jobfacts

Road transport drivers n.e.c.

SOC 2020 8219

Job holders in this unit group drive other transport vehicles in roles not classified elsewhere in minor group 821: Road transport drivers.

Also calledPorter-driverCharity bag collectorWarehouseman-driverDriverDriver-packerDriver-labourerand 19 more titles
Typical full-time pay£32,9002025 Provisional
People in the job27,000across the UK
New adverts a month1,700↑ 4.5%on last year · 109th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time road transport drivers n.e.c. earn between £26,800 and £41,200 a year.

What full-time road transport drivers n.e.c. earn, 2025
£32,900 typical£24,100lowest 10%£41,20075%£48,600top 10%
Middle half (£26,800–£41,200)
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£24,100
Lowest 20% earn less than£26,200
25%£26,800
Median£32,900
75%£41,200
Top 20% earn more than£43,400
Top 10% earn more than£48,600
Typical pay by regionUK median £32,900
South East!£36,700
London£36,600
East Midlands!£35,000
Yorkshire and The Humber!£33,400
West Midlands£32,700
Scotland!£31,700
North East!£31,500
East of England£30,100
North West£30,000
South West£29,700
Wales!£28,900
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £32,900
South East£36,700 (small sample)
London£36,600
East Midlands£35,000 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£33,400 (small sample)
West Midlands£32,700
Scotland£31,700 (small sample)
North East£31,500 (small sample)
East of England£30,100
North West£30,000
South West£29,700
Wales£28,900 (small sample)
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £27,500
  • 2024 £30,000
  • 2025 Provisional£32,900
↑ 20% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,700 jobs for road transport drivers n.e.c. are advertised each month.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,637
Jul 20261,865
Jun 20261,692
May 20261,697
Apr 20261,788
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,501
Jan 20261,752
Dec 2025757
Nov 20252,044
Oct 20252,010
Sept 20251,957
Aug 20251,701
Jul 20251,960
Jun 20251,827
May 20251,774
Apr 20251,575
Mar 20251,764
Feb 20251,686
Jan 20251,429
Dec 2024766
Nov 20241,491
Oct 20241,837
Sept 20241,842
Aug 20242,077
Jul 20242,196
Jun 20241,748
May 20241,927
Apr 20241,623
Mar 20241,206
Feb 20241,273
Jan 20241,338
Dec 2023843
Nov 20231,203
Oct 20231,188
Sept 20231,410
Aug 20231,633
Jul 20231,466
Jun 20232,310
May 20231,967
Apr 20231,887
Mar 20231,950
Feb 20231,639
Jan 20231,972
Dec 20221,460
Nov 20221,963
Oct 20222,278
Sept 20222,346
Aug 20222,287
Jul 20222,267
Jun 20222,072
May 20222,630
Apr 20221,793
Mar 20222,202
Feb 20222,173
Jan 20222,179
Dec 20211,684
Nov 20212,328
Oct 20212,114
Sept 20212,216
Aug 20212,246
Jul 20212,651
Jun 20212,318
May 20211,993
Apr 20211,699
Mar 20211,971
Feb 20211,206
Jan 20211,213
Dec 20201,117
Nov 20201,484
Oct 20202,170
Sept 20201,966
Aug 20201,812
Jul 20201,363
Jun 2020825
May 2020671
Apr 2020827
Mar 20201,733
Feb 20201,857
Jan 20201,880
Dec 20191,514
Nov 20192,049
Oct 20192,363
Sept 20192,042
Aug 20191,869
Jul 20191,946
Jun 20191,756
May 20191,983
Apr 20191,401
Mar 20191,603
Feb 20191,520
Jan 20191,717
Dec 20181,167
Nov 20181,782
Oct 20182,166
Sept 20182,303
Aug 20182,212
Jul 20182,048
Jun 20182,257
May 20181,932
Apr 20181,577
Mar 20181,660
Feb 20181,349
Jan 20181,755
Dec 20171,183
Nov 20171,692
Oct 20171,782
Sept 20171,960
Aug 20172,135
Jul 20172,267
Jun 20172,444
May 20172,027
Apr 20171,926
Mar 20172,086
Feb 20171,759
Jan 20171,620
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
London433
Bristol, City of90
Leeds75
Birmingham74
Somerset67
Glasgow City65
West Northamptonshire65
Manchester57
North Northamptonshire55
Cornwall50
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where road transport drivers n.e.c. 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 road transport drivers n.e.c.
n/p
15%!
n/p
40%!
29%!
7.4%!
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3415% (small sample)
35–44Not published
45–5440% (small sample)
55–6429% (small sample)
65+7.4% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!8.4%
Higher education below degree!4.6%
A levels or equivalent!30%
GCSEs or equivalent!28%
Other qualifications!21%
No qualifications!16%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent8.4% (small sample)
Higher education below degree4.6% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent30% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent28% (small sample)
Other qualifications21% (small sample)
No qualifications16% (small sample)

Main employers: maintenance and repair of motor vehicles (13%), freight transport by road (12%), service activities incidental to land transportation (11%), postal activities under universal service obligation (4%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
8.4%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 30%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • drives vehicle to destination in accordance with schedule
  • checks tyres, brakes, lights, oil, water and fuel levels and general condition of the vehicle
  • maintains records of journey times, mileage and hours worked
  • undertakes minor repairs and notifies supervisor of any mechanical faults

Skills

  • maintain vehicle appearance
  • drive vehicles
  • follow verbal instructions
  • interpret traffic signals
  • lift heavy weights
  • communicate with customers
  • drive in urban areas
  • ensure vehicle operability
  • operate GPS systems
  • control the performance of the vehicle
  • handle delivered packages
  • maintain personal hygiene standards
  • park vehicles
  • read maps

Knowledge

  • road traffic laws
  • effective perception of transport environment
  • mechanical components of vehicles
  • geographic areas
  • health and safety measures in transportation
  • local geography

Suits people who like

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

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives, a group of 14 jobs that includes road transport drivers n.e.c..
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 6.7%about 80,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035748,000including 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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