Beauticians were the happiest workers in the country, proving they were "made up" about their jobs, a new report has revealed.

Florists, members of the clergy and hairdressers were also happy at work, enjoying meeting people and feeling appreciated.

At the other end of the happiness scale were the nation's pharmacists, lawyers and civil servants, who complained about being over stressed and under paid.

Vocational workers were the happiest and were more content about their work-life balance than people in academic professions, according to the report by awards body City & Guilds.

A study of 1,300 workers showed that vocational and professional workers were happier in their jobs than a year ago.

Older vocational workers were happier than their younger colleagues.

Keith Brooker of City & Guilds said: "It is great to see than workers in all careers are happier than they were last year.

"Given the amount of time we spend in the workplace, finding a career that we are happy with should be everyone's priority."

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