Retail Contract Job Trends in England

Retailing
UK > England

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Retail in contract job vacancies in England. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Retail over the 6 months leading up to 25 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
25 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 132 84 91
Rank change year-on-year -48 +7 -18
Contract jobs citing Retail 676 807 890
As % of all contract jobs in England 2.13% 2.81% 2.43%
As % of the General category 3.47% 4.55% 4.08%
Number of daily rates quoted 402 435 507
10th Percentile £206 £269 £275
25th Percentile £400 £413 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -2.00% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £638 £647
90th Percentile £738 £759 £742
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 47 9 29
10th Percentile £14.95 £17.75 £13.00
25th Percentile £15.83 £18.13 £18.50
Median hourly rate £16.34 £32.50 £19.81
Median % change year-on-year -49.74% +64.06% -
75th Percentile £19.50 £38.75 £21.31
90th Percentile £25.15 £50.00 £29.75
UK median hourly rate £16.67 £32.50 £19.81
% change year-on-year -48.72% +64.06% -

All General Skills
England

Retail falls under the General Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring common skills in England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for common skills 19,476 17,727 21,826
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 61.42% 61.68% 59.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 12,312 10,730 14,742
10th Percentile £281 £300 £280
25th Percentile £402 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £538 £550
Median % change year-on-year -6.98% -2.27% -
75th Percentile £627 £650 £663
90th Percentile £738 £775 £757
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £545
% change year-on-year -4.76% -3.67% -0.91%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,261 611 1,003
10th Percentile £14.09 £15.62 £14.25
25th Percentile £16.85 £18.33 £17.00
Median hourly rate £23.50 £30.00 £34.50
Median % change year-on-year -21.67% -13.04% +34.69%
75th Percentile £45.46 £58.51 £60.00
90th Percentile £70.00 £74.87 £70.50
UK median hourly rate £23.58 £27.37 £33.00
% change year-on-year -13.86% -17.07% +32.00%

Retail
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Retail relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in England.

Retail job vacancy trend in England

Retail
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Retail.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Retail

Retail
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Retail in England over the 6 months to 25 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Retail in England

Retail
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Retail.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Retail

Retail
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Retail in England over the 6 months to 25 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Retail in England

Retail
Contract Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Retail within the England region over the 6 months to 25 December 2025. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
London -33 351 £550 - 426
South East -31 99 £520 -5.45% 356
North of England -56 77 £500 +6.67% 311
Midlands -46 61 £450 -10.00% 223
East of England -14 44 £595 +10.70% 121
East Midlands -4 41 £463 -7.50% 108
Yorkshire -33 40 £500 +14.29% 123
North West -39 32 £500 +6.67% 155
South West -7 22 £183 -55.38% 118
West Midlands -55 19 £413 -15.38% 107
North East -6 6 £206 -65.63% 33
Retail
UK

Retail
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 26 (3.85%) Confluence
2 17 (2.51%) CMS
2 17 (2.51%) SharePoint
3 7 (1.04%) Apache Airflow
4 6 (0.89%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 5 (0.74%) Camunda
5 5 (0.74%) Jupyter
5 5 (0.74%) Microsoft Exchange
6 4 (0.59%) WordPress
7 2 (0.30%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.15%) SAS
8 1 (0.15%) SharePoint Server
8 1 (0.15%) WebSphere
8 1 (0.15%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 24 (3.55%) Microsoft Excel
2 12 (1.78%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 8 (1.18%) Microsoft Office
4 6 (0.89%) Microsoft Project
5 3 (0.44%) Chatbot
5 3 (0.44%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.30%) Spreadsheet
6 2 (0.30%) Trello
7 1 (0.15%) Adobe After Effects
7 1 (0.15%) Adobe XD
7 1 (0.15%) Photoshop
Business Applications
1 25 (3.70%) SAP S/4HANA
2 11 (1.63%) Shopify
3 9 (1.33%) Dynamics CRM
4 8 (1.18%) Oracle Retail
4 8 (1.18%) SAP Retail
5 6 (0.89%) Payment Gateway
6 5 (0.74%) Dynamics AX
6 5 (0.74%) SAP Payroll
7 4 (0.59%) Temenos T24
8 3 (0.44%) NetSuite
8 3 (0.44%) Salesforce CRM
8 3 (0.44%) SAP GTS
8 3 (0.44%) SAP MM
9 2 (0.30%) BambooHR
9 2 (0.30%) Magento
9 2 (0.30%) Oracle Payables
9 2 (0.30%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
9 2 (0.30%) Sprinklr
10 1 (0.15%) Avolution ABACUS
10 1 (0.15%) OpenText VIM for SAP
Cloud Services
1 81 (11.98%) Azure
2 39 (5.77%) Power Platform
3 36 (5.33%) AWS
4 28 (4.14%) GCP
5 22 (3.25%) Azure DevOps
5 22 (3.25%) Dynamics 365
6 17 (2.51%) Microsoft 365
7 14 (2.07%) SaaS
8 13 (1.92%) GitHub
9 11 (1.63%) Figma
9 11 (1.63%) Salesforce Commerce Cloud
10 10 (1.48%) GitHub Actions
11 9 (1.33%) Entra ID
11 9 (1.33%) Snowflake
12 8 (1.18%) Vertex AI
13 7 (1.04%) OCI
13 7 (1.04%) Power Automate
13 7 (1.04%) Serverless
13 7 (1.04%) SuccessFactors
14 6 (0.89%) Google Kubernetes Engine
Communications & Networking
1 19 (2.81%) RFID
2 18 (2.66%) NFC
2 18 (2.66%) Wireless
3 11 (1.63%) VPN
4 10 (1.48%) Firewall
5 8 (1.18%) Wi-Fi
6 7 (1.04%) WAN
7 5 (0.74%) Cisco Nexus
8 4 (0.59%) BGP
8 4 (0.59%) EIGRP
8 4 (0.59%) LAN
8 4 (0.59%) OSPF
8 4 (0.59%) VoIP
9 3 (0.44%) Broadband
10 2 (0.30%) DNS
10 2 (0.30%) MPLS
10 2 (0.30%) SAN
10 2 (0.30%) WLAN
11 1 (0.15%) DHCP
11 1 (0.15%) Intranet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 31 (4.59%) Power BI
2 17 (2.51%) BigQuery
3 14 (2.07%) Data Warehouse
4 12 (1.78%) Metadata
5 11 (1.63%) Tableau
6 10 (1.48%) SQL Server
7 7 (1.04%) Data Lake
8 4 (0.59%) Delta Lake
8 4 (0.59%) MongoDB
8 4 (0.59%) Power Query
8 4 (0.59%) Redis
8 4 (0.59%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 3 (0.44%) Data Vault
9 3 (0.44%) Relational Database
9 3 (0.44%) SAP BW
9 3 (0.44%) Snowflake Schema
9 3 (0.44%) Star Schema
10 2 (0.30%) Amazon Redshift
10 2 (0.30%) Big Data
10 2 (0.30%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 52 (7.69%) JIRA
2 14 (2.07%) Jenkins
3 12 (1.78%) Git
4 6 (0.89%) GitLab
5 4 (0.59%) Selenium
5 4 (0.59%) Storybook
6 3 (0.44%) Postman
7 2 (0.30%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 2 (0.30%) ERwin
7 2 (0.30%) JMeter
7 2 (0.30%) JUnit
7 2 (0.30%) MLflow
7 2 (0.30%) Mockito
7 2 (0.30%) PowerDesigner
7 2 (0.30%) SoapUI
7 2 (0.30%) Xcode
7 2 (0.30%) Zephyr
8 1 (0.15%) Android Studio
8 1 (0.15%) Artifactory
8 1 (0.15%) Gradle
General
1 246 (36.39%) Social Skills
2 135 (19.97%) Finance
3 74 (10.95%) Analytical Skills
4 52 (7.69%) Marketing
5 51 (7.54%) Banking
6 42 (6.21%) Public Sector
7 38 (5.62%) Manufacturing
8 36 (5.33%) Organisational Skills
9 26 (3.85%) Retail Banking
10 22 (3.25%) Corporate Banking
10 22 (3.25%) Influencing Skills
11 21 (3.11%) Investment Banking
12 20 (2.96%) Legal
13 16 (2.37%) Documentation Skills
14 15 (2.22%) Presentation Skills
15 12 (1.78%) Inclusion and Diversity
16 10 (1.48%) Telecoms
17 7 (1.04%) Automotive
18 6 (0.89%) Law
18 6 (0.89%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 127 (18.79%) Analyst
2 78 (11.54%) Architect
3 77 (11.39%) Project Manager
4 63 (9.32%) Senior
5 57 (8.43%) Business Analyst
6 52 (7.69%) Lead
7 34 (5.03%) Solutions Architect
8 27 (3.99%) Consultant
9 23 (3.40%) Senior Manager
10 20 (2.96%) Programme Manager
11 18 (2.66%) Product Manager
12 16 (2.37%) Developer
13 15 (2.22%) Administrator
14 12 (1.78%) Help Desk Analyst
14 12 (1.78%) Senior Analyst
14 12 (1.78%) Technical Manager
15 11 (1.63%) Data Analyst
15 11 (1.63%) Product Owner
15 11 (1.63%) Support Analyst
16 10 (1.48%) Data Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 23 (3.40%) React
2 16 (2.37%) Node.js
3 13 (1.92%) PySpark
3 13 (1.92%) REST
3 13 (1.92%) VML
4 11 (1.63%) HTML
5 8 (1.18%) .NET
5 8 (1.18%) AngularJS
6 7 (1.04%) React Native
6 7 (1.04%) scikit-learn
6 7 (1.04%) Spring
6 7 (1.04%) Spring Boot
7 6 (0.89%) CSS
7 6 (0.89%) Kafka
7 6 (0.89%) OpenTelemetry
7 6 (0.89%) Oracle Fusion
8 5 (0.74%) CSS3
8 5 (0.74%) LangChain
8 5 (0.74%) Matplotlib
8 5 (0.74%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 35 (5.18%) Product Ownership
2 24 (3.55%) Self-Motivation
3 22 (3.25%) IoT
3 22 (3.25%) Legacy Systems
4 16 (2.37%) Onboarding
5 15 (2.22%) Cloud Native
5 15 (2.22%) EPoS
5 15 (2.22%) FMCG
5 15 (2.22%) Mobile App
6 12 (1.78%) Data Centre
7 11 (1.63%) Management Information System
8 10 (1.48%) Analytical Mindset
9 9 (1.33%) Data Structures
9 9 (1.33%) Driving Licence
10 6 (0.89%) Algorithms
10 6 (0.89%) Greenfield Project
10 6 (0.89%) Hybrid Cloud
10 6 (0.89%) Replication
10 6 (0.89%) Social Media
11 5 (0.74%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 38 (5.62%) Windows
2 6 (0.89%) Linux
2 6 (0.89%) Mac OS
3 5 (0.74%) Apple iOS
4 3 (0.44%) Android
4 3 (0.44%) Windows Server
5 2 (0.30%) Windows 10
6 1 (0.15%) Kali Linux
6 1 (0.15%) Mac OS X
6 1 (0.15%) VMS
6 1 (0.15%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 155 (22.93%) Stakeholder Management
2 154 (22.78%) Agile
3 102 (15.09%) Problem-Solving
4 81 (11.98%) Project Management
5 80 (11.83%) E-Commerce
6 77 (11.39%) Analytics
7 58 (8.58%) Roadmaps
7 58 (8.58%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 56 (8.28%) Continuous Improvement
9 54 (7.99%) Customer Experience
10 52 (7.69%) Migration
11 51 (7.54%) DevOps
11 51 (7.54%) Workshop Facilitation
12 49 (7.25%) AI
13 48 (7.10%) CRM
13 48 (7.10%) ERP
14 46 (6.80%) Waterfall
15 44 (6.51%) Data Modelling
16 43 (6.36%) Project Delivery
17 42 (6.21%) Logistics
Programming Languages
1 55 (8.14%) Python
1 55 (8.14%) SQL
2 14 (2.07%) JavaScript
3 13 (1.92%) Java
4 11 (1.63%) PowerShell
5 10 (1.48%) Bash
6 7 (1.04%) TypeScript
7 6 (0.89%) C#
7 6 (0.89%) Kusto Query Language
8 3 (0.44%) PL/SQL
9 2 (0.30%) ABAP
9 2 (0.30%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 2 (0.30%) PHP
9 2 (0.30%) R
9 2 (0.30%) Shell Script
9 2 (0.30%) Swift
9 2 (0.30%) VBA
10 1 (0.15%) CLIST
10 1 (0.15%) Kotlin
10 1 (0.15%) Scala
Qualifications
1 29 (4.29%) Degree
2 21 (3.11%) PMP
3 18 (2.66%) PMI Certification
3 18 (2.66%) Security Cleared
4 6 (0.89%) Computer Science Degree
4 6 (0.89%) ITIL Certification
4 6 (0.89%) Master's Degree
5 5 (0.74%) SC Cleared
6 4 (0.59%) CCIE
6 4 (0.59%) CCNP
6 4 (0.59%) Cisco Certification
6 4 (0.59%) CISSP
6 4 (0.59%) CSPO
6 4 (0.59%) Microsoft Certification
7 3 (0.44%) BPSS Clearance
7 3 (0.44%) CISM
7 3 (0.44%) CRISC
7 3 (0.44%) GIAC
7 3 (0.44%) MBA
8 2 (0.30%) APMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (3.55%) QA
2 19 (2.81%) Data Quality
3 14 (2.07%) SLA
4 13 (1.92%) Accessibility
5 12 (1.78%) GDPR
5 12 (1.78%) PMO
6 5 (0.74%) Actionable Recommendations
7 3 (0.44%) IFRS
7 3 (0.44%) NCSC
7 3 (0.44%) PCI DSS
8 2 (0.30%) COBIT
8 2 (0.30%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 2 (0.30%) NIST
9 1 (0.15%) Cyber Essentials
9 1 (0.15%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 1 (0.15%) IFRS 9
9 1 (0.15%) MiFID
9 1 (0.15%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 1 (0.15%) Solvency II
System Software
1 14 (2.07%) Docker
2 8 (1.18%) Active Directory
3 3 (0.44%) Virtual Desktop
3 3 (0.44%) VMware NSX
4 1 (0.15%) RACF
4 1 (0.15%) Varnish
4 1 (0.15%) VMware ESXi
4 1 (0.15%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.15%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 18 (2.66%) Terraform
2 14 (2.07%) Kubernetes
3 6 (0.89%) Ansible
3 6 (0.89%) Microsoft Intune
4 5 (0.74%) Argo
4 5 (0.74%) Grafana
4 5 (0.74%) Istio
5 4 (0.59%) SCCM
5 4 (0.59%) Single Sign-On
6 3 (0.44%) Jamf Pro
7 2 (0.30%) Prometheus
8 1 (0.15%) AirWatch
8 1 (0.15%) Cacti
8 1 (0.15%) Control-M
8 1 (0.15%) Nmap
8 1 (0.15%) vCenter Server
8 1 (0.15%) ZABBIX
8 1 (0.15%) zSecure
Vendors
1 74 (10.95%) Microsoft
2 60 (8.88%) SAP
3 43 (6.36%) Salesforce
4 38 (5.62%) Oracle
5 27 (3.99%) Google
6 18 (2.66%) Databricks
7 17 (2.51%) Adobe
8 10 (1.48%) HP
9 7 (1.04%) Cisco
10 6 (0.89%) CheckPoint
10 6 (0.89%) Dell
10 6 (0.89%) F5
10 6 (0.89%) Splunk
11 5 (0.74%) Apple
11 5 (0.74%) Meraki
11 5 (0.74%) ServiceNow
11 5 (0.74%) Sitecore
11 5 (0.74%) VMware
11 5 (0.74%) Workday
11 5 (0.74%) Zscaler