jobfacts

Shelf fillers

SOC 2020 9241

Shelf fillers receive incoming goods from storage, check them for damage and place them on the appropriate shelves in the store.

Also calledFloor assistantFillerDisplay assistantFresh food assistantNight fillerStackerand 39 more titles
Typical full-time pay£24,9002025 Provisional
People in the job50,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month290↓ 5%on last year · 316th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time shelf fillers earn, 2025
£24,900 typical£21,10025%n/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%£21,100
Median£24,900
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £24,900
East Midlands!£33,400
North West!£25,600
East of England!£25,300
West Midlands!£22,700
Yorkshire and The Humber!£21,900
North EastNot 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, £24,900
East Midlands£33,400 (small sample)
North West£25,600 (small sample)
East of England£25,300 (small sample)
West Midlands£22,700 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£21,900 (small sample)
North EastNot 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 £21,200
  • 2024 £25,500
  • 2025 Provisional£24,900
↑ 17% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 290 jobs for shelf fillers 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 (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026218
Jul 2026Not published
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026281
Apr 2026203
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026212
Jan 2026212
Dec 2025159
Nov 2025463
Oct 2025345
Sept 2025521
Aug 2025151
Jul 2025446
Jun 2025456
May 2025351
Apr 2025255
Mar 2025296
Feb 2025376
Jan 2025321
Dec 2024232
Nov 2024329
Oct 2024363
Sept 2024374
Aug 2024337
Jul 2024195
Jun 2024276
May 2024252
Apr 2024246
Mar 2024145
Feb 2024142
Jan 2024178
Dec 2023172
Nov 2023260
Oct 2023311
Sept 2023251
Aug 2023173
Jul 2023305
Jun 2023345
May 2023211
Apr 2023157
Mar 2023232
Feb 2023163
Jan 2023285
Dec 2022497
Nov 2022582
Oct 2022706
Sept 2022479
Aug 2022432
Jul 2022512
Jun 2022414
May 2022493
Apr 2022384
Mar 2022386
Feb 2022303
Jan 2022809
Dec 2021720
Nov 2021855
Oct 2021927
Sept 2021792
Aug 2021579
Jul 2021711
Jun 2021360
May 2021244
Apr 2021233
Mar 2021319
Feb 2021172
Jan 2021236
Dec 2020330
Nov 2020576
Oct 2020568
Sept 2020505
Aug 2020201
Jul 2020193
Jun 2020175
May 2020198
Apr 2020165
Mar 2020475
Feb 2020267
Jan 2020429
Dec 2019331
Nov 20191,090
Oct 2019886
Sept 2019559
Aug 2019394
Jul 2019412
Jun 2019537
May 2019478
Apr 2019169
Mar 2019176
Feb 2019127
Jan 2019224
Dec 2018397
Nov 20181,261
Oct 2018496
Sept 2018411
Aug 2018295
Jul 2018409
Jun 2018391
May 2018356
Apr 2018232
Mar 2018225
Feb 2018181
Jan 2018239
Dec 2017180
Nov 2017388
Oct 2017387
Sept 2017310
Aug 2017242
Jul 2017280
Jun 2017333
May 2017248
Apr 2017238
Mar 2017196
Feb 2017174
Jan 2017181
Is there a shortage of shelf fillers?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthWell above 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
16%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for elementary administration and service occupations, which includes shelf fillers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London90
Leeds15
North Yorkshire15
Cornwall12
East Riding of Yorkshire12
Wiltshire11
Bristol, City of11
Cheshire West and Chester11
Somerset11
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole10
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where shelf fillers 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
Age of shelf fillers
44%!
12%!
11%!
15%!
14%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2444% (small sample)
25–3412% (small sample)
35–4411% (small sample)
45–5415% (small sample)
55–6414% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!12%
Higher education below degree!5.5%
A levels or equivalent28%
GCSEs or equivalent33%
Other qualifications!13%
No qualifications!7.9%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent12% (small sample)
Higher education below degree5.5% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent28%
GCSEs or equivalent33%
Other qualifications13% (small sample)
No qualifications7.9% (small sample)

Main employers: retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (70%), other retail sale in non-specialised stores (7.7%), activities of head offices (2.9%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
12%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 33%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • selects goods from storeroom and checks for any damage
  • checks store layout or written instructions to determine the appropriate shelf location for the goods
  • prices goods by machine and fills shelves with goods
  • monitors depletion of stocks and re-fills shelves as required

Skills

  • assess shelf life of food products
  • change shelf labels
  • check price accuracy on the shelf
  • comply with food safety and hygiene
  • ensure stock storage safety
  • examine merchandise
  • monitor stock level
  • stock shelves
  • carry out stock rotation
  • handle sensitive products
  • maintain store cleanliness
  • prevent shoplifting

Knowledge

  • characteristics of products
  • characteristics of services
  • communication principles
  • teamwork principles

Suits people who like

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

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for elementary administration and service occupations, a group of 26 jobs that includes shelf fillers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 1.5%about 48,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 20351.5 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.

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