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Metal working machine operatives: salary in the UK

£33,118

About £27,365 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)

median salary a year, full-time, +5.7% on last year

£2,760 a month About £2,280 a month after tax 15 thousand full-time jobs

Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data

Pay range

The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.

Pay by year

The median went from £23,629 in 2021 to £33,118 in 2026 (+40%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.

Figures by year
P10P25MedianP75P90
2021x£19,201£23,629£28,396x
2022x£22,375£26,791xx
2023x£26,139£31,288xx
2024x£25,349£30,611£36,664x
2025£24,379£27,273£31,332£39,167x
2026£24,656£26,890£33,118£41,096x

ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.

Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £33,118 a year and half earn more. That is 19% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).

The middle half earn between £26,890 and £41,096; one in ten earns less than £24,656.

Ranked by median, it is number 238 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.

At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,280 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,281 in Scotland.

Percentiles

PercentileAnnualMonthly
10th (P10)£24,656£2,055
20th£26,244£2,187
25th (P25)£26,890£2,241
30th£28,039£2,337
40th£31,305£2,609
Median (50th)£33,118£2,760
60th£35,798£2,983
70th£39,395£3,283
75th (P75)£41,096£3,425
80th£42,589£3,549
90th (P90)xx

Men and women

MedianMeanJobs (thousands)
Men£33,674£35,39614
Womenx£30,937x

Take-home pay at the median

Where you livePer yearPer month
England, Wales, NI£27,365£2,280
Scotland£27,368£2,281

After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £33,000

Job titles in this occupation

ONS codes these 379 job titles to SOC 8120 Metal working machine operatives. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.

Show all 379 titles

Similar occupations

All jobs in Process, plant and machine operatives

Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.