Forklift operator jobs in Manchester

Forklift work is counted inside warehousing and storage, which comes to 2,500 employee jobs in Manchester, from 453,000 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 0.91% of employment in Manchester.

Median full-time pay in Manchester was £40,479 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 55 warehousing and storage sites in Manchester at the March 2025 reference date, 25 of them employing ten people or more. Business counts are rounded one cell at a time, so the bands sit loosely against the total. 35 of them, 63.6%, 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 Manchester, 500 are part time, 20% of the split. The middle across the North West is 14.3%, so Manchester sits above it, 7th of 24 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 Manchester picture: 800 employee jobs in freight transport by road, and 825 employee jobs in postal and courier activities.

Measured on employee jobs across freight, warehousing and courier work, Manchester ranks 10th of the 24 areas in the North West. The middle across the North West is 3,450, against 4,125 in Manchester. Across the 153 areas in England the middle is 2,975. Next to Manchester in that order sit Knowsley at 4,320 and St. Helens at 4,110.

On the separate business register count of warehousing and storage sites, Manchester ranks 5th of the 24 areas in the North West. The middle across the North West is 38, against 55 in Manchester. Across the 153 areas in England the middle is 35. Next to Manchester in that order sit Cheshire East at 60 and Liverpool at 50.

None of these counts is a vacancy figure. They describe 2,500 jobs across 55 warehousing sites as the surveys found them in Manchester, and the live list above is what is open now.