HGV and logistics driving in Yorkshire and The Humber
Forklift operator jobs in Leeds
Leeds has 5,000 employee jobs in warehousing and storage, on the most recent business survey. Below are the published figures for the area, and every advert on this site for the role right now.
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Forklift operator jobs in Leeds
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Published figures for Leeds
What the official data says about Leeds
Forklift work is counted inside warehousing and storage, which comes to 5,000 employee jobs in Leeds, from 503,000 employee jobs across the area.
That count covers whole sites rather than truck types, so counterbalance on the bays, reach in the racking and VNA in the narrow aisles are all inside it, together with the picking most operators also do. Freight, warehousing and courier work together make up 1.6% of employment in Leeds.
Median full-time pay in Leeds was £37,821 a year in 2025 across all occupations combined. Forklift work is not published separately at this level, so treat that as area context and read the rate on the advert.
UK Business Counts recorded 115 warehousing and storage sites in Leeds at the March 2025 reference date, 40 of them employing ten people or more. 75 of them, 65.2%, employ under ten, well below the usual share. Large sites use the full range of truck types, so a ticket beyond counterbalance is worth more here.
Of the warehousing and storage employee jobs the 2024 survey splits by hours in Leeds, 1,000 are part time, 20% of the split. The middle across Yorkshire and The Humber is 14.3%, so Leeds sits above it, 2nd of 15 areas on this measure. A part-time share at this level usually means twilight and weekend shifts running alongside the main rota.
Two further counts round out the Leeds picture: 1,500 employee jobs in freight transport by road, and 1,550 employee jobs in postal and courier activities.
Measured on employee jobs across freight, warehousing and courier work, Leeds ranks 3rd of the 15 areas in Yorkshire and The Humber. The middle across Yorkshire and The Humber is 3,620, against 8,050 in Leeds. Across the 153 areas in England the middle is 2,975. Next to Leeds in that order sit Doncaster at 12,700 and North Yorkshire at 5,690.
On the separate business register count of warehousing and storage sites, Leeds ranks 1st of the 15 areas in Yorkshire and The Humber. The middle across Yorkshire and The Humber is 45, against 115 in Leeds. Across the 153 areas in England the middle is 35. Next to Leeds in that order sit Doncaster at 75.
None of these counts is a vacancy figure. They describe 5,000 jobs across 115 warehousing sites as the surveys found them in Leeds, and the live list above is what is open now.
- Employee jobs in warehousing and storage
- 5,000
- Employee jobs in the area, all industries
- 503,000
- Median full-time pay across all jobs in the area
- £37,821
- Warehousing and storage sites
- 115
- Warehousing sites employing under 10
- 75
- Part-time share of warehousing and storage jobs
- 20%
- Freight, warehousing and courier work, share of all employee jobs
- 1.6%
The forklift operator role
Forklift work is moving pallets safely in a building full of people doing other things. Counterbalance in the yard and on loading bays, reach truck in the racking, VNA in narrow aisles at height.
Forklift operator jobs in Leeds: common questions
How big is the logistics sector in Leeds?
The 2024 Business Register and Employment Survey counted 1,500 employee jobs in freight transport by road in Leeds and 5,000 in warehousing and storage, spread across 1,100 freight, warehousing and courier workplaces on the 2025 business register. Those are jobs and workplaces that exist in the area, not jobs being advertised.
What does a forklift operator earn in Leeds?
There is no published pay figure for this role in Leeds: earnings are not broken down by occupation at local authority level anywhere in the official statistics, so anybody quoting one has estimated it. What is published is the size of the trade here, 115 warehousing and storage sites, and each of them sets its own rates. Every advert on this page carries its own rate.
Is forklift operator work in Leeds full time or part time?
Part-time hours account for 20% of the warehousing and storage jobs counted either way in Leeds, 1,000 of them. Nothing published says how the live adverts divide, so read the hours on each one.
Do I need experience to apply for forklift operator jobs in Leeds?
A current forklift certificate for the truck type, such as counterbalance or reach. Employers often accept RTITB or ITSSAR accredited training. No formal school qualifications needed. Each advert in Leeds sets out what that employer asks for.