By Martin Banks

If you’re a newspaper reporter in the UK, the coming year could spell depressing news.

That is according to a new survey by a national newspaper.

It produces dispiriting news for those working in some sectors although if, like PM Sir Keir Starmer’s late father, you are a toolmaker, there is much better news.

Telegraph Money analysed data from the Office for National Statistics to reveal which job sectors and salaries are growing fastest – and which are in decline.

Journalists seeing Earnings Fall

For some careers, including journalism, earnings are falling.

In fact, some industries already saw average earnings fall in 2024, so, says the Telegraph, “you might want to think twice before adding them to your job search.”

The study found that newspaper reporters saw salaries on average fell by 23pc, with average pay for newspaper editors also suffering a 6.2pc cut last year.

The news, relayed in a story headlined “jobs that are doomed in 2025”, will not come as much of a shock to many working in the newspaper industry which has been in decline, sales and salary wise, for many years.

It has prompted predictions of an end for print journalism although many UK towns and cities still commendably manage to produce a daily paper in addition to their online operations which are, in the main, successful.

Toolmakers and Transferable Skills are in Demand

One booming sector close to the heart of the Prime Minister is toolmaking, which saw a 96.4pc increase in workers last year. While on the campaign trail, Sir Keir Starmer repeatedly reminded voters that his father was a toolmaker in a bid to reassure them that he understood the needs of “working people”.

The Telegraph says that roles with transferable skills appear more attractive than ever.

Some industries unfortunately saw signs of slowing growth, with significant drops in job numbers, it says.

“Going against the trend for many skilled labour roles, the number of pipe fitters was down 67pc last year, with the dearth of options perhaps explaining the 21pc average pay increase.”

The paper says that data shows job postings have continued to slide into early December, sitting at 14pc below their pre-pandemic baseline, as of December 13 2024.”

The retail and hospitality sectors, it adds, face being most impacted by these changes.

NUJ Prepares a Recovery Plan for the Sector

The National Union of Journalists, by way of response, has produced what it calls a “recovery plan” for the sector, called “A Future for News.”

It is, in fact, an updated road map “to reinvigorate the industry and sets out a bold set of measures and interventions to support and protect jobs and quality journalism.”

Its proposals take in the threat of generative AI and how the cost-of-living crisis has added significant additional pressure to an already beleaguered sector.

During the Covid-19 crisis, the NUJ launched a News Recovery Plan (NRP) for the UK and Ireland in response to the threat to the media industry during the pandemic – posed by those disseminating disinformation, misinformation, racism and partisan agendas – and to provide a path to a future media landscape rooted in public interest journalism.

An NUJ spokesman said, “Now, it is needed more than ever, and its mixture of principles and pragmatic proposals has been updated.”

“Right now the pressures on journalism and journalists are at their most grave at a time when we need quality, trusted information and news more than ever. Yet levels in public trust are impaired, frontline news resources have been hollowed out in many media outlets after successive cutbacks; the levels of deliberate engagement in mis- and dis-information by a range of actors are unparalleled; a combination that has been turbo-charged by the rapid deployment of generative AI.

“On top of this, journalists have also been contending with significant additional pressures in the form of rising rates of harassment, intimidation and threats. It makes quite the perfect storm.”

The NRP sets out ways to strengthen the democratic function of journalism by: reforming media ownership rules with a strengthened public interest test; improving protection for whistleblowers; calling for a conscience clause in staff and freelance employment contracts to protect journalists and communication workers from being forced to produce unethical content; safeguarding journalists against surveillance; and supporting a global framework to protect journalists and press freedom.

The proposals address ways to increase investment in journalism by calling for a windfall tax of 6 per cent on the tech giants and an ongoing digital tax to provide sustainable future funding; Jobs for Journalists tax credits and interest free loans – a three-year targeted programme to bolster frontline newsgathering roles; tax perks for online or print news subscriptions and local advertising; and funding for new start-ups and public interest journalism initiatives.

Central to the plan is the establishment of a journalism foundation set up by a government grant to champion public interest news and act as a broker for funding initiatives, with a remit including media literacy and fostering plurality and diversity in the industry.

The NUJ spokesman said, “We need global solutions tackle the challenges facing journalists and journalism. Which is why the collective efforts of journalists’ trade unions and our work with the International Federation of Journalists, including lobbying for a UN convention to protect journalists, is so important.”