jobfacts

Telephone salespersons

SOC 2020 7113

Telephone salespersons obtain, receive, process and record telephone orders for goods and services.

Also calledTelesales adviserTelesales operativeTelesales consultantLead generatorTelemarketing agentTelephone order clerkand 41 more titles
Typical full-time pay£30,5002025 Provisional
People in the job18,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month645↓ 10%on last year · 238th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time telephone salespersons earn, 2025
£30,500 typical£24,400lowest 20%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£24,400
25%£24,600
Median£30,500
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £30,500
East Midlands!£31,700
East of England!£31,300
West Midlands!£26,600
Yorkshire and The Humber!£26,400
Scotland!£26,200
South East!£25,400
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £30,500
East Midlands£31,700 (small sample)
East of England£31,300 (small sample)
West Midlands£26,600 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£26,400 (small sample)
Scotland£26,200 (small sample)
South East£25,400 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £23,100
  • 2024 £26,600
  • 2025 Provisional£30,500
↑ 32% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 645 jobs for telephone salespersons 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 (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026643
Jul 2026598
Jun 2026686
May 2026655
Apr 2026638
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026553
Jan 2026733
Dec 2025334
Nov 2025751
Oct 2025786
Sept 2025719
Aug 2025753
Jul 2025773
Jun 2025799
May 2025877
Apr 2025698
Mar 2025811
Feb 2025859
Jan 2025695
Dec 2024319
Nov 2024609
Oct 2024712
Sept 2024823
Aug 2024752
Jul 2024946
Jun 2024917
May 20241,096
Apr 2024883
Mar 2024715
Feb 2024693
Jan 2024816
Dec 2023535
Nov 2023624
Oct 2023605
Sept 2023583
Aug 2023759
Jul 2023778
Jun 20231,091
May 20231,074
Apr 2023839
Mar 2023930
Feb 2023992
Jan 20231,120
Dec 2022821
Nov 20221,122
Oct 20221,141
Sept 20221,182
Aug 20221,342
Jul 20221,310
Jun 20221,498
May 20221,660
Apr 20221,220
Mar 20221,646
Feb 20221,383
Jan 20221,610
Dec 20211,226
Nov 20211,421
Oct 20211,628
Sept 20211,622
Aug 20211,371
Jul 20211,547
Jun 20211,567
May 20211,557
Apr 20211,197
Mar 20211,851
Feb 2021958
Jan 2021884
Dec 2020916
Nov 2020902
Oct 20201,187
Sept 2020944
Aug 2020910
Jul 2020799
Jun 2020674
May 2020586
Apr 2020878
Mar 20201,607
Feb 20202,186
Jan 20201,920
Dec 20191,433
Nov 20191,649
Oct 20191,985
Sept 20191,859
Aug 20191,678
Jul 20192,048
Jun 20192,026
May 20191,947
Apr 20191,555
Mar 20191,990
Feb 20191,627
Jan 20191,926
Dec 20181,127
Nov 20181,712
Oct 20181,941
Sept 20182,187
Aug 20181,824
Jul 20181,692
Jun 20181,934
May 20182,125
Apr 20181,748
Mar 20182,017
Feb 20182,070
Jan 20182,306
Dec 20171,358
Nov 20172,094
Oct 20172,134
Sept 20172,303
Aug 20172,843
Jul 20172,257
Jun 20173,335
May 20173,277
Apr 20173,302
Mar 20173,859
Feb 20172,996
Jan 20173,598
Is there a shortage of telephone salespersons?
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 advertsWell above usual
  • Wage growthUsual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
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 sales assistants and retail cashiers, which includes telephone salespersons. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London286
Manchester82
Leeds62
Birmingham58
Glasgow City38
Sheffield37
Nottingham33
Bristol, City of32
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole28
Solihull26
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where telephone 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 telephone salespersons
n/p
43%!
20%!
23%!
14%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3443% (small sample)
35–4420% (small sample)
45–5423% (small sample)
55–6414% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!22%
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!29%
GCSEs or equivalent!30%
Other qualifications!12%
No qualifications!8.1%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent22% (small sample)
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalent29% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent30% (small sample)
Other qualifications12% (small sample)
No qualifications8.1% (small sample)

Main employers: retail sale via mail order houses or via internet (12%), retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories (9.2%), other telecommunications activities (5.2%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
22%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 30%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • learns about the product(s)/service(s) to be sold
  • telephones potential customers, explains purpose of call, discusses their requirements and advises on the goods/services being offered
  • quotes prices, credit terms and delivery conditions and records details of orders agreed
  • receives orders for goods/services by telephone and records relevant details
  • arranges despatch of goods and services, information and/or brochures to customers
  • maintains record of sales statistics, customers contacted and changes to customer details

Skills

  • adapt to changing situations
  • communicate by telephone
  • create solutions to problems
  • guarantee customer satisfaction
  • handle tasks independently
  • have computer literacy
  • keep task records
  • listen actively
  • perform multiple tasks at the same time
  • present reports
  • process data
  • show confidence
  • speak different languages
  • tolerate stress

Knowledge

  • characteristics of products
  • characteristics of services
  • credit card payments
  • communication principles
  • e-commerce systems
  • e-procurement
  • teamwork principles

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Leading and persuading

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for sales occupations, a group of 13 jobs that includes telephone 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.