jobfacts

Fishmongers and poultry dressers

SOC 2020 5433

Fishmongers and poultry dressers clean, cut and prepare fish and poultry for processing or sale.

Also calledFish workerFish gutterPoultry dresserCrab dresserGame bird dresserFish mongerand 29 more titles
Typical full-time pay£25,4002025 Provisional
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month35↓ 11%on last year · 405th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time fishmongers and poultry dressers earn, 2025
£25,400 typicaln/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%Not published
Median£25,400
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £25,400
East of England!£25,700
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £25,400
East of England£25,700 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £22,300
  • 2024 £23,300
  • 2025 Provisional£25,400
↑ 14% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 35 jobs for fishmongers and poultry dressers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 202637
Jul 2026Not published
Jun 202650
May 202623
Apr 202633
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 202640
Jan 202634
Dec 202511
Nov 202535
Oct 202547
Sept 202540
Aug 202533
Jul 202548
Jun 202558
May 202549
Apr 202533
Mar 202558
Feb 202544
Jan 202539
Dec 202421
Nov 202433
Oct 202438
Sept 202443
Aug 202434
Jul 202431
Jun 202457
May 202459
Apr 202459
Mar 202451
Feb 202449
Jan 202444
Dec 202347
Nov 202337
Oct 202340
Sept 202311
Aug 202326
Jul 202327
Jun 202351
May 202359
Apr 202355
Mar 202354
Feb 202342
Jan 202342
Dec 202250
Nov 202254
Oct 202248
Sept 202262
Aug 202246
Jul 202269
Jun 202284
May 202252
Apr 202248
Mar 202247
Feb 202245
Jan 202264
Dec 202136
Nov 202149
Oct 202173
Sept 202151
Aug 202166
Jul 202153
Jun 202166
May 202162
Apr 202158
Mar 202173
Feb 202123
Jan 202134
Dec 202019
Nov 202026
Oct 202066
Sept 202093
Aug 202074
Jul 202053
Jun 202049
May 202044
Apr 202027
Mar 202049
Feb 202052
Jan 202045
Dec 201928
Nov 201947
Oct 201946
Sept 201942
Aug 201937
Jul 201941
Jun 201948
May 201955
Apr 201938
Mar 201921
Feb 201928
Jan 201936
Dec 201821
Nov 201848
Oct 201849
Sept 201832
Aug 201848
Jul 201846
Jun 201858
May 201843
Apr 201829
Mar 201845
Feb 201840
Jan 201847
Dec 201726
Nov 201736
Oct 201745
Sept 201748
Aug 201745
Jul 201737
Jun 201768
May 201771
Apr 201755
Mar 201748
Feb 201730
Jan 201735
Is there a shortage of fishmongers and poultry dressers?
Not high

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

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
47%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for food preparation and hospitality trades, which includes fishmongers and poultry dressers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London26
Aberdeenshire4
City of Edinburgh3
Glasgow City3
Aberdeen City2
Fife2
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole2
East Suffolk2
Mid Devon2
North Yorkshire2
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where fishmongers and poultry dressers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 116 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, ranking it 94th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of fishmongers and poultry dressers
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–44Not published
45–54Not published
55–64Not published
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent–
Not published
GCSEs or equivalent!–
Not published
Other qualifications–
Not published
No qualifications!–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalentNot published
GCSEs or equivalentNot published
Other qualificationsNot published
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs (—).

How to get in

Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by —
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • scrubs, de-scales, heads, guts, washes and bones fish
  • cuts and slits fish for curing by hand or machine
  • Care for livestock prior to processing and through the slaughter stage
  • Handles through manual or mechanical means; the removal of feathers and internal organs, the extraction of edible offal, the removal of feet and head from poultry carcasses, trims, fillets, portions, trusses, dresses, weighs or prepares for packing
  • Handles through manual or mechanical means; the weighing, labelling, packing and stacking of finished product as required
  • Oversees quality assurance, food hygiene, product changeover, or other food production KPIs, and supervise others who are conducting tasks as required
  • Responsible for ensuring all slaughter and poultry processing equipment and plant goes through a gross debris clearance, power washed with water lances, food safety detergents application, rinsed with water, sanitiser application ensuring that it reaches the required food hygiene standards

Skills

  • apply GMP
  • apply HACCP
  • ensure sanitation
  • follow hygienic procedures during food processing
  • lift heavy weights
  • mark differences in colours
  • dispose food waste
  • liaise with colleagues
  • liaise with managers
  • apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages
  • execute chilling processes to food products
  • maintain cutting equipment
  • tolerate strong smells
  • act reliably

Knowledge

  • legislation about animal origin products
  • food storage
  • animal anatomy for food production
  • cultural practices regarding animal parts sorting

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for textiles, printing and other skilled trades, a group of 17 jobs that includes fishmongers and poultry dressers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035→ 0%about 0 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035276,000including 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.