Waiters: Jobs in Demand in Europe (2025)

Waiters is an official occupation group (ISCO-08 code 5131) used by the International Labour Organization and Eurostat.

  • Sommelier
  • Waiter
14European countries report a shortage (EURES 2025)
7countries report a surplus
3,173open job ads right now in Germany and Sweden
5131ISCO-08 occupation code
Short answerIn the 2025 EURES report on labour shortages, 14 European countries reported a shortage of waiters: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. 7 reported a surplus: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Finland, Latvia, Luxembourg and Portugal. Belgium and Finland appear in both lists, which usually means shortages in some regions and surpluses in others.

Pay in the UK for this job

£22,936median gross pay a year, full-time
£489median gross pay a week, full-time
52,000full-time jobs (ONS estimate)

UK occupation used: Waiters and waitresses (SOC 2020 code 9264). Placeivo matched this to ISCO-08 5131 by job title and duties; the UK and international occupation lists do not line up exactly. National figure for the whole United Kingdom, in pounds sterling (GBP), before income tax and National Insurance.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2025 provisional, Table 14 (occupation by 4-digit SOC 2020): tables 14.7a (annual pay, gross) and 14.1a (weekly pay, gross), full-time employee jobs, United Kingdom. Weekly pay is for April 2025; annual pay is for the tax year ending 5 April 2025, employees in the same job for at least a year. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

See the ONS earnings tables by occupation

UK Skilled Worker visa for this job

Not eligibleGOV.UK level: Ineligible

This occupation (UK code 9264, Waiters and waitresses) is not eligible for the Skilled Worker visa, according to the GOV.UK list of eligible occupations. Placeivo matched this UK code to ISCO-08 5131 by job title; the lists do not line up exactly.

This is a summary of official rules, not legal advice. Rules change and some people (for example those already on a Skilled Worker visa) have different rules. Always check GOV.UK before you apply.

Source: UK Visas and Immigration, GOV.UK tables "Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes" and "Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes", updated 2025-07-22, retrieved 2026-10-15. General minimum salary from GOV.UK "Skilled Worker visa: Your job", checked 2026-10-15.

Compare UK visa going rates by job · Eligible occupations (GOV.UK) · Going rates (GOV.UK) · Salary rules (GOV.UK)

Latest waiters job ads

Real vacancies from the official public employment services, updated daily. Job titles are translated into English automatically; the full ad opens on the official site in German or Swedish (your browser's translate button turns it into English).

Germany

2,788 open ads
  • Waiter
    German title: Servicekraft Restaurant
    Hotel Restaurant Ancho · Cölbe · Posted 2026-07-03
  • Waiter
    German title: Servicekraft Restaurant
    Findehotelpersonal GmbH · Kellenhusen (Ostsee) · Posted 2026-10-09
  • Waiter
    German title: Servicekraft Restaurant
    Landgasthaus-Hotel/Restaurant Wenninghoff UG&Co.KG · Hörstel · Posted 2026-01-29
  • Waiter
    German title: Servicekraft Restaurant
    Gasthof Scharfe Kurve Bernhard Burmeister · Lützow · Posted 2026-09-28
  • Waiter
    German title: Servicekraft Restaurant
    Bad Belzig Kur GmbH · Bad Belzig · Posted 2026-03-27
  • Restaurant waitress
    German title: Servicekraft im Restaurant
    Hotel-Restaurant Caspari Wilhelm Nelles · Altenahr · Posted 2026-08-10

Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit (German Federal Employment Agency). Ads are written by employers; Placeivo does not check them. See all ads in Germany

Sweden

385 open ads

Source: Arbetsförmedlingen (Swedish Public Employment Service). Ads are written by employers; Placeivo does not check them. See all ads in Sweden

Where waiters are needed in Europe

CountryEURES 2025Average gross pay, all service and sales workers (2022)1-bed rent in the capital
BulgariaShortage€510 a monthSofia: €650
CroatiaShortage€1,058 a month *Zagreb: €1,050
CyprusShortageNot yet verifiedNicosia: €750
GermanyShortage€2,479 a monthBerlin: €1,350
GreeceShortage€1,166 a month *Athens: €1,150
ItalyShortage€2,003 a month *Rome: €1,300
NetherlandsShortage€2,491 a monthNot yet verified
NorwayShortage€3,853 a monthOslo: €2,000
RomaniaShortage€767 a month *Not yet verified
SloveniaShortage€1,527 a monthLjubljana: €950
SpainShortage€1,574 a monthMadrid: €1,300
SwedenShortage€2,906 a month *Stockholm: €2,100
BelgiumShortage and surplusNot yet verifiedBrussels: €1,150
FinlandShortage and surplus€2,706 a month *Helsinki: €1,150
AustriaSurplus€2,397 a month *Vienna: €1,250
CzechiaSurplus€1,124 a monthPrague: €1,250
LatviaSurplus€928 a monthRiga: €870
LuxembourgSurplusNot yet verifiedLuxembourg: €1,900
PortugalSurplus€1,014 a month *Lisbon: €1,400

Pay: Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey 2022, mean gross monthly earnings of all service and sales workers in each country, in euros. This is the average for the whole occupation group, not for waiters alone, and before tax. * Firms with 10 or more employees only. Rent: Eurostat, good-quality 1-bedroom flat in the capital, 2025.

What waiters do

Waiters serve food and beverages at tables in dining and drinking places, clubs, institutions and canteens, on board ships and on passenger trains.

Typical tasks

  • Setting tables with clean linen, cutlery, crockery and glassware
  • Greeting customers and presenting them with menus and beverage lists
  • Advising on food and beverage choices
  • Taking orders for food and drinks and passing order to kitchen or bar staff
  • Serving food and beverages to clients at tables
  • Clearing tables and returning dishes and cutlery to kitchen
  • Presenting bills, accepting payment and operating point of sales machines and cash registers

Finding waiters jobs in Europe

  • EURES is the official job portal of the EU public employment services. The search above looks for "Waiter".
  • Some jobs are regulated professions: before you can work, your qualification may need to be recognised in the new country.
  • If you are not an EU/EEA citizen you will usually need a work permit or a visa such as the EU Blue Card. Check the rules of the country's immigration authority.

Cost of living where the jobs are

Take-home pay needed to rent a good 1-bedroom flat in the capitals of countries reporting a shortage:

About this data

  • Shortage and surplus: European Labour Authority, EURES Report on labour shortages and surpluses 2025, annex table 21 (published 2026). Each country's public employment service reports which occupations it finds hard to fill or in oversupply. Countries not listed did not report this occupation as either.
  • Definition, tasks and job titles: International Labour Organization, ISCO-08 structure and definitions.
  • Pay: Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_48), by occupation group. United Kingdom, closest UK occupation: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (median pay of full-time employees).
  • Job ads: Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Germany) and Arbetsförmedlingen (Sweden), refreshed about once a day.

See all jobs in demand in Europe · Methodology