Retail Contract Job Trends
Retailing
UK
The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Retail in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Retail over the 6 months leading up to 20 October 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 20 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 93 | 130 | 96 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +37 | -34 | +10 |
| Contract jobs citing Retail | 1,644 | 738 | 899 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 2.99% | 2.22% | 2.43% |
| As % of the General category | 5.22% | 3.53% | 4.13% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 976 | 419 | 463 |
| 10th Percentile | £246 | £299 | £277 |
| 25th Percentile | £438 | £425 | £410 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £550 | £525 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +4.76% | - | -0.47% |
| 75th Percentile | £660 | £638 | £638 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £738 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £509 | £500 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | +1.80% | - | - |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 132 | 62 | 15 |
| 10th Percentile | £12.76 | £15.25 | £14.55 |
| 25th Percentile | £13.43 | £15.31 | £16.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £14.50 | £16.34 | £17.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -11.23% | -6.66% | -11.66% |
| 75th Percentile | £22.50 | £19.50 | £43.75 |
| 90th Percentile | £43.25 | £25.15 | £58.00 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £13.75 | £16.34 | £16.00 |
| % change year-on-year | -15.82% | +2.09% | -19.23% |
All General Skills
UK
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 general skills.
| 6 months to 20 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills | 31,524 | 20,919 | 21,785 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK | 57.25% | 63.05% | 58.77% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 18,305 | 13,022 | 12,835 |
| 10th Percentile | £313 | £275 | £286 |
| 25th Percentile | £420 | £400 | £410 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -4.76% | -4.55% |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £625 | £649 |
| 90th Percentile | £740 | £738 | £763 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £475 | £480 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.26% | -1.04% | -4.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 2,904 | 1,269 | 880 |
| 10th Percentile | £13.45 | £13.56 | £15.00 |
| 25th Percentile | £16.00 | £16.17 | £17.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £27.08 | £24.34 | £31.31 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +11.24% | -22.26% | +13.85% |
| 75th Percentile | £53.75 | £43.75 | £58.56 |
| 90th Percentile | £77.50 | £67.25 | £71.25 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £26.90 | £21.18 | £29.50 |
| % change year-on-year | +27.04% | -28.22% | +13.46% |
Retail Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Retail relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
Retail Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Retail.
Retail Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Retail over the 6 months to 20 October 2026.
Retail Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Retail.
Retail Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Retail over the 6 months to 20 October 2026.
Retail Top 17 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Retail within the UK over the 6 months to 20 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 |
Matching Contract IT Job Ads |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | +41 | 1,502 | £550 | +4.76% | 2,523 |
| London | +47 | 834 | £575 | +5.99% | 1,196 |
| UK excluding London | +14 | 689 | £509 | +1.80% | 1,393 |
| Work from Home | +3 | 354 | £550 | +3.09% | 999 |
| North of England | -14 | 183 | £525 | +5.00% | 392 |
| Midlands | +35 | 172 | £500 | +14.68% | 298 |
| South East | -1 | 167 | £575 | +8.64% | 310 |
| North West | +5 | 114 | £550 | +10.00% | 209 |
| East Midlands | +16 | 90 | £500 | +17.65% | 140 |
| West Midlands | +9 | 81 | £550 | +18.92% | 158 |
| East of England | +9 | 77 | £500 | -9.09% | 136 |
| South West | -21 | 53 | £463 | +156.94% | 103 |
| Yorkshire | -36 | 51 | £463 | -22.92% | 148 |
| Scotland | -16 | 27 | £180 | -64.00% | 101 |
| North East | -28 | 18 | £525 | +288.89% | 38 |
| Wales | -7 | 7 | £180 | -71.20% | 40 |
| Northern Ireland | +7 | 4 | £191 | - | 41 |
Retail Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Social Skills | 28.3% | 466 |
| 2 | Finance | 21.7% | 357 |
| 3 | Analytical Skills | 9.5% | 156 |
| 4 | Marketing | 8.6% | 141 |
| 5 | Banking | 7.3% | 120 |
| 6 | Manufacturing | 6.9% | 113 |
| 7 | Organisational Skills | 4.7% | 78 |
| 8 | Retail Banking | 3.5% | 58 |
| 9 | Influencing Skills | 2.3% | 37 |
| 10 | Corporate Banking | 2.2% | 36 |
| 11 | Investment Banking | 2.1% | 35 |
| 11 | Public Sector | 2.1% | 35 |
| 13 | Advertising | 2.0% | 33 |
| 14 | Legal | 1.7% | 28 |
| 15 | Telecoms | 1.4% | 23 |
| 16 | Inclusion and Diversity | 1.2% | 20 |
| 17 | French Language | 1.2% | 19 |
| 18 | Pharmaceutical | 1.0% | 16 |
| 19 | Automotive | 0.9% | 15 |
| 19 | Spanish Language | 0.9% | 15 |