jobfacts

Sales supervisors - retail and wholesale

SOC 2020 7132

Sales supervisors oversee operations and directly supervise and coordinate the activities of sales and related workers in retail and wholesale establishments.

Also calledTrading managerTeam leaderSupervisorForemanProduce managerCounter managerand 68 more titles
Typical full-time pay£29,2002025 Provisional
People in the job153,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month1,100↓ 20%on last year · 176th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time sales supervisors - retail and wholesale earn between £25,500 and £35,400 a year.

What full-time sales supervisors - retail and wholesale earn, 2025
£29,200 typical£22,400lowest 10%£25,50025%£37,000top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£25,500–£35,400)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£22,400
Lowest 20% earn less than£24,800
25%£25,500
Median£29,200
75%£35,400
Top 20% earn more than£37,000
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £29,200
London£32,400
East of England£31,500
North East!£29,900
Scotland£29,300
North West£29,100
South East£29,100
East Midlands£28,000
West Midlands!£27,500
South West£27,000
Wales£26,500
Yorkshire and The Humber£26,200
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £29,200
London£32,400
East of England£31,500
North East£29,900 (small sample)
Scotland£29,300
North West£29,100
South East£29,100
East Midlands£28,000
West Midlands£27,500 (small sample)
South West£27,000
Wales£26,500
Yorkshire and The Humber£26,200
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £25,300
  • 2024 £26,600
  • 2025 Provisional£29,200
↑ 15% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,100 jobs for sales supervisors - retail and wholesale 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 20261,269
Jul 20261,153
Jun 2026Not published
May 20261,198
Apr 20261,113
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026939
Jan 20261,062
Dec 2025496
Nov 20251,113
Oct 20251,308
Sept 20251,283
Aug 20251,328
Jul 20251,441
Jun 20251,421
May 20251,783
Apr 20251,638
Mar 20251,312
Feb 20251,249
Jan 20251,273
Dec 2024701
Nov 20241,139
Oct 20241,416
Sept 20241,625
Aug 20241,608
Jul 20241,780
Jun 20241,553
May 20241,759
Apr 20241,618
Mar 20241,222
Feb 20241,244
Jan 20241,417
Dec 2023976
Nov 20231,311
Oct 20231,467
Sept 20231,559
Aug 20231,970
Jul 20231,768
Jun 20232,480
May 20232,278
Apr 20231,841
Mar 20232,191
Feb 20231,875
Jan 20232,335
Dec 20221,787
Nov 20222,374
Oct 20222,613
Sept 20222,244
Aug 20222,477
Jul 20222,426
Jun 20222,395
May 20222,421
Apr 20222,091
Mar 20222,488
Feb 20222,059
Jan 20222,316
Dec 20211,825
Nov 20212,166
Oct 20212,246
Sept 20212,125
Aug 20212,147
Jul 20212,106
Jun 20211,923
May 20211,811
Apr 20211,505
Mar 20211,684
Feb 2021755
Jan 2021765
Dec 2020807
Nov 2020831
Oct 20201,202
Sept 20201,053
Aug 2020862
Jul 2020822
Jun 2020800
May 2020427
Apr 2020541
Mar 20201,265
Feb 20201,581
Jan 20201,659
Dec 20191,187
Nov 20191,496
Oct 20191,808
Sept 20191,793
Aug 20191,742
Jul 20191,961
Jun 20191,776
May 20191,750
Apr 20191,075
Mar 20191,384
Feb 20191,168
Jan 20191,563
Dec 2018968
Nov 20181,485
Oct 20181,876
Sept 20182,058
Aug 20181,907
Jul 20181,878
Jun 20181,842
May 20181,695
Apr 20181,580
Mar 20181,718
Feb 20181,569
Jan 20181,836
Dec 20171,159
Nov 20171,740
Oct 20171,851
Sept 20171,788
Aug 20171,994
Jul 20171,753
Jun 20172,023
May 20171,932
Apr 20172,263
Mar 20172,098
Feb 20171,702
Jan 20172,357
Is there a shortage of sales supervisors - retail and wholesale?
Not high

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

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • 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
24%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London512
Manchester64
Glasgow City48
City of Edinburgh47
Birmingham46
Leeds45
North Yorkshire41
Belfast40
Bristol, City of38
Somerset33
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where sales supervisors - retail and wholesale are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 21 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, ranking it 177th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of sales supervisors - retail and wholesale
18%!
27%
23%
19%
12%!
0.7%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–2418% (small sample)
25–3427%
35–4423%
45–5419%
55–6412% (small sample)
65+0.7% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent21%
Higher education below degree10%
A levels or equivalent26%
GCSEs or equivalent26%
Other qualifications9.6%
No qualifications!5.4%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent21%
Higher education below degree10%
A levels or equivalent26%
GCSEs or equivalent26%
Other qualifications9.6%
No qualifications5.4% (small sample)

Main employers: retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (32%), other retail sale in non-specialised stores (6.2%), retail sale of clothing in specialised stores (5.6%), retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores (5.3%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
21%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 26%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • directly supervises and coordinates the activities of sales and related workers
  • establishes and monitors work schedules to meet sales and productivity targets
  • liaises with managers and other departments to resolve operational problems
  • determines or recommends staffing and other needs to meet sales and productivity targets
  • reports as required to managerial staff on departmental activities

Skills

  • apply company policies
  • control of expenses
  • ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations
  • manage budgets
  • manage staff
  • monitor customer service
  • oversee promotional sales prices
  • provide department schedule for staff
  • recruit employees
  • train employees
  • analyse consumer buying trends
  • develop an organisational structure
  • improve business processes
  • investigate customer complaints

Knowledge

  • health, safety and hygiene legislation
  • accounting techniques
  • market research
  • product comprehension

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 sales supervisors - retail and wholesale.
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.

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