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Street food vendor

Also called stall holder, food stall holder, street food seller

Street food vendors sell food preparations, dishes and products on organised outdoor or indoor market places, or on the streets. They prepare the food in their stalls. Street food vendors use sales techniques to recommend their products to passers-by.

Will there be jobs?Average prospects31 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Sales workersWhat does it pay?Below averageFrom about €800 (Bulgaria) to €4,500 (Ireland) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Sales workersWhat do I need to study?Upper secondary or vocational6 in 10 finished upper secondary or vocational training. 7 in 10 train through vocational routes.Sales workersWill AI change it?Very littleLevel 1 of 6. AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.Street food salespersons · ILO

What you'd do

Street food salespersons · ILO
  • Obtaining permission or a licence, where required, to sell food and drinks on the street or in a public place
  • Obtaining food and drinks for sale
  • Preparing, either beforehand or on the spot, food and drinks for sale
  • Loading and unloading, pushing, pedalling or carrying handcarts, trucks, trays or baskets to bring food and drinks to the desired place in the street, or to public places such as stations or cinemas
  • Displaying and selling food and drinks and accepting payment
Arrange permit for market stallAdapt to different weather conditionsOrganise product displayAssist customersMaintain work area cleanliness+ 5 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • A mix of sitting and standing
  • Lots of contact with people, including the public
  • Good freedom to decide
  • Usually under 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines now and then
  • Varied tasks, little repetition
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the related, broader US job "Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers"

Will there be jobs?

Average prospects

A typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.

People working as sales workers in the EU
15.79m15.71m16.15m 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
173,000 new jobs 4,772,000 replacing leavers
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Sales workers31
All jobs29
Right now
4 of 27 countries report a shortage of street food salespersons, 3 a surplus.
Street food salespersons · EURES

What does it pay?

Below average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €800 a month (Bulgaria) to €4,500 (Ireland), before tax.

Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.

Among service and sales workers in the EU, women earn 3% less per hour than men. Service and sales workers · Eurostat

What do I need to study?

Upper secondary or vocational

Upper secondary or vocational training in food processing is the usual route.

Highest qualification of sales workers (EU, 2025)
Degree 16%Vocational 42%General secondary 19%Basic schooling 22%
Field that teaches it
Food processing
Vocational route, EU
7 in 10 trainees in this field

Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

Very little

AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.

How exposed is this job? ILO scale
Very low
Low
Some tasks
Moderate
Significant
High

Average task score 0.22 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).

See the score for each of the 5 tasks
Displaying and selling food and drinks and accepting payment0.36
Obtaining permission or a licence, where required, to sell food and drinks on the street or in a public place0.30
Preparing, either beforehand or on the spot, food and drinks for sale0.21
Obtaining food and drinks for sale0.14
Loading and unloading, pushing, pedalling or carrying handcarts, trucks, trays or baskets to bring food and drinks to the desired place in the street, or to public places such as stations or cinemas0.10

Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for street food salespersons. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).