jobfacts

Roundspersons and van salespersons

SOC 2020 7123

Roundspersons and van salespersons deliver and sell food, drink and other goods by calling on householders or by selling from a mobile shop or van and call on households to collect and receive payment for laundered or similarly serviced articles.

Also calledSoft drinks salesmanGrocers travellerMilkmanDelivery boyVan manSalesmanand 32 more titles
Typical full-time pay£27,4002025 Provisional
People in the job11,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month85↑ 7.8%on last year · 394th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time roundspersons and van salespersons earn, 2025
£27,400 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£27,400
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £27,400
North West!£27,000
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot 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, £27,400
North West£27,000 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot 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 £26,300
  • 2024 £28,900
  • 2025 Provisional£27,400
↑ 4.4% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 85 jobs for roundspersons and van salespersons 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 (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 202687
Jul 202683
Jun 2026106
May 202682
Apr 2026101
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 202694
Jan 202686
Dec 202542
Nov 202576
Oct 202586
Sept 202588
Aug 202584
Jul 202576
Jun 202587
May 202585
Apr 202597
Mar 2025112
Feb 202573
Jan 202573
Dec 202437
Nov 202478
Oct 2024103
Sept 202471
Aug 202478
Jul 202482
Jun 202486
May 2024119
Apr 202492
Mar 2024103
Feb 202485
Jan 202466
Dec 202350
Nov 202353
Oct 202346
Sept 202358
Aug 202368
Jul 202377
Jun 2023141
May 2023134
Apr 202397
Mar 2023116
Feb 2023119
Jan 2023148
Dec 2022100
Nov 2022135
Oct 2022122
Sept 2022135
Aug 2022132
Jul 2022149
Jun 2022122
May 2022145
Apr 2022152
Mar 2022178
Feb 2022150
Jan 2022112
Dec 202193
Nov 2021108
Oct 2021116
Sept 2021131
Aug 2021157
Jul 2021141
Jun 2021123
May 2021144
Apr 2021113
Mar 2021174
Feb 2021102
Jan 2021194
Dec 2020199
Nov 2020133
Oct 2020133
Sept 2020131
Aug 2020123
Jul 202089
Jun 202093
May 2020105
Apr 2020137
Mar 2020111
Feb 2020216
Jan 2020145
Dec 2019105
Nov 2019262
Oct 2019175
Sept 2019134
Aug 2019110
Jul 2019149
Jun 2019151
May 2019112
Apr 201983
Mar 2019153
Feb 2019139
Jan 2019167
Dec 201872
Nov 2018180
Oct 2018100
Sept 2018156
Aug 2018103
Jul 2018174
Jun 2018114
May 2018155
Apr 2018109
Mar 2018181
Feb 2018132
Jan 2018177
Dec 201778
Nov 2017131
Oct 2017156
Sept 2017152
Aug 2017115
Jul 2017313
Jun 2017198
May 2017189
Apr 2017168
Mar 2017166
Feb 2017152
Jan 2017146
Is there a shortage of roundspersons and van salespersons?
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: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
17%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for sales related occupations, which includes roundspersons and van salespersons. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London42
Birmingham6
Bristol, City of5
Wiltshire5
Southampton4
North Yorkshire4
South Gloucestershire4
City of Edinburgh4
Cornwall4
Trafford4
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where roundspersons and van salespersons are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. 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 roundspersons and van salespersons
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
32%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–44Not published
45–54Not published
55–6432% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!24%
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!28%
GCSEs or equivalent!59%
Other qualifications–
Not published
No qualifications!36%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent24% (small sample)
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalent28% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent59% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published
No qualifications36% (small sample)

Main employers: restaurants and mobile food service activities (35%), other retail sale of food in specialised stores (31%), other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets (19%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
24%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 59%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • loads vehicle with food, drink, or articles that have been laundered, etc.
  • drives vehicle over established route and parks at recognised stopping places or households
  • calls at customers’ premises and delivers ordered goods
  • calls out, rings bell or otherwise attracts attention to the items on sale
  • sells goods, records deliveries, takes further orders or articles requiring servicing and collects cash or prepares bill
  • returns to depot and hands in unsold goods and cash

Skills

  • achieve sales targets
  • adapt to different weather conditions
  • apply health and safety standards
  • assist customers
  • carry out active selling
  • demonstrate products' features
  • ensure customer focus
  • guarantee customer satisfaction
  • identify customer's needs
  • implement customer follow-up
  • negotiate price
  • plan customers' sales visits
  • prepare presentation material
  • prospect new customers

Knowledge

  • product comprehension
  • sales argumentation
  • sales strategies
  • consumer protection
  • credit card payments

Suits people who like

  • Leading and persuading
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for sales occupations, a group of 13 jobs that includes roundspersons and van salespersons.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 12%about 255,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 2035671,000including 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.