Forklift operator jobs in Darlington

Forklift work is counted inside warehousing and storage, which comes to 3,000 employee jobs in Darlington, from 55,000 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 6.74% of employment in Darlington.

Median full-time pay in Darlington was £33,840 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 15 warehousing and storage sites in Darlington at the March 2025 reference date, 5 of them employing ten people or more. 10 of them, 66.7%, 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 Darlington, 1,000 are part time, 40% of the split. The middle across the North East is 21.7%, so Darlington sits above it, 1st of 12 areas on this measure. A high part-time share generally means peak and weekend shifts make up a large part of the local warehouse rota.

Two further counts round out the Darlington picture: 600 employee jobs in freight transport by road, and 105 employee jobs in postal and courier activities.

Measured on employee jobs across freight, warehousing and courier work, Darlington ranks 5th of the 12 areas in the North East. The middle across the North East is 2,085, against 3,705 in Darlington. Across the 153 areas in England the middle is 2,975. Next to Darlington in that order sit Sunderland at 4,175 and Northumberland at 2,255.

On the separate business register count of warehousing and storage sites, Darlington ranks 7th of the 12 areas in the North East. The middle across the North East is 18, against 15 in Darlington. Across the 153 areas in England the middle is 35. Next to Darlington in that order sit Middlesbrough at 20 and North Tyneside at 15.

None of these counts is a vacancy figure. They describe 3,000 jobs across 15 warehousing sites as the surveys found them in Darlington, and the live list above is what is open now.