Designer Contract Job Trends in the South East

Designer
England > South East

The median Designer daily rate in the South East is £455, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 7 November 2026.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
7 Nov 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 179 142 99
Rank change year-on-year -37 -43 +56
Contract Designer jobs 54 35 80
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 0.78% 0.90% 1.93%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.86% 1.01% 2.09%
Number of daily rates quoted 37 17 45
10th Percentile £390 £389 £293
25th Percentile £400 £425 £358
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £455 £455 £508
Median % change year-on-year - -10.34% +0.50%
75th Percentile £490 £550 £585
90th Percentile £515 £675 £638
England median daily rate £475 £475 £478
% change year-on-year - -0.52% -4.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1 7 0
Median hourly rate £18.19 £69.65 -
Median % change year-on-year -73.88% - -
England median hourly rate £44.94 £46.25 £33.54
% change year-on-year -2.84% +37.90% -32.92%

All Contract IT Job Roles
South East

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts in the South East matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.

6 months to
7 Nov 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Contract job adverts in the South East matching a recognised job title 6,271 3,477 3,831
% of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title 91.10% 89.54% 92.51%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,407 2,243 2,304
10th Percentile £283 £205 £245
25th Percentile £425 £378 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £508
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -1.48% -
75th Percentile £625 £600 £625
90th Percentile £725 £663 £684
England median daily rate £525 £510 £525
% change year-on-year +2.94% -2.86% -2.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 963 348 217
10th Percentile £15.00 £13.43 £16.19
25th Percentile £20.50 £15.91 £26.25
Median hourly rate £47.50 £20.79 £57.50
Median % change year-on-year +128.48% -63.84% +12.22%
75th Percentile £73.25 £50.00 £71.25
90th Percentile £88.00 £72.30 £75.16
England median hourly rate £41.00 £25.15 £40.00
% change year-on-year +63.02% -37.13% -11.52%

Designer Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Designer job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Designer job vacancy trend in the South East

Designer Daily Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Designer job vacancies in the South East.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Designer job vacancies in the South East

Designer Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for Designer jobs in the South East over the 6 months to 7 November 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Designer in the South East

Designer Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Designer job vacancies in the South East.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Designer job vacancies in the South East

Designer Contract Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in Designer jobs within the South East region over the 6 months to 7 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
Thames Valley -27 25 £488 +5.41% 8
Berkshire -20 22 £469 -1.32% 5
West Sussex -7 14 £465 -10.58% 2
Surrey -16 2 £310 -32.97% 1
Buckinghamshire - 2 £563 - 2
Middlesex - 2 - - 1
Oxfordshire -20 1 - - 1
East Sussex - 1 - - 1
Designer
England

Designer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East

For the 6 months to 7 November 2026, Designer contract job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract Designer job ads across the South East region.

RankSkillShareJob Ads
1User Experience37.0%20
2Service Design35.2%19
3UX Design31.5%17
4User Research27.8%15
4User-Centered Design (UCD)27.8%15
6Stakeholder Management25.9%14
7BPSS Clearance20.4%11
7Interaction Design20.4%11
94G18.5%10
95G18.5%10
9Problem-Solving18.5%10
12Collaborative Working16.7%9
132G14.8%8
133G14.8%8
13Agile14.8%8
13Diameter Protocol14.8%8
13Roadmaps14.8%8
13SIGTRAN14.8%8
13SS714.8%8
13Technical Leadership14.8%8
13Test Automation14.8%8
22ERP13.0%7
22Service Delivery13.0%7
24B2B11.1%6
24Customer Requirements11.1%6
24Impact Assessments11.1%6
24Network Architecture11.1%6
24Technology Roadmap11.1%6
29Broadband9.3%5
29Content Management9.3%5

Designer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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.

Job Titles

RankJob TitleShareJob Ads
1Service Designer25.9%14
2Interaction Designer14.8%8
2Mobile Designer14.8%8
2Product Designer14.8%8
5Content Designer13.0%7
6Senior Designer11.1%6
7Network Designer7.4%4
7UX Designer7.4%4
9Junior Designer5.6%3
9Network Architect5.6%3
9Solutions Designer5.6%3
12Senior Digital Designer3.7%2
12Senior Product Designer3.7%2
12Senior Service Designer3.7%2
12Solutions Architect3.7%2
12UI/UX Designer3.7%2
17Data Designer1.9%1
17Developer1.9%1
17e-Learning Designer1.9%1
17Enterprise Solutions Architect1.9%1
68 Designer jobs in the South East