For education providers, it identifies businesses to seek engagement with. For government, it identifies the companies to work with to drive growth.

Key Skills

Here are the Top 10 in-demand skills in the sector, and the most popular skills workers include in their professional profiles. For employers, the data shows the skills driving the industry. For education providers, it highlights the skills that can make students more employable. For government, it gives vital insights on the skills that will drive growth.

Insights on Other Key Industries

Click on the boxes below to see more Future-Ready Industry insights.

Access More Lightcast Data

Excitingly, we can offer your organization much more data at a far more granular level than what we've shown in Future-Ready Industries. Whether you're an employer looking to understand more about the market and competition in a sector; an education provider wanting more detail on the skills and employers in the sector in your area in order to inform your curriculum; or a national, regional or local government needing more insights on the strengths and opportunities in a specifc sector in your country or area — we can help you. Check out what we can offer and then fill in the form below to discuss with a Lightcast expert.

Self-Service Research Solutions

For organizations that simply want access to data, we have a variety of solutions that deliver our data to your doorstep. These include our strategic planning platforms, Analyst and Talent Analyst; APIs for integrating data into your own systems; or Data Shares, allowing you to access our data through platforms such as Amazon S3, Databricks, and Snowflake.

Expert Consulting Services

For organizations that are looking for more guidance and expertise to answer specific labor market questions they are grappling with, we offer a variety of options. These include consulting reports, such as those we've done for organizations in the UK and EU Life Science sectors, as well as Custom Dashboards, tailored to your organization and the challenges it is facing.