The highest and lowest paid jobs of 2021 – is yours on the list?

BUSINESS bosses, lawyers and marketing and sales directors are the highest paying jobs of 2021, according to official data.

The UK's biggest full-time earners are chief executives, who are paid an average of £130,734 a year, which has risen by 7.6% compared to 2020.

Legal professionals were next on the list, earning an average of £92,606 - unchanged from last year.

Marketing and sales directors were paid an average of £85,899 in 2021, 6.6% less than last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Brokers earned £83,893, IT and telecoms directors took home £80,624 and financial managers and directors earned £77,669.

Doctors saw their salaries rise 2.1% to £74,588 and senior police officers' pay increased 6% to £62,457, the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings showed.

Dentists and train and tram drivers were also in the top 10, earning £59,669 and £58,256 respectively.

Meanwhile, many of the lowest paid jobs were in sectors that were hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic.

Beauticians were the least well paid profession, earning £15,543 a year on average - a drop of 18.4%.

That was followed by playworkers, earning £15,780, and hairdressers on an average annual wage of £15,829.

Waiters, bar staff and carers were also in the 20 lowest paid jobs, with average pay packets of £16,363, £16,563 and £16,627.

Teaching assistants, cleaners, fitness instructors and retail workers were also among the lowest paid.

The gender pay gap also increased this year, rising to 15.4% from 14.9% in 2020 - but still down from 17.4% in 2019.

However, experts said the rise partly reflected the fact that more men were furloughed in 2020, which skewed last year's figures.

Other changes during the pandemic, including more flexibility on working from home, could help close the gap as it will help women juggle work and childcare more easily.

Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The gender pay gap widened in the year to April, but it’s not as bad as it looks.

"On first glance, a year of the pandemic appears to have reversed trends that saw a decade of progress on the gender pay gap.

"However, on closer inspection, figures show that changes during the pandemic could hold the key to closing the gap much further and faster in future."

We pay for your stories!

Do you have a story for The Sun Money team?

Email us at money@the-sun.co.uk