User Stories Contract Job Trends in England

User Story
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in England requiring User Stories skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 24 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
24 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 122 159 149
Rank change year-on-year +37 -10 -29
Contract jobs citing User Stories 852 424 580
As % of all contract jobs in England 2.05% 1.77% 1.59%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.42% 1.94% 1.85%
Number of daily rates quoted 587 276 400
10th Percentile £355 £356 £353
25th Percentile £413 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £530
Median % change year-on-year - -5.66% +0.95%
75th Percentile £575 £600 £600
90th Percentile £650 £688 £652
UK median daily rate £500 £500 £525
% change year-on-year - -4.76% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 23 2 6
10th Percentile £37.77 £54.90 £31.71
25th Percentile £60.93 £57.00 £32.03
Median hourly rate £70.00 £61.75 £42.75
Median % change year-on-year +13.36% +44.44% -33.72%
75th Percentile £76.40 £67.75 £62.94
90th Percentile £98.27 £70.60 £69.25
UK median hourly rate £71.25 £53.50 £42.75
% change year-on-year +33.18% +25.15% -33.72%

All Process & Methodology Skills
England

User Stories falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 35,226 21,902 31,378
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 84.76% 91.29% 86.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 22,404 14,316 20,563
10th Percentile £325 £305 £300
25th Percentile £413 £410 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -2.38% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £619 £638 £650
90th Percentile £725 £750 £750
UK median daily rate £510 £513 £525
% change year-on-year -0.49% -2.38% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,174 928 2,273
10th Percentile £15.25 £14.42 £12.92
25th Percentile £20.39 £18.20 £16.00
Median hourly rate £45.25 £28.48 £36.50
Median % change year-on-year +58.88% -21.97% -2.14%
75th Percentile £67.84 £60.00 £60.00
90th Percentile £80.17 £75.00 £72.50
UK median hourly rate £42.28 £27.94 £36.00
% change year-on-year +51.31% -22.39% -

User Stories
Job Vacancy Trend in England

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

User Stories job vacancy trend in England

User Stories
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing User Stories.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing User Stories

User Stories
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing User Stories in England over the 6 months to 24 May 2026.

Daily rate histogram for User Stories in England

User Stories
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing User Stories.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing User Stories

User Stories
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing User Stories in England over the 6 months to 24 May 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for User Stories in England

User Stories
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 User Stories within the England region over the 6 months to 24 May 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
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
London +50 482 £513 -2.38% 136
North of England -15 132 £466 +4.25% 52
Midlands -13 98 £475 +2.98% 20
West Midlands -14 72 £475 +2.70% 16
North West -7 64 £393 -21.40% 30
South East -46 64 £450 -12.58% 59
Yorkshire -29 49 £505 +22.42% 16
South West -11 40 £480 -16.52% 20
East of England -20 28 £510 +31.61% 14
East Midlands -17 26 £463 +6.94% 4
North East -16 20 £450 +8.43% 6
User Stories
UK

User Stories
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
1 159 (18.66%) Confluence
2 19 (2.23%) CMS
3 16 (1.88%) SharePoint
4 9 (1.06%) SAS
5 5 (0.59%) Jupyter
6 3 (0.35%) Camunda
6 3 (0.35%) Cloud Foundry
6 3 (0.35%) Drupal
6 3 (0.35%) Microsoft Exchange
7 2 (0.23%) Anypoint
7 2 (0.23%) JBoss
7 2 (0.23%) Sitecore CMS
7 2 (0.23%) WordPress
8 1 (0.12%) Adobe Experience Manager
8 1 (0.12%) Apache Solr
8 1 (0.12%) Kentico
8 1 (0.12%) Tomcat
Applications
1 50 (5.87%) Microsoft Excel
2 45 (5.28%) MS Visio
3 26 (3.05%) Microsoft Office
4 20 (2.35%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 8 (0.94%) Notion
6 3 (0.35%) Spreadsheet
7 2 (0.23%) Adobe XD
7 2 (0.23%) InVision
7 2 (0.23%) Sketch
7 2 (0.23%) Zeplin
8 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
8 1 (0.12%) Trello
Business Applications
1 17 (2.00%) Dynamics CRM
2 12 (1.41%) SAP S/4HANA
3 8 (0.94%) NetSuite
4 6 (0.70%) Adobe Campaign
4 6 (0.70%) ProductWriter
5 5 (0.59%) Teamcenter
6 4 (0.47%) Dynamics AX
6 4 (0.47%) Eloqua
6 4 (0.47%) Oracle Payables
6 4 (0.47%) Oracle Receivables
7 3 (0.35%) Dynamics GP
7 3 (0.35%) Dynamics SL
7 3 (0.35%) Infor CloudSuite
7 3 (0.35%) Oracle EBS
7 3 (0.35%) Oracle Financials
7 3 (0.35%) Sage X3
7 3 (0.35%) Salesforce CRM
7 3 (0.35%) Temenos T24
8 2 (0.23%) Exchequer
8 2 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
Cloud Services
1 157 (18.43%) Azure
2 75 (8.80%) AWS
3 74 (8.69%) Power Platform
4 53 (6.22%) Azure DevOps
5 26 (3.05%) SaaS
6 23 (2.70%) Dynamics 365
6 23 (2.70%) GitHub
6 23 (2.70%) Microsoft 365
7 22 (2.58%) Salesforce Service Cloud
8 21 (2.46%) GCP
9 16 (1.88%) Lucidchart
9 16 (1.88%) PowerApps
10 15 (1.76%) Power Automate
11 13 (1.53%) Figma
12 12 (1.41%) Azure Data Factory
12 12 (1.41%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
13 11 (1.29%) Entra ID
14 10 (1.17%) Miro
15 6 (0.70%) Salesforce Commerce Cloud
16 5 (0.59%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 8 (0.94%) Network Security
2 6 (0.70%) Firewall
3 3 (0.35%) DNS
3 3 (0.35%) HTTP
3 3 (0.35%) WebEx
3 3 (0.35%) Wi-Fi
4 2 (0.23%) FTP
4 2 (0.23%) Wireless
5 1 (0.12%) 5G
5 1 (0.12%) BGP
5 1 (0.12%) NFC
5 1 (0.12%) NGFW
5 1 (0.12%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 55 (6.46%) Power BI
2 25 (2.93%) Metadata
3 22 (2.58%) Data Warehouse
4 16 (1.88%) Tableau
5 11 (1.29%) SQL Server
6 10 (1.17%) Relational Database
7 8 (0.94%) BigQuery
7 8 (0.94%) Delta Lake
7 8 (0.94%) NoSQL
8 7 (0.82%) Amazon RDS
8 7 (0.82%) Data Lake
9 6 (0.70%) PostgreSQL
9 6 (0.70%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 5 (0.59%) Big Data
10 5 (0.59%) Parquet
11 3 (0.35%) Data Mining
11 3 (0.35%) Data Vault
11 3 (0.35%) OLAP
12 2 (0.23%) Metadata Repository
12 2 (0.23%) Oracle OLAP
Development Applications
1 217 (25.47%) JIRA
2 24 (2.82%) Postman
3 22 (2.58%) Git
4 17 (2.00%) GitLab
5 12 (1.41%) Jenkins
6 10 (1.17%) Selenium
7 8 (0.94%) Gradle
8 7 (0.82%) Team Foundation Server
9 6 (0.70%) Zephyr
10 5 (0.59%) Atlassian Bamboo
10 5 (0.59%) Balsamiq
10 5 (0.59%) SonarQube
11 4 (0.47%) Cucumber
12 3 (0.35%) JUnit
12 3 (0.35%) REST Assured
12 3 (0.35%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
12 3 (0.35%) TestRail
13 2 (0.23%) Axure RP
13 2 (0.23%) TeamCity
13 2 (0.23%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 328 (38.50%) Social Skills
2 245 (28.76%) Finance
3 215 (25.23%) Analytical Skills
4 111 (13.03%) Banking
5 105 (12.32%) Public Sector
6 66 (7.75%) Documentation Skills
7 53 (6.22%) Retail
8 44 (5.16%) Presentation Skills
9 33 (3.87%) Marketing
10 24 (2.82%) Legal
11 23 (2.70%) Influencing Skills
12 19 (2.23%) Organisational Skills
12 19 (2.23%) Retail Banking
13 18 (2.11%) Investment Banking
14 16 (1.88%) Financial Institution
15 15 (1.76%) Military
16 13 (1.53%) Front Office
17 12 (1.41%) Manufacturing
18 9 (1.06%) Aerospace
18 9 (1.06%) Back Office
Job Titles
1 461 (54.11%) Analyst
2 429 (50.35%) Business Analyst
3 141 (16.55%) Senior
4 107 (12.56%) Product Owner
5 91 (10.68%) Senior Analyst
6 84 (9.86%) Senior Business Analyst
7 64 (7.51%) Developer
8 56 (6.57%) Technical Analyst
9 55 (6.46%) Product Manager
10 54 (6.34%) Technical Business Analyst
11 46 (5.40%) Salesforce Business Analyst
12 45 (5.28%) Salesforce Analyst
13 33 (3.87%) Lead
14 30 (3.52%) Implementation Analyst
15 26 (3.05%) Data Analyst
16 24 (2.82%) Banking Analyst
16 24 (2.82%) Data Business Analyst
16 24 (2.82%) Senior Salesforce Analyst
16 24 (2.82%) Senior Salesforce Business Analyst
17 23 (2.70%) SC Cleared Business Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 34 (3.99%) REST
2 18 (2.11%) JSON
3 16 (1.88%) ADO
4 15 (1.76%) RESTful
5 14 (1.64%) React
5 14 (1.64%) XML
6 12 (1.41%) AngularJS
7 11 (1.29%) VML
8 10 (1.17%) Spring Boot
9 8 (0.94%) HTML
9 8 (0.94%) Node.js
10 7 (0.82%) Lightning Web Components
10 7 (0.82%) Spring
11 6 (0.70%) .NET
11 6 (0.70%) CSS
11 6 (0.70%) Middleware
11 6 (0.70%) SOAP
12 5 (0.59%) ASP.NET
12 5 (0.59%) Oracle Fusion
12 5 (0.59%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 283 (33.22%) Product Ownership
2 26 (3.05%) Data Protection Act
2 26 (3.05%) Onboarding
3 23 (2.70%) Analytical Mindset
4 22 (2.58%) Legacy Systems
5 20 (2.35%) Self-Motivation
6 16 (1.88%) CMDB
6 16 (1.88%) Data Structures
7 15 (1.76%) Cloud Native
7 15 (1.76%) Management Information System
8 13 (1.53%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
8 13 (1.53%) Virtual Team
9 10 (1.17%) AI Agents
9 10 (1.17%) PMI
10 9 (1.06%) Reinsurance
11 8 (0.94%) NHS
11 8 (0.94%) SWIFT Messaging Network
12 7 (0.82%) Greenfield Project
12 7 (0.82%) Marketing Technology
12 7 (0.82%) Mobile App
Operating Systems
1 10 (1.17%) Windows
2 9 (1.06%) Linux
3 4 (0.47%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 3 (0.35%) CentOS
4 3 (0.35%) Unix
5 2 (0.23%) Android
5 2 (0.23%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.12%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 548 (64.32%) Agile
2 339 (39.79%) Acceptance Criteria
3 283 (33.22%) Stakeholder Management
4 200 (23.47%) Workshop Facilitation
5 191 (22.42%) Requirements Gathering
6 187 (21.95%) Scrum
7 181 (21.24%) Business Analysis
8 167 (19.60%) User Acceptance Testing
9 162 (19.01%) DevOps
10 160 (18.78%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 153 (17.96%) Roadmaps
12 145 (17.02%) Problem-Solving
13 133 (15.61%) Sprint Planning
14 123 (14.44%) Data Modelling
15 121 (14.20%) Product Backlog
16 114 (13.38%) Migration
17 110 (12.91%) Continuous Improvement
18 109 (12.79%) Backlog Management
19 107 (12.56%) Analytics
20 103 (12.09%) Decision-Making
Programming Languages
1 117 (13.73%) SQL
2 60 (7.04%) Python
3 39 (4.58%) Java
4 27 (3.17%) JavaScript
5 13 (1.53%) C#
6 9 (1.06%) TypeScript
7 7 (0.82%) PowerShell
8 6 (0.70%) Apex Code
9 5 (0.59%) Korn
9 5 (0.59%) Kotlin
10 4 (0.47%) R
10 4 (0.47%) T-SQL
10 4 (0.47%) VBA
11 3 (0.35%) Ruby
12 2 (0.23%) Google Apps Script
12 2 (0.23%) PHP
12 2 (0.23%) PL/SQL
12 2 (0.23%) Shell Script
13 1 (0.12%) SOQL
13 1 (0.12%) SOSL
Qualifications
1 151 (17.72%) Security Cleared
2 119 (13.97%) SC Cleared
3 85 (9.98%) Degree
4 37 (4.34%) CBAP
5 32 (3.76%) BPSS Clearance
5 32 (3.76%) IIBA
6 19 (2.23%) CSPO
7 14 (1.64%) PMI Certification
8 11 (1.29%) Master's Degree
9 9 (1.06%) ISTQB
10 7 (0.82%) Computer Science Degree
10 7 (0.82%) ISEB
11 6 (0.70%) MBA
12 4 (0.47%) CISSP
12 4 (0.47%) DV Cleared
12 4 (0.47%) PMP
13 3 (0.35%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
14 2 (0.23%) AWS Certification
14 2 (0.23%) CompTIA Security+
14 2 (0.23%) DBS Check
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 113 (13.26%) QA
2 54 (6.34%) Data Quality
3 40 (4.69%) Accessibility
4 26 (3.05%) GDPR
5 11 (1.29%) SLA
6 10 (1.17%) NIST
7 6 (0.70%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 6 (0.70%) WCAG
8 5 (0.59%) GxP
8 5 (0.59%) ISO 20022
8 5 (0.59%) Solvency II
9 4 (0.47%) GRC
9 4 (0.47%) PCI DSS
10 3 (0.35%) California Consumer Privacy Act
10 3 (0.35%) GMP
10 3 (0.35%) HL7
10 3 (0.35%) PSD2
11 2 (0.23%) 21 CFR Part 11
11 2 (0.23%) ISO 15022
11 2 (0.23%) SNOMED CT
System Software
1 23 (2.70%) Docker
2 7 (0.82%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.23%) IAG
3 2 (0.23%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.12%) Ceph
4 1 (0.12%) Virtual Desktop
4 1 (0.12%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 25 (2.93%) Kubernetes
2 16 (1.88%) Ansible
3 12 (1.41%) Terraform
4 7 (0.82%) SCCM
5 6 (0.70%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (0.59%) HP Quality Center
7 2 (0.23%) CASB
7 2 (0.23%) HP ALM
7 2 (0.23%) Jamf Pro
8 1 (0.12%) Argo
8 1 (0.12%) Grafana
8 1 (0.12%) Kibana
Vendors
1 119 (13.97%) Microsoft
2 88 (10.33%) Salesforce
3 50 (5.87%) SAP
4 45 (5.28%) ServiceNow
5 21 (2.46%) Databricks
6 20 (2.35%) Oracle
7 15 (1.76%) Google
8 12 (1.41%) Adobe
9 11 (1.29%) Cisco
10 10 (1.17%) Splunk
10 10 (1.17%) Workday
11 8 (0.94%) Zscaler
11 8 (0.94%) Zuora
12 6 (0.70%) Fortinet
12 6 (0.70%) Guidewire
12 6 (0.70%) MuleSoft
12 6 (0.70%) Pega
12 6 (0.70%) Salesforce Marketing Cloud
13 5 (0.59%) Citrix
13 5 (0.59%) Cognizant