jobfacts

Weighers, graders and sorters

SOC 2020 8144

Weighers, graders and sorters weigh, grade and sort materials, goods and products.

Also calledGaugerSorterScale attendantSkin selectorSelectorWeigherand 219 more titles
Typical full-time pay£30,9002025 Provisional
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month367↑ 2.1%on last year · 292nd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time weighers, graders and sorters earn, 2025
£30,900 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£30,900
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £30,900
South East!£31,100
East of England!£30,900
West Midlands!£30,200
Scotland!£25,900
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot 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, £30,900
South East£31,100 (small sample)
East of England£30,900 (small sample)
West Midlands£30,200 (small sample)
Scotland£25,900 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £29,600
  • 2024 £28,700
  • 2025 Provisional£30,900
↑ 4.5% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 367 jobs for weighers, graders and sorters 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 2026431
Jul 2026443
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026410
Apr 2026412
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026319
Jan 2026332
Dec 2025182
Nov 2025349
Oct 2025397
Sept 2025399
Aug 2025451
Jul 2025426
Jun 2025461
May 2025517
Apr 2025359
Mar 2025426
Feb 2025387
Jan 2025282
Dec 2024227
Nov 2024280
Oct 2024351
Sept 2024317
Aug 2024385
Jul 2024397
Jun 2024345
May 2024432
Apr 2024352
Mar 2024294
Feb 2024252
Jan 2024296
Dec 2023220
Nov 2023263
Oct 2023225
Sept 2023282
Aug 2023362
Jul 2023325
Jun 2023533
May 2023470
Apr 2023408
Mar 2023439
Feb 2023368
Jan 2023447
Dec 2022349
Nov 2022445
Oct 2022637
Sept 2022503
Aug 2022580
Jul 2022550
Jun 2022536
May 2022604
Apr 2022495
Mar 2022596
Feb 2022509
Jan 2022560
Dec 2021599
Nov 2021551
Oct 2021499
Sept 2021575
Aug 2021511
Jul 2021751
Jun 2021601
May 2021605
Apr 2021645
Mar 2021657
Feb 2021320
Jan 2021272
Dec 2020317
Nov 2020397
Oct 2020528
Sept 2020419
Aug 2020422
Jul 2020369
Jun 2020259
May 2020173
Apr 2020203
Mar 2020478
Feb 2020426
Jan 2020388
Dec 2019366
Nov 2019459
Oct 2019545
Sept 2019519
Aug 2019546
Jul 2019571
Jun 2019580
May 2019559
Apr 2019336
Mar 2019384
Feb 2019339
Jan 2019445
Dec 2018247
Nov 2018442
Oct 2018511
Sept 2018555
Aug 2018484
Jul 2018489
Jun 2018610
May 2018569
Apr 2018479
Mar 2018517
Feb 2018394
Jan 2018513
Dec 2017351
Nov 2017401
Oct 2017453
Sept 2017529
Aug 2017541
Jul 2017543
Jun 2017605
May 2017512
Apr 2017433
Mar 2017582
Feb 2017486
Jan 2017548
Is there a shortage of weighers, graders and sorters?
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 growthUsual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
54%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for assemblers and routine operatives, which includes weighers, graders and sorters. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London86
Somerset37
Manchester22
Bristol, City of19
Leeds19
Birmingham18
Glasgow City17
Cardiff15
Nottingham15
Sheffield15
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where weighers, graders and sorters 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 weighers, graders and sorters
38%!
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2438% (small sample)
25–34Not published
35–44Not published
45–54Not published
55–64Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent–
Not published
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!80%
GCSEs or equivalent!89%
Other qualifications–
Not published
No qualifications!59%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalentNot published
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalent80% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent89% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published
No qualifications59% (small sample)

Main employers: retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (63%).

How to get in

Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 89%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • examines hide, skins, leather, fabric, wool, rags, scrap metal, tobacco pipe bowls, fish, fibres, ceramics, produce and other goods
  • assesses product quality visually and by touch, and grades according to weight, thickness, colour and other quality criteria
  • ascertains material(s) required from order card, recipe, or specification and weighs and measures prescribed quantities accordingly
  • uses balances, springs, weighing platforms, automatic scales and weighbridges to check the weight of goods, products and loaded vehicles
  • records and calculates gross and net weight, checks delivery notes and prepares documents and labels for identification purposes
  • operates machines to measure lengths of rolls of material and irregularly shaped materials such as leather or sheepskin

Skills

  • maintain test equipment
  • inspect quality of products
  • liaise with engineers
  • use testing equipment
  • write inspection reports
  • create solutions to problems
  • read standard blueprints
  • record test data
  • report defective manufacturing materials
  • conduct performance tests
  • keep records of work progress
  • monitor manufacturing quality standards
  • send faulty equipment back to assembly line
  • lead inspections

Knowledge

  • quality assurance procedures
  • quality standards
  • instrument performance elements
  • waste removal regulations

Suits people who like

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

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for process, plant, machine and construction operatives, a group of 25 jobs that includes weighers, graders and sorters.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 19%about 142,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035496,000including 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.