The UK’s Top 10 Most Common Industries
| Rank | Industry | Number of Companies | %of Companies | Percentage change from 2019 |
| 1 | Professional, scientific & technical | 467,595 | 17.01% | -0.87% |
| 2 | Construction | 351,250 | 12.77% | 2.19% |
| 3 | Business administration & support services | 235,755 | 8.57% | 3.06% |
| 4 | Information & communication | 225,745 | 8.21% | -0.21% |
| 5 | Retail | 208,795 | 7.59% | 0.02% |
| 6 | Arts, entertainment, recreation & other services | 175,720 | 6.39% | 0.98% |
| 7 | Accommodation & food services | 161,695 | 5.88% | 2.97% |
| 8 | Production | 152,675 | 5.55% | 0.43% |
| 9 | Agriculture, forestry & fishing | 148,845 | 5.41% | -0.46% |
| 10 | Transport & Storage (inc postal) | 123,075 | 4.48% | 10.52% |
The construction industry is the second most common industry in the UK, particularly prevalent in smaller towns and cities in areas such as Lancaster, Dorset and Maidstone.
You can view the full research, including a map of all the areas where the construction industry is most prevalent by clicking here.
The experts at Utility Bidder have commented on the research saying:
“It is unsurprising to see that the ‘professional, scientific and technical’ industry is the UK’s most common industry, as this has been the case for over the last 10 years through which the industry has seen stable growth.
“For the 6.39% of UK’s businesses who make up the ‘arts, entertainment, recreation & other services’ industry and the 5.88% of those who account for the ‘accommodation and food’ industry, it will be a tough year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which will impact heavily upon the number of these businesses operating in the economy in the future. Despite the 3.95% growth across these industries from 2019 to 2020, we will likely see a significant decrease in the number of businesses in these industries over the next year if the necessary investment is not provided.
“The ‘Transport & Storage’ industry has seen huge growth in the last year. This is likely to be due to the increase in popularity of online shopping and the globalisation of retail industries and it is likely that the industry will continue to grow over the next year, with the coronavirus pandemic encouraging more people to shop online.”