Despite the huge economic impact of the pandemic, average salaries in East Anglia have increased for the third year in a row, according to data released by recruiters Reed.

From analysis of over 6.5 million jobs posted on reed.co.uk over the last three years, Reed’s annual suite of salary guides found that Covid-19 had not had a negative impact on overall salary levels in East Anglia.

In fact, the average advertised salary in the region in 2020 increased by 1.4pc, against a UK average of 2.32pc.

Several sectors in East Anglia experienced salary increases that significantly outperformed the UK average. The accountancy and finance sector saw the biggest salary increase, 6.4pc against the UK average which saw a decrease of 0.1pc.

Engineering also posted above UK levels of salary growth at 6.3pc, triple the 2.1pc UK average.

Jobs with the highest salary increase in the region include maintenance engineer and PR manager with a 9.9pc increase, finance business partner with a 9.7pc increase, and network security manager with a 9.7pc increase.

Yet, some of the hardest hit sectors in the region performed below the UK average, including procurement and supply chain, which saw a 0.8pc decrease in salaries against the UK average of 4.5pc, while HR saw a 0.6pc increase against the UK average of 1.9pc.

Matt White, regional managing director for Reed in East Anglia, said: “The significant average salary growth seen in East Anglia shows the adaptability and resilience of businesses in the region and puts the local economy in a good position for a recovery in 2021.

"The positive news about vaccines has already given businesses more confidence in hiring and we are seeing this reflected in an increase in the number of job vacancies being posted.

"While there may be a surplus of talent available now, due to higher than usual unemployment levels, this won’t last long and when we leave this recession behind, there will be fierce competition for skilled people.

"The region is renowned for its expertise in science, research and technology, this could mean that it has an opportunity to strengthen its appeal to businesses and employees as the world turns to scientific expertise to guide us out of the pandemic.

"There has already been a positive impact on the region as salaries grew significantly in the accountancy and finance and engineering sectors, which shows the vital contribution they make to the regional economy and the important steps East Anglia has taken to diversify."