In late March 2026, PharmSee published a ranking of pharmacy vacancy intensity across nine major English cities, measuring active job listings per registered pharmacy. Two weeks later, a re-measurement using the same methodology allows a direct comparison — the first short-interval repeat of this metric.
The April recount
| City | Vacancies (Apr) | Pharmacies (3mi) | Intensity (Apr) | Intensity (Mar) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds | 58 | 93 | 0.62 | 0.67 | −0.05 |
| Bristol | 35 | 70 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.00 |
| Newcastle | 36 | 81 | 0.44 | 0.42 | +0.02 |
| Liverpool | 42 | 106 | 0.40 | 0.40 | 0.00 |
| Manchester | 41 | 117 | 0.35 | 0.39 | −0.04 |
| Nottingham | 22 | 85 | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.00 |
| Sheffield | 24 | 101 | 0.24 | 0.28 | −0.04 |
| Birmingham | 27 | 150 | 0.18 | 0.19 | −0.01 |
| Leicester | 12 | 97 | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.00 |
Source: PharmSee vacancy tracker (15-mile radius for jobs) and location analysis (3-mile radius for pharmacy counts), city centre postcodes. March figures from cycle 28 measurement; April figures scraped 12 April 2026.
What moved
The spread narrowed slightly. The ratio between the highest (Leeds) and lowest (Leicester) intensity fell from 5.6× to 5.2×. This is not a dramatic shift, but it suggests the extremes may be converging — driven mainly by a small decline in Leeds (from 0.67 to 0.62) rather than any improvement at the bottom.
Four cities were flat. Bristol, Liverpool, Nottingham and Leicester returned identical readings at both measurement points. For Leicester in particular, the repeat of 0.12 from the same 12 vacancies and 3 sources reinforces the structural interpretation discussed in PharmSee's dedicated Leicester analysis.
Manchester and Sheffield softened. Both dropped by 0.04 points, reflecting small absolute declines in vacancy counts (Manchester from 42 to 41, Sheffield from 27 to 24). These are within normal fluctuation for a two-week period and should not be over-interpreted.
Newcastle ticked up. The only city to increase its intensity, moving from 0.42 to 0.44. The vacancy count held at 36, but the pharmacy count fell slightly from 85 to 81 — likely reflecting updates to the NHS Digital pharmacy register rather than actual branch closures over two weeks.
The pharmacy count question
Sharp-eyed readers will notice that pharmacy counts shifted at several measurement points despite the short interval. Leeds moved from 88 to 93, Manchester from 108 to 117, Birmingham from 142 to 150, Sheffield from 97 to 101. These changes reflect the dynamic nature of the NHS Digital pharmacy register and PharmSee's location analysis radius — pharmacies near the 3-mile boundary may appear or disappear as register records are updated.
This is a known limitation of point-in-time pharmacy counting. The vacancy intensity metric should be read as a directional indicator of relative market tightness rather than an exact measurement. The ranking order, which has been stable across both measurements, is more reliable than the absolute figures.
What the stability tells us
A two-week interval is too short for dramatic market shifts, and the data confirms this. The key finding is not change but consistency: the structural hierarchy of English pharmacy job markets appears robust over at least a fortnightly window.
Leeds and Bristol sit in a high-intensity tier (0.50+), suggesting genuine competition for pharmacy staff. The Northern cities (Newcastle, Liverpool) and Manchester form a middle band (0.35–0.44). The East Midlands and Yorkshire's second cities (Nottingham, Sheffield) cluster lower (0.24–0.26). Birmingham's large pharmacy estate dilutes its intensity, and Leicester remains an outlier.
For pharmacy professionals and employers, the practical message is that these rankings are not random noise — they reflect durable differences in local market conditions that can inform recruitment strategy and job search geography.
Browse all nine cities on PharmSee's pharmacy search and job tracker.
Data: PharmSee vacancy tracker (11 sources, last scraped 12 April 2026) and location analysis API. Vacancy intensity = active vacancies (15mi radius) ÷ registered pharmacies (3mi radius). March comparison from PharmSee measurement dated late March 2026.