User Experience Contract Job Trends

UX
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring User Experience skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 18 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
18 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 84 62 78
Rank change year-on-year -22 +16 -19
Contract jobs citing User Experience 1,485 1,128 1,183
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.95% 3.79% 2.70%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.47% 4.16% 3.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 949 738 782
10th Percentile £325 £303 £305
25th Percentile £405 £380 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £493 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +3.68% -5.00% -2.44%
75th Percentile £588 £579 £600
90th Percentile £680 £696 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £425 £475
% change year-on-year +11.76% -10.53% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 66 31 47
10th Percentile £16.00 £32.89 £16.25
25th Percentile £21.75 £35.25 £25.00
Median hourly rate £33.99 £53.50 £31.71
Median % change year-on-year -36.47% +68.72% +19.66%
75th Percentile £58.31 £67.58 £64.63
90th Percentile £85.08 £85.50 £74.44
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.99 £70.08 £30.00
% change year-on-year -51.51% +133.60% +70.36%

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK

User Experience 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.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 42,754 27,087 37,306
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.83% 91.00% 85.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 26,630 17,192 23,755
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £413 £406 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £505 £525
Median % change year-on-year +1.46% -3.79% -4.55%
75th Percentile £620 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,570 1,249 2,608
10th Percentile £14.80 £14.20 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.02 £17.87 £16.02
Median hourly rate £43.96 £26.21 £37.18
Median % change year-on-year +67.72% -29.51% +6.14%
75th Percentile £68.00 £55.25 £61.30
90th Percentile £81.32 £73.75 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.15 £38.12
% change year-on-year +78.93% -34.02% +17.29%

User Experience
Job Vacancy Trend

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

User Experience job vacancy trend in the UK

User Experience
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing User Experience.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing User Experience

User Experience
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing User Experience over the 6 months to 18 June 2026.

Daily rate histogram for User Experience in the UK

User Experience
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing User Experience.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing User Experience

User Experience
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing User Experience over the 6 months to 18 June 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for User Experience in the UK

User Experience
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 User Experience within the UK over the 6 months to 18 June 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 -12 1,271 £488 +1.56% 703
UK excluding London -3 681 £475 +11.76% 470
London -29 647 £520 +4.00% 370
Work from Home -27 386 £500 +5.26% 322
North of England -26 184 £450 +3.21% 138
Midlands +5 155 £475 +18.16% 45
South East -10 135 £490 +3.16% 143
North West -12 112 £437 -2.35% 91
West Midlands +2 108 £475 -7.32% 29
Scotland +8 83 £525 +15.38% 16
South West +4 73 £475 +26.67% 42
Yorkshire -42 50 £519 +31.50% 18
East Midlands +4 47 £550 +55.81% 16
East of England -9 35 £410 -13.68% 42
North East -28 22 £450 -6.25% 30
Wales -8 17 £530 +73.20% 10
Northern Ireland -2 3 - - 41

User Experience
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 63 (4.24%) SharePoint
2 47 (3.16%) Confluence
3 46 (3.10%) CMS
4 25 (1.68%) Microsoft Exchange
5 9 (0.61%) Adobe Experience Manager
6 7 (0.47%) WordPress
7 6 (0.40%) Mendix
8 5 (0.34%) Apache
8 5 (0.34%) Camunda
8 5 (0.34%) Drupal
8 5 (0.34%) Skype for Business
9 4 (0.27%) Ethereum
9 4 (0.27%) Hyperledger
9 4 (0.27%) Kentico
9 4 (0.27%) Umbraco
10 3 (0.20%) Headless CMS
10 3 (0.20%) nginx
11 2 (0.13%) HCL Notes
11 2 (0.13%) IIS
11 2 (0.13%) Moodle
Applications
1 40 (2.69%) Sketch
2 25 (1.68%) Adobe Creative Suite
2 25 (1.68%) Microsoft Excel
3 22 (1.48%) Photoshop
4 20 (1.35%) Adobe After Effects
4 20 (1.35%) Chatbot
5 19 (1.28%) Adobe XD
6 17 (1.14%) Adobe Illustrator
7 14 (0.94%) MS Visio
8 13 (0.88%) Microsoft Office
9 9 (0.61%) Microsoft PowerPoint
10 7 (0.47%) InVision
11 6 (0.40%) Final Cut Pro
12 4 (0.27%) Adobe Captivate
13 3 (0.20%) Spreadsheet
13 3 (0.20%) Trello
13 3 (0.20%) UserZoom
13 3 (0.20%) UXPin
14 2 (0.13%) Oracle Smart View
15 1 (0.067%) Blender
Business Applications
1 13 (0.88%) SAP S/4HANA
2 10 (0.67%) Dynamics CRM
3 9 (0.61%) Workday HCM
4 8 (0.54%) Shopify
5 6 (0.40%) Sage X3
6 4 (0.27%) NetSuite
7 3 (0.20%) Oracle iProcurement
8 2 (0.13%) Oracle Payables
8 2 (0.13%) Oracle Receivables
8 2 (0.13%) Payment Gateway
8 2 (0.13%) Remedy ITSM
8 2 (0.13%) ResourceLink
9 1 (0.067%) Eloqua
9 1 (0.067%) Integrated Workplace Management System
9 1 (0.067%) Magento
9 1 (0.067%) NEC Housing
9 1 (0.067%) Oracle EBS R12
9 1 (0.067%) Salesforce CRM
9 1 (0.067%) SAP ERP
9 1 (0.067%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 235 (15.82%) Azure
2 213 (14.34%) Figma
3 126 (8.48%) AWS
4 114 (7.68%) Microsoft 365
5 111 (7.47%) Power Platform
6 61 (4.11%) Entra ID
7 57 (3.84%) Azure DevOps
8 49 (3.30%) GitHub
9 47 (3.16%) Microsoft Copilot
10 45 (3.03%) SaaS
11 39 (2.63%) GCP
12 37 (2.49%) PowerApps
13 35 (2.36%) OneDrive
13 35 (2.36%) Power Automate
14 32 (2.15%) GitHub Actions
15 30 (2.02%) Serverless
16 25 (1.68%) Copilot Studio
17 21 (1.41%) Google Workspace
18 19 (1.28%) Google Sheets
19 17 (1.14%) Cloud Computing
Communications & Networking
1 29 (1.95%) DNS
2 25 (1.68%) DHCP
3 23 (1.55%) Wi-Fi
4 20 (1.35%) Wireless
5 19 (1.28%) TCP/IP
6 15 (1.01%) LAN
7 13 (0.88%) Internet
8 11 (0.74%) Intranet
9 10 (0.67%) SD-WAN
10 9 (0.61%) HTTP
10 9 (0.61%) WAN
11 8 (0.54%) Cisco Wireless
11 8 (0.54%) Firewall
11 8 (0.54%) VPN
12 7 (0.47%) 5G
12 7 (0.47%) Skype
12 7 (0.47%) WLAN
13 6 (0.40%) Network Security
13 6 (0.40%) SNMP
14 5 (0.34%) 802.11
Database & Business Intelligence
1 72 (4.85%) Power BI
2 26 (1.75%) PostgreSQL
3 24 (1.62%) Relational Database
4 23 (1.55%) NoSQL
5 22 (1.48%) SQL Server
6 21 (1.41%) Metadata
7 18 (1.21%) Power Query
8 15 (1.01%) Data Warehouse
9 14 (0.94%) MongoDB
10 12 (0.81%) MySQL
11 11 (0.74%) Big Data
12 9 (0.61%) Tableau
13 7 (0.47%) Redis
14 6 (0.40%) DynamoDB
14 6 (0.40%) Elasticsearch
14 6 (0.40%) Oracle Database
14 6 (0.40%) Pinecone
14 6 (0.40%) ZAP BI
15 5 (0.34%) Data Mining
15 5 (0.34%) Snowflake Schema
Development Applications
1 95 (6.40%) JIRA
2 86 (5.79%) Git
3 25 (1.68%) Jenkins
4 24 (1.62%) Cypress.io
5 21 (1.41%) GitLab
6 16 (1.08%) JUnit
7 15 (1.01%) Vite
8 10 (0.67%) fastlane
8 10 (0.67%) Gradle
9 9 (0.61%) Android Studio
9 9 (0.61%) Axure RP
9 9 (0.61%) Browser DevTools
9 9 (0.61%) Selenium
9 9 (0.61%) Xcode
10 8 (0.54%) Visual Studio
11 7 (0.47%) CircleCI
11 7 (0.47%) Claude Code
11 7 (0.47%) Postman
12 6 (0.40%) webpack
13 5 (0.34%) Crashlytics
General
1 452 (30.44%) Social Skills
2 261 (17.58%) Finance
3 185 (12.46%) Public Sector
4 141 (9.49%) Analytical Skills
5 114 (7.68%) Banking
6 78 (5.25%) Retail
7 60 (4.04%) Marketing
8 40 (2.69%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 34 (2.29%) Legal
10 32 (2.15%) Influencing Skills
11 29 (1.95%) Automotive
12 28 (1.89%) Presentation Skills
13 23 (1.55%) Manufacturing
13 23 (1.55%) Publishing
14 18 (1.21%) Documentation Skills
15 17 (1.14%) Investment Banking
16 16 (1.08%) Organisational Skills
17 13 (0.88%) Games
18 11 (0.74%) Front Office
18 11 (0.74%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 313 (21.08%) Designer
2 221 (14.88%) Senior
3 200 (13.47%) Developer
4 139 (9.36%) UX Designer
5 113 (7.61%) Analyst
6 99 (6.67%) Lead
7 80 (5.39%) UI Designer
8 75 (5.05%) Consultant
9 66 (4.44%) Senior Designer
10 63 (4.24%) Architect
11 57 (3.84%) Business Analyst
11 57 (3.84%) Product Designer
12 49 (3.30%) Content Designer
12 49 (3.30%) User Researcher
13 47 (3.16%) User Experience Researcher
14 45 (3.03%) UI/UX Designer
15 44 (2.96%) IT Support
16 38 (2.56%) Product Manager
17 36 (2.42%) Senior Developer
18 33 (2.22%) Full-Stack Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 146 (9.83%) React
2 119 (8.01%) CSS
3 107 (7.21%) HTML
4 95 (6.40%) REST
5 67 (4.51%) RESTful
6 63 (4.24%) AngularJS
7 54 (3.64%) .NET
8 50 (3.37%) Spring
9 49 (3.30%) Spring Boot
10 32 (2.15%) GraphQL
10 32 (2.15%) Node.js
11 30 (2.02%) JSON
11 30 (2.02%) Redux
12 29 (1.95%) Kafka
13 28 (1.89%) HTML5
14 27 (1.82%) Jest
15 26 (1.75%) CSS3
16 25 (1.68%) ASP.NET
16 25 (1.68%) OAuth
17 24 (1.62%) Next.js
Miscellaneous
1 155 (10.44%) Product Ownership
2 72 (4.85%) Mobile App
3 62 (4.18%) Onboarding
4 37 (2.49%) AI Agents
5 33 (2.22%) Cloud Native
6 31 (2.09%) Enterprise Software
7 29 (1.95%) Data Structures
8 26 (1.75%) Legacy Systems
8 26 (1.75%) Self-Motivation
9 23 (1.55%) Animation
10 21 (1.41%) Data Protection Act
11 18 (1.21%) Data Centre
12 17 (1.14%) Analytical Mindset
13 16 (1.08%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
13 16 (1.08%) Taxonomies
14 15 (1.01%) Graphic Design
15 14 (0.94%) Algorithms
15 14 (0.94%) Greenfield Project
15 14 (0.94%) Social Media
16 13 (0.88%) Virtual Reality
Operating Systems
1 106 (7.14%) Windows
2 50 (3.37%) Apple iOS
3 44 (2.96%) Android
4 30 (2.02%) Windows 10
5 23 (1.55%) Mac OS
6 14 (0.94%) Linux
7 12 (0.81%) Windows Server
8 6 (0.40%) Windows 7
9 5 (0.34%) Windows Server 2016
10 4 (0.27%) Unix
10 4 (0.27%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.13%) Windows Server 2012
12 1 (0.067%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 500 (33.67%) UX Design
2 446 (30.03%) Agile
3 260 (17.51%) AI
4 221 (14.88%) Problem-Solving
5 197 (13.27%) Stakeholder Management
6 193 (13.00%) Analytics
7 191 (12.86%) User Research
8 185 (12.46%) Continuous Improvement
9 164 (11.04%) CI/CD
10 162 (10.91%) Roadmaps
11 161 (10.84%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 145 (9.76%) DevOps
13 143 (9.63%) Prototyping
14 133 (8.96%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
15 128 (8.62%) Wireframes
16 121 (8.15%) Decision-Making
17 119 (8.01%) Service Design
17 119 (8.01%) UX Research
18 105 (7.07%) Scrum
19 101 (6.80%) Usability Testing
Programming Languages
1 147 (9.90%) JavaScript
2 121 (8.15%) Python
3 117 (7.88%) SQL
4 115 (7.74%) TypeScript
5 105 (7.07%) Java
6 59 (3.97%) C#
7 48 (3.23%) PowerShell
8 26 (1.75%) Kotlin
9 22 (1.48%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 14 (0.94%) Swift
11 13 (0.88%) Bash
12 11 (0.74%) C++
13 9 (0.61%) Lua
14 8 (0.54%) Korn
15 6 (0.40%) Apex Code
15 6 (0.40%) R
15 6 (0.40%) VBA
15 6 (0.40%) VBScript
16 5 (0.34%) Scala
16 5 (0.34%) VB
Qualifications
1 196 (13.20%) Security Cleared
2 150 (10.10%) Degree
2 150 (10.10%) SC Cleared
3 33 (2.22%) Computer Science Degree
4 26 (1.75%) BPSS Clearance
5 23 (1.55%) DV Cleared
6 22 (1.48%) Microsoft Certification
7 19 (1.28%) Azure Certification
8 11 (0.74%) Cisco Certification
9 10 (0.67%) Master's Degree
10 9 (0.61%) ITIL Certification
11 8 (0.54%) CCA
11 8 (0.54%) CCNP
12 7 (0.47%) CCIE
12 7 (0.47%) Citrix Certification
12 7 (0.47%) PMP
12 7 (0.47%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 6 (0.40%) AWS Certification
13 6 (0.40%) DBS Check
14 5 (0.34%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 253 (17.04%) Accessibility
2 98 (6.60%) QA
3 87 (5.86%) WCAG
4 43 (2.90%) Data Quality
5 25 (1.68%) GDPR
6 19 (1.28%) Actionable Recommendations
7 11 (0.74%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 8 (0.54%) SLA
9 7 (0.47%) PMO
10 6 (0.40%) Cyber Essentials
10 6 (0.40%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 4 (0.27%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 3 (0.20%) GMP
12 3 (0.20%) GRC
12 3 (0.20%) GxP
13 2 (0.13%) HIPAA
13 2 (0.13%) NCSC
13 2 (0.13%) NIST
13 2 (0.13%) PCI DSS
14 1 (0.067%) Disclosure Scotland
System Software
1 70 (4.71%) Active Directory
2 48 (3.23%) Docker
3 24 (1.62%) Virtual Desktop
4 13 (0.88%) VMware Infrastructure
5 6 (0.40%) Firmware
6 5 (0.34%) BitLocker
7 4 (0.27%) Microsoft App-V
8 3 (0.20%) Hyper-V
8 3 (0.20%) Virtual Machines
9 2 (0.13%) VMware ESXi
9 2 (0.13%) VMware Workstation
9 2 (0.13%) vSphere
9 2 (0.13%) XenApp
9 2 (0.13%) XenDesktop
10 1 (0.067%) Varnish
Systems Management
1 48 (3.23%) Kubernetes
2 45 (3.03%) Terraform
3 44 (2.96%) Microsoft Intune
4 33 (2.22%) SCCM
5 30 (2.02%) Grafana
6 19 (1.28%) Single Sign-On
7 14 (0.94%) Jamf Pro
8 13 (0.88%) Ansible
9 9 (0.61%) Prometheus
10 4 (0.27%) Clonezilla
11 3 (0.20%) Podman
11 3 (0.20%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
11 3 (0.20%) WSUS
12 2 (0.13%) Failover Clustering
12 2 (0.13%) HP ALM
12 2 (0.13%) Packer
12 2 (0.13%) SCOM
12 2 (0.13%) vCenter Server
12 2 (0.13%) vMotion
13 1 (0.067%) HAProxy
Vendors
1 241 (16.23%) Microsoft
2 91 (6.13%) Adobe
3 72 (4.85%) ServiceNow
4 56 (3.77%) Google
5 42 (2.83%) SAP
6 41 (2.76%) Salesforce
7 36 (2.42%) Oracle
8 22 (1.48%) Databricks
9 20 (1.35%) Dynatrace
10 19 (1.28%) Citrix
11 17 (1.14%) Apple
11 17 (1.14%) Cisco
11 17 (1.14%) Workday
12 16 (1.08%) Splunk
13 13 (0.88%) VMware
14 12 (0.81%) Aruba
14 12 (0.81%) Foundry
15 11 (0.74%) OpenAI
16 8 (0.54%) Okta
16 8 (0.54%) Zscaler