Designer Contract Job Trends in the South East

Designer
England > South East

The median Designer daily rate in the South East is £467, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 24 October 2026.

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

6 months to
24 Oct 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 189 139 98
Rank change year-on-year -50 -41 +52
Contract Designer jobs 45 32 79
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 0.68% 0.87% 1.86%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.75% 0.98% 2.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 28 16 45
10th Percentile £360 £333 £293
25th Percentile £413 £397 £358
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £467 £453 £525
Median % change year-on-year +3.20% -13.81% +5.00%
75th Percentile £500 £563 £588
90th Percentile £511 £675 £638
England median daily rate £464 £475 £488
% change year-on-year -2.42% -2.56% -2.50%
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 £39.00 £48.25 £33.50
% change year-on-year -19.17% +44.03% -33.00%

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
24 Oct 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Contract job adverts in the South East matching a recognised job title 6,027 3,282 3,915
% of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title 91.00% 89.48% 92.23%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,340 2,129 2,348
10th Percentile £280 £204 £250
25th Percentile £425 £375 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £509
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -1.82% -0.63%
75th Percentile £625 £598 £625
90th Percentile £725 £663 £688
England median daily rate £525 £512 £525
% change year-on-year +2.64% -2.57% -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 875 310 228
10th Percentile £15.00 £13.00 £16.00
25th Percentile £20.43 £15.65 £27.00
Median hourly rate £47.50 £20.71 £57.79
Median % change year-on-year +129.36% -64.16% +13.20%
75th Percentile £71.25 £48.74 £73.75
90th Percentile £88.00 £71.00 £75.16
England median hourly rate £41.71 £25.15 £42.50
% change year-on-year +65.84% -40.82% -6.69%

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 24 October 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 24 October 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 -24 28 £500 +23.08% 23
Berkshire -13 24 £500 +5.26% 12
West Sussex -14 12 £465 -10.58% 5
Buckinghamshire - 3 £563 - 4
Middlesex - 2 - -
Surrey - 2 £310 - 7
Oxfordshire -25 1 - - 7
Designer
England

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

For the 6 months to 24 October 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
1Service Design42.2%19
2Stakeholder Management33.3%15
3User Experience26.7%12
3User Research26.7%12
3User-Centered Design (UCD)26.7%12
64G22.2%10
65G22.2%10
6Problem-Solving22.2%10
92G17.8%8
93G17.8%8
9Collaborative Working17.8%8
9Diameter Protocol17.8%8
9Interaction Design17.8%8
9Roadmaps17.8%8
9SIGTRAN17.8%8
9SS717.8%8
9Technical Leadership17.8%8
9Test Automation17.8%8
9UX Design17.8%8
20Agile15.6%7
20Journey Map15.6%7
22BPSS Clearance13.3%6
22Broadband13.3%6
22Customer Requirements13.3%6
22Impact Assessments13.3%6
22Network Architecture13.3%6
22Service Delivery13.3%6
22Technology Roadmap13.3%6
29Customer Experience11.1%5
29Figma11.1%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 Designer33.3%15
2Mobile Designer17.8%8
3Content Designer11.1%5
3Interaction Designer11.1%5
3Senior Designer11.1%5
6Network Designer8.9%4
7Digital Designer6.7%3
7Junior Designer6.7%3
7Network Architect6.7%3
7Product Designer6.7%3
7Solutions Designer6.7%3
7UX Designer6.7%3
13Senior Digital Designer4.4%2
13Senior Product Designer4.4%2
13Senior Service Designer4.4%2
13Solutions Architect4.4%2
13UI/UX Designer4.4%2
18Data Designer2.2%1
18Developer2.2%1
18Digital Content Designer2.2%1
86 Designer jobs in the South East