jobfacts

Housekeepers and related occupations

SOC 2020 6231

Housekeepers and related workers perform domestic cleaning and other housekeeping tasks within private households, hotels, schools, hostels and other non-private households.

Also calledLifestyle managerValetHouse keeper-companionFootmanFlats stewardCompanion-helpand 12 more titles
Typical full-time pay£25,3002025 Provisional
People in the job36,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month2,100↓ 10%on last year · 84th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time housekeepers and related occupations earn between £22,300 and £28,200 a year.

What full-time housekeepers and related occupations earn, 2025
£25,300 typical£21,400lowest 20%£28,20075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£22,300–£28,200)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£21,400
25%£22,300
Median£25,300
75%£28,200
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £25,300
London!£28,100
Wales!£26,100
Scotland!£25,300
East of England!£24,800
West Midlands!£24,600
South East!£24,300
North West!£23,700
South West!£23,500
East Midlands!£22,600
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £25,300
London£28,100 (small sample)
Wales£26,100 (small sample)
Scotland£25,300 (small sample)
East of England£24,800 (small sample)
West Midlands£24,600 (small sample)
South East£24,300 (small sample)
North West£23,700 (small sample)
South West£23,500 (small sample)
East Midlands£22,600 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £22,900
  • 2024 £24,700
  • 2025 Provisional£25,300
↑ 11% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 2,100 jobs for housekeepers and related occupations 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 (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20262,157
Jul 20262,246
Jun 2026Not published
May 20262,260
Apr 20262,211
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20262,097
Jan 20262,120
Dec 2025874
Nov 20252,157
Oct 20252,348
Sept 20252,724
Aug 20252,533
Jul 20252,648
Jun 20252,746
May 20252,805
Apr 20252,520
Mar 20252,598
Feb 20252,284
Jan 20252,393
Dec 20241,364
Nov 20241,930
Oct 20242,493
Sept 20242,648
Aug 20242,829
Jul 20242,962
Jun 20242,701
May 20243,064
Apr 20242,668
Mar 20242,266
Feb 20242,144
Jan 20242,349
Dec 20231,610
Nov 20231,998
Oct 20232,000
Sept 20232,326
Aug 20232,710
Jul 20232,717
Jun 20234,237
May 20234,141
Apr 20233,044
Mar 20233,426
Feb 20233,141
Jan 20233,305
Dec 20223,084
Nov 20223,894
Oct 20223,185
Sept 20223,128
Aug 20223,659
Jul 20223,563
Jun 20223,548
May 20223,544
Apr 20222,905
Mar 20222,841
Feb 20222,763
Jan 20222,979
Dec 20212,222
Nov 20212,600
Oct 20212,386
Sept 20212,434
Aug 20212,242
Jul 20213,464
Jun 20212,227
May 20211,946
Apr 20211,618
Mar 20212,033
Feb 20211,084
Jan 20211,299
Dec 20201,130
Nov 20201,483
Oct 20201,787
Sept 20201,954
Aug 20201,570
Jul 20201,382
Jun 20201,254
May 20201,503
Apr 20201,681
Mar 20201,763
Feb 20201,989
Jan 20201,778
Dec 20191,214
Nov 20191,610
Oct 20191,612
Sept 20191,692
Aug 20191,674
Jul 20191,950
Jun 20191,986
May 20191,418
Apr 20191,328
Mar 20191,299
Feb 20191,150
Jan 20191,267
Dec 2018837
Nov 20181,297
Oct 20181,439
Sept 20182,964
Aug 20182,901
Jul 20182,734
Jun 20182,720
May 20182,396
Apr 20182,407
Mar 20182,043
Feb 20182,030
Jan 20182,591
Dec 20171,370
Nov 20171,667
Oct 20171,806
Sept 20172,364
Aug 20172,468
Jul 20172,516
Jun 20172,741
May 20172,916
Apr 20172,627
Mar 20172,431
Feb 20171,920
Jan 20171,531
Is there a shortage of housekeepers and related occupations?
Elevated

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

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsWell above usual
  • 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
16%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London1,194
North Yorkshire112
Buckinghamshire70
Cornwall69
Wiltshire67
Birmingham64
Elmbridge62
Somerset62
City of Edinburgh61
Cotswold61
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where housekeepers and related occupations are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 50 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Nigeria, United States, Philippines, ranking it 133rd of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of housekeepers and related occupations
8.4%!
13%!
14%!
30%!
23%!
12%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–248.4% (small sample)
25–3413% (small sample)
35–4414% (small sample)
45–5430% (small sample)
55–6423% (small sample)
65+12% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!27%
Higher education below degree!7.2%
A levels or equivalent!20%
GCSEs or equivalent!17%
Other qualifications!15%
No qualifications!13%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent27% (small sample)
Higher education below degree7.2% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent20% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent17% (small sample)
Other qualifications15% (small sample)
No qualifications13% (small sample)

Main employers: hotels and similar accommodation (17%), hospital activities (9.4%), activities of households as employers of domestic personnel (9%), residential nursing care activities (6.9%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
27%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • controls the purchase and storing of food, cleaning materials, linen and other household supplies
  • maintains household records
  • performs a variety of domestic tasks including food preparation and service, cleaning and laundry
  • assists employer in washing, dressing, packing and other personal activities

Skills

  • accompany people
  • clean rooms
  • clean surfaces
  • empathise with the healthcare user
  • iron textiles
  • keep company
  • listen actively
  • make the beds
  • prepare ready-made dishes
  • prepare sandwiches
  • relate empathetically
  • show social competences
  • use cooking techniques
  • use food preparation techniques

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Practical, hands-on work

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for leisure, travel and related personal service occupations, a group of 11 jobs that includes housekeepers and related occupations.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 5.6%about 41,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035421,000including 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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