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 10 November 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Nov 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 85 123 90
Rank change year-on-year +38 -33 +6
Contract jobs citing Retail 1,475 685 806
As % of all contract jobs in England 3.15% 2.32% 2.61%
As % of the General category 5.39% 3.65% 4.40%
Number of daily rates quoted 897 399 431
10th Percentile £270 £253 £263
25th Percentile £438 £406 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.76% - -2.33%
75th Percentile £675 £638 £638
90th Percentile £738 £736 £738
UK median daily rate £550 £520 £525
% change year-on-year +5.77% -0.95% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 109 60 11
10th Percentile £12.76 £14.50 £16.00
25th Percentile £13.31 £15.25 £17.19
Median hourly rate £14.00 £16.34 £33.50
Median % change year-on-year -14.29% -51.24% +69.11%
75th Percentile £22.25 £19.50 £51.88
90th Percentile £27.90 £25.15 £60.00
UK median hourly rate £14.27 £16.34 £33.50
% change year-on-year -12.64% -51.24% +69.11%

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 citing general skills in England.

6 months to
10 Nov 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Contract vacancies citing general skills 27,356 18,775 18,308
As % of all contract jobs advertised in England 58.38% 63.67% 59.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 15,855 11,887 10,985
10th Percentile £313 £275 £300
25th Percentile £425 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £635 £650
90th Percentile £750 £738 £775
UK median daily rate £525 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,798 1,207 691
10th Percentile £13.45 £13.94 £15.00
25th Percentile £16.00 £16.50 £17.25
Median hourly rate £27.50 £25.00 £31.97
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -21.80% +3.71%
75th Percentile £56.21 £45.00 £59.98
90th Percentile £80.00 £70.00 £71.25
UK median hourly rate £26.50 £24.34 £29.50
% change year-on-year +8.87% -17.49% -1.67%

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 10 November 2026.

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 for jobs citing Retail in England over the 6 months to 10 November 2026.

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 10 November 2026. 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
Job Ads
Past 6 Months
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
London +40 810 £575 +9.52% 1,410
Midlands +46 180 £500 +17.65% 283
South East -9 174 £575 +9.52% 288
North of England -6 172 £525 +5.00% 436
North West +1 104 £550 +10.00% 221
West Midlands +35 93 £550 +25.71% 143
East Midlands +7 86 £500 +17.65% 139
East of England +9 74 £575 -8.00% 140
Yorkshire -13 51 £475 -19.15% 174
South West -12 49 £430 +138.89% 103
North East -22 17 £525 +191.67% 46
Retail
UK

Retail Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England by Category

The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.

General

RankSkillShareJob Ads
1Social Skills29.8%439
2Finance20.9%309
3Analytical Skills10.6%156
4Marketing9.5%140
5Manufacturing7.1%104
6Banking6.6%98
7Organisational Skills5.5%81
8Influencing Skills2.8%42
9Retail Banking2.5%37
10Legal2.0%30
11Advertising1.7%25
11Inclusion and Diversity1.7%25
11Public Sector1.7%25
14Corporate Banking1.5%22
14Telecoms1.5%22
16Investment Banking1.4%20
17Pharmaceutical1.0%15
18Automotive0.9%13
18Presentation Skills0.9%13
20Games0.7%11