jobfacts

Care worker

Care workers and home carers — SOC 2020 6135

Care workers and home carers attend to the personal needs and comforts of children, the elderly, the infirm and others with care and support needs (‘service users’) within residential care establishments, day care establishments or in their own homes.

Also calledCare assistantSupport workerNursing home assistantNight support workerCarerHealth care assistantand 122 more titles
Typical full-time pay£27,5002025 Provisional
People in the job894,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month16,000↓ 3.8%on last year · 1st of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time care workers earn between £22,800 and £32,500 a year.

What full-time care workers earn, 2025
£27,500 typical£17,900lowest 10%£22,80025%£32,50075%£38,300top 10%
Middle half (£22,800–£32,500)
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£17,900
Lowest 20% earn less than£21,400
25%£22,800
Median£27,500
75%£32,500
Top 20% earn more than£33,900
Top 10% earn more than£38,300
Typical pay by regionUK median £27,500
Scotland£30,200
London£28,400
South East£28,200
East of England£27,800
Wales£27,200
North West£27,200
South West£27,100
East Midlands£26,900
Yorkshire and The Humber£26,500
West Midlands£26,400
North East£26,000
Show as table
UK median, £27,500
Scotland£30,200
London£28,400
South East£28,200
East of England£27,800
Wales£27,200
North West£27,200
South West£27,100
East Midlands£26,900
Yorkshire and The Humber£26,500
West Midlands£26,400
North East£26,000
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £23,400
  • 2024 £25,500
  • 2025 Provisional£27,500
↑ 17% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 16,000 jobs for care workers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 202615,801
Jul 202617,016
Jun 2026Not published
May 202615,624
Apr 202617,610
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 202615,038
Jan 202618,042
Dec 20258,463
Nov 202519,001
Oct 202518,622
Sept 202518,119
Aug 202518,648
Jul 202517,804
Jun 202517,651
May 202518,523
Apr 202515,880
Mar 202517,447
Feb 202516,641
Jan 202517,407
Dec 202411,127
Nov 202416,534
Oct 202418,298
Sept 202418,909
Aug 202418,477
Jul 202419,416
Jun 202419,264
May 202420,064
Apr 202419,560
Mar 202414,140
Feb 202414,580
Jan 202416,915
Dec 202313,327
Nov 202313,249
Oct 202312,759
Sept 202313,064
Aug 202315,763
Jul 202314,883
Jun 202321,062
May 202321,038
Apr 202319,490
Mar 202322,429
Feb 202323,163
Jan 202327,705
Dec 202225,497
Nov 202227,803
Oct 202227,183
Sept 202225,669
Aug 202226,448
Jul 202226,428
Jun 202224,818
May 202227,763
Apr 202224,032
Mar 202228,763
Feb 202228,468
Jan 202229,402
Dec 202125,517
Nov 202129,844
Oct 202126,982
Sept 202124,236
Aug 202123,637
Jul 202126,296
Jun 202123,449
May 202122,902
Apr 202120,536
Mar 202126,664
Feb 202120,234
Jan 202122,890
Dec 202019,672
Nov 202019,420
Oct 202024,810
Sept 202021,482
Aug 202022,152
Jul 202019,134
Jun 202021,155
May 202023,780
Apr 202029,426
Mar 202024,117
Feb 202021,505
Jan 202021,092
Dec 201916,271
Nov 201920,048
Oct 201921,269
Sept 201918,705
Aug 201917,599
Jul 201918,936
Jun 201920,327
May 201920,566
Apr 201915,196
Mar 201917,490
Feb 201916,234
Jan 201919,130
Dec 201812,833
Nov 201820,217
Oct 201818,904
Sept 201818,656
Aug 201815,673
Jul 201816,144
Jun 201816,386
May 201812,940
Apr 201813,969
Mar 201814,402
Feb 201813,422
Jan 201818,408
Dec 201713,135
Nov 201716,024
Oct 201716,017
Sept 201715,314
Aug 201718,042
Jul 201717,599
Jun 201722,036
May 201722,944
Apr 201719,566
Mar 201720,098
Feb 201716,018
Jan 201718,445
Is there a shortage of care workers?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedWell above usual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
30%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London3,687
North Yorkshire615
Cornwall583
Birmingham559
Wiltshire542
Somerset542
Leeds525
Manchester447
Buckinghamshire446
Cheshire West and Chester445
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where care workers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 232 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, ranking it 68th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of care workers
10%
21%
23%
22%
18%
5.5%
Show as table
16–2410%
25–3421%
35–4423%
45–5422%
55–6418%
65+5.5%
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent30%
Higher education below degree8.2%
A levels or equivalent23%
GCSEs or equivalent20%
Other qualifications11%
No qualifications5.5%
Show as table
Degree or equivalent30%
Higher education below degree8.2%
A levels or equivalent23%
GCSEs or equivalent20%
Other qualifications11%
No qualifications5.5%

Main employers: residential care activities for the elderly and disabled (21%), residential nursing care activities (20%), residential care activities for learning disabilities, mental health and substance abuse (19%), other social work activities without accommodation nec (7.5%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
30%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
2
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
1 to 2 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could take a college course, which may help you when looking for work.

Courses include:

  • care
  • health and social care
  • T Level in Health
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an apprenticeship with a care organisation or the NHS.

Apprenticeship options include:

  • Health and Social Care Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship
  • Adult Care Worker Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Healthcare Support Worker Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Lead Adult Care Worker Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
More about this route
Foundation apprenticeship

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • are in care or have been in care
  • are in prison or have been in prison

Other ways in

Volunteering

You can volunteer with an organisation that supports vulnerable people, like a care home, charity or hospice. Volunteering in the NHS is also a good way to get work experience in care work. This can be helpful when you apply for jobs or training.

You can find further opportunities through The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and Do it.

Apply directly

You can apply for care worker jobs directly. If you get the role, you'll be given on-the-job training by your employer.

It's important to be kind, caring and have a respectful attitude towards people who need care and support.

Some employers might want you to have GCSEs in English and maths at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent. However, many will offer training to applicants who have the right personal qualities.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

You might find it helpful to have a driving licence, for example, if your role involves travelling between clients to provide care at home.

A good level of fitness is useful, because you may need to help lift or move people as part of this job.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Time spent caring for someone you know also counts as having experience in a caring role.

Further information

You can find out more about careers in care from:

  • Think Care Careers
  • Department of Health and Social Care

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for care worker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

2 for this job
Level 2About 1 year

Adult care worker

You gain
Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification which has been developed by the…
Details on Skills England

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
Health and social care foundation apprenticeshipFoundation apprenticeship2

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • assists and enables service users to dress, undress, wash, use the toilet and bathe
  • serves meals to service users at table or in bed, and assists with feeding if required
  • assists with service users’ overall comfort and wellbeing
  • provides interest and activities to stimulate and engage the service user
  • helps with daily activities such as letter writing, paying bills, collecting benefits
  • undertakes light cleaning and domestic duties including meal preparation as required
  • monitors service users’ conditions by taking temperature, pulse, respiration and weight, and contributes to record keeping
  • liaises with professional staff in carrying out care plans etc.

Skills

  • accompany people
  • apply first response
  • assist clients with special needs
  • assist disabled passengers
  • assist social service users with physical disabilities
  • buy groceries
  • evaluate older adults' ability to take care of themselves
  • iron textiles
  • keep company
  • make the beds
  • monitor patient's health condition
  • prepare ready-made dishes
  • prepare sandwiches
  • provide in-home support for disabled individuals

Knowledge

  • disability care
  • disability types
  • first response
  • older adults' needs
  • food allergies
  • hearing disability
  • mobility disability

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Practical, hands-on work

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for caring personal service occupations, a group of 16 jobs that includes care workers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 20%about 466,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.9 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.