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 3 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
3 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 82 65 79
Rank change year-on-year -17 +14 -21
Contract jobs citing User Experience 1,526 1,158 1,163
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.96% 3.70% 2.68%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.48% 4.08% 3.14%
Number of daily rates quoted 949 753 768
10th Percentile £313 £305 £311
25th Percentile £405 £381 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £490 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +3.16% -5.00% -1.96%
75th Percentile £588 £575 £600
90th Percentile £680 £688 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £449 £475
% change year-on-year +5.91% -5.58% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 70 37 47
10th Percentile £16.00 £18.35 £16.25
25th Percentile £23.62 £34.48 £25.00
Median hourly rate £33.99 £49.50 £31.71
Median % change year-on-year -31.33% +56.10% +7.15%
75th Percentile £67.13 £65.00 £61.50
90th Percentile £85.22 £85.50 £74.44
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.99 £70.00 £27.50
% change year-on-year -51.44% +154.55% +55.19%

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 43,799 28,390 37,058
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 85.01% 90.78% 85.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,227 17,909 23,638
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £415 £405 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £505 £525
Median % change year-on-year +1.98% -3.81% -4.55%
75th Percentile £623 £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 2,638 1,396 2,532
10th Percentile £14.82 £14.21 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.00 £17.50 £16.06
Median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year +74.79% -32.93% +3.45%
75th Percentile £68.00 £53.75 £61.30
90th Percentile £81.25 £70.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.96 £24.66 £38.12
% change year-on-year +78.26% -35.31% +8.91%

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 3 July 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 3 July 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 3 July 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 -16 1,312 £475 -1.04% 948
UK excluding London -6 713 £475 +5.91% 532
London -25 654 £525 +5.00% 521
Work from Home -25 393 £511 +7.63% 460
North of England -20 203 £450 - 161
Midlands +5 154 £475 +17.72% 72
South East -16 135 £500 +5.26% 154
West Midlands +2 112 £475 -9.52% 46
North West -22 111 £437 -3.00% 80
Scotland +16 86 £518 +12.50% 35
South West +2 75 £475 +26.67% 47
Yorkshire -30 59 £500 +24.92% 42
East of England +4 44 £410 -13.68% 50
East Midlands +3 42 £550 +54.49% 26
North East -18 33 £440 -8.33% 40
Wales -13 17 £543 +77.29% 6
Northern Ireland +2 3 - - 16

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 66 (4.33%) SharePoint
2 50 (3.28%) CMS
3 44 (2.88%) Confluence
4 28 (1.83%) Microsoft Exchange
5 10 (0.66%) WordPress
6 8 (0.52%) Adobe Experience Manager
7 6 (0.39%) Mendix
8 5 (0.33%) Apache
8 5 (0.33%) Drupal
8 5 (0.33%) Skype for Business
9 4 (0.26%) Ethereum
9 4 (0.26%) Hyperledger
9 4 (0.26%) Kentico
9 4 (0.26%) Umbraco
10 3 (0.20%) Camunda
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 34 (2.23%) Sketch
2 28 (1.83%) Adobe Creative Suite
2 28 (1.83%) Microsoft Excel
3 20 (1.31%) Chatbot
3 20 (1.31%) Photoshop
4 19 (1.25%) Adobe After Effects
5 16 (1.05%) Adobe Illustrator
6 14 (0.92%) Adobe XD
6 14 (0.92%) Microsoft Office
6 14 (0.92%) MS Visio
7 9 (0.59%) Microsoft PowerPoint
8 6 (0.39%) Final Cut Pro
9 4 (0.26%) Adobe Captivate
10 3 (0.20%) Spreadsheet
10 3 (0.20%) UserZoom
10 3 (0.20%) UXPin
11 2 (0.13%) InVision
11 2 (0.13%) Oracle Smart View
12 1 (0.066%) Blender
12 1 (0.066%) Trello
Business Applications
1 13 (0.85%) SAP S/4HANA
2 11 (0.72%) Workday HCM
3 10 (0.66%) Dynamics CRM
4 8 (0.52%) Shopify
5 6 (0.39%) Sage X3
6 4 (0.26%) NetSuite
6 4 (0.26%) Oracle iProcurement
7 2 (0.13%) iTrent
7 2 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
7 2 (0.13%) Oracle Payables
7 2 (0.13%) Oracle Receivables
7 2 (0.13%) Payment Gateway
7 2 (0.13%) Remedy ITSM
7 2 (0.13%) ResourceLink
7 2 (0.13%) Salesforce CRM
8 1 (0.066%) Integrated Workplace Management System
8 1 (0.066%) NEC Housing
8 1 (0.066%) SAP HR
8 1 (0.066%) SAP QM
8 1 (0.066%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 245 (16.06%) Azure
2 212 (13.89%) Figma
3 124 (8.13%) AWS
4 121 (7.93%) Microsoft 365
5 113 (7.40%) Power Platform
6 62 (4.06%) Entra ID
7 58 (3.80%) Azure DevOps
8 55 (3.60%) SaaS
9 52 (3.41%) GitHub
9 52 (3.41%) Microsoft Copilot
10 42 (2.75%) GCP
11 41 (2.69%) PowerApps
12 36 (2.36%) OneDrive
13 35 (2.29%) Power Automate
14 30 (1.97%) Copilot Studio
14 30 (1.97%) GitHub Actions
14 30 (1.97%) Serverless
15 23 (1.51%) Azure AI
16 17 (1.11%) Snowflake
17 16 (1.05%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 33 (2.16%) DNS
2 28 (1.83%) DHCP
3 24 (1.57%) TCP/IP
4 23 (1.51%) Wi-Fi
5 20 (1.31%) Wireless
6 18 (1.18%) LAN
7 13 (0.85%) Internet
8 12 (0.79%) WAN
9 11 (0.72%) Firewall
10 10 (0.66%) Intranet
10 10 (0.66%) SD-WAN
10 10 (0.66%) VPN
11 8 (0.52%) Cisco Wireless
11 8 (0.52%) HTTP
12 7 (0.46%) 5G
12 7 (0.46%) Skype
12 7 (0.46%) SNMP
12 7 (0.46%) WLAN
13 6 (0.39%) Network Security
14 5 (0.33%) 802.11
Database & Business Intelligence
1 70 (4.59%) Power BI
2 25 (1.64%) NoSQL
2 25 (1.64%) PostgreSQL
3 24 (1.57%) Relational Database
4 22 (1.44%) Metadata
5 20 (1.31%) SQL Server
6 19 (1.25%) Power Query
7 14 (0.92%) MongoDB
8 13 (0.85%) Data Warehouse
9 11 (0.72%) Big Data
9 11 (0.72%) MySQL
10 9 (0.59%) Tableau
11 7 (0.46%) Oracle Database
11 7 (0.46%) Redis
11 7 (0.46%) Snowflake Schema
12 6 (0.39%) Azure SQL Database
12 6 (0.39%) DynamoDB
12 6 (0.39%) Elasticsearch
12 6 (0.39%) ZAP BI
13 5 (0.33%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 92 (6.03%) JIRA
2 84 (5.50%) Git
3 26 (1.70%) Jenkins
4 24 (1.57%) Vite
5 23 (1.51%) Cypress.io
6 20 (1.31%) GitLab
7 13 (0.85%) JUnit
8 10 (0.66%) Claude Code
8 10 (0.66%) fastlane
8 10 (0.66%) Selenium
9 9 (0.59%) Android Studio
9 9 (0.59%) Browser DevTools
9 9 (0.59%) Postman
9 9 (0.59%) Xcode
10 8 (0.52%) Visual Studio
10 8 (0.52%) webpack
11 7 (0.46%) Gradle
12 6 (0.39%) JMeter
12 6 (0.39%) Storybook
13 5 (0.33%) Fiddler
General
1 473 (31.00%) Social Skills
2 272 (17.82%) Finance
3 198 (12.98%) Public Sector
4 153 (10.03%) Analytical Skills
5 117 (7.67%) Banking
6 79 (5.18%) Retail
7 65 (4.26%) Marketing
8 42 (2.75%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 38 (2.49%) Legal
10 31 (2.03%) Influencing Skills
11 30 (1.97%) Presentation Skills
12 27 (1.77%) Automotive
13 25 (1.64%) Manufacturing
13 25 (1.64%) Publishing
14 21 (1.38%) Organisational Skills
15 20 (1.31%) Documentation Skills
16 18 (1.18%) Investment Banking
17 13 (0.85%) Games
18 12 (0.79%) Front Office
19 11 (0.72%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 326 (21.36%) Designer
2 225 (14.74%) Senior
3 203 (13.30%) Developer
4 142 (9.31%) UX Designer
5 112 (7.34%) Analyst
6 111 (7.27%) Lead
7 84 (5.50%) UI Designer
8 77 (5.05%) Consultant
9 71 (4.65%) Senior Designer
10 66 (4.33%) Architect
11 62 (4.06%) Product Designer
12 59 (3.87%) Business Analyst
13 55 (3.60%) User Researcher
14 52 (3.41%) Content Designer
15 49 (3.21%) UI/UX Designer
16 46 (3.01%) User Experience Researcher
17 45 (2.95%) IT Support
18 44 (2.88%) Product Manager
19 39 (2.56%) Full-Stack Engineer
20 37 (2.42%) Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 146 (9.57%) React
2 110 (7.21%) CSS
3 98 (6.42%) REST
4 96 (6.29%) HTML
5 71 (4.65%) RESTful
6 54 (3.54%) AngularJS
7 53 (3.47%) .NET
8 46 (3.01%) Spring
9 45 (2.95%) Spring Boot
10 40 (2.62%) GraphQL
11 33 (2.16%) Redux
12 32 (2.10%) Node.js
13 29 (1.90%) HTML5
13 29 (1.90%) Jest
13 29 (1.90%) Kafka
14 28 (1.83%) JSON
15 27 (1.77%) CSS3
16 26 (1.70%) Next.js
17 23 (1.51%) ASP.NET
18 22 (1.44%) Playwright
Miscellaneous
1 161 (10.55%) Product Ownership
2 81 (5.31%) Mobile App
3 69 (4.52%) Onboarding
4 45 (2.95%) AI Agents
5 43 (2.82%) Cloud Native
6 32 (2.10%) Enterprise Software
7 30 (1.97%) Data Structures
7 30 (1.97%) Self-Motivation
8 26 (1.70%) Data Protection Act
9 25 (1.64%) Legacy Systems
10 23 (1.51%) Animation
11 20 (1.31%) Data Centre
12 19 (1.25%) Analytical Mindset
13 17 (1.11%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
13 17 (1.11%) Taxonomies
14 16 (1.05%) Graphic Design
15 15 (0.98%) Algorithms
15 15 (0.98%) Greenfield Project
16 14 (0.92%) Social Media
17 13 (0.85%) Virtual Reality
Operating Systems
1 117 (7.67%) Windows
2 52 (3.41%) Apple iOS
3 49 (3.21%) Android
4 34 (2.23%) Windows 10
5 24 (1.57%) Mac OS
6 15 (0.98%) Linux
6 15 (0.98%) Windows Server
7 7 (0.46%) Unix
8 6 (0.39%) Windows 7
9 5 (0.33%) Windows Server 2016
10 4 (0.26%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.13%) Windows Server 2012
12 1 (0.066%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 509 (33.36%) UX Design
2 460 (30.14%) Agile
3 281 (18.41%) AI
4 232 (15.20%) Problem-Solving
5 214 (14.02%) Stakeholder Management
6 201 (13.17%) Continuous Improvement
7 194 (12.71%) User Research
8 192 (12.58%) Analytics
9 176 (11.53%) CI/CD
10 167 (10.94%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 162 (10.62%) Roadmaps
12 147 (9.63%) DevOps
13 145 (9.50%) Prototyping
14 139 (9.11%) Decision-Making
15 133 (8.72%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
16 126 (8.26%) Wireframes
17 124 (8.13%) Service Design
18 123 (8.06%) UX Research
19 115 (7.54%) Workshop Facilitation
20 110 (7.21%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 137 (8.98%) JavaScript
2 124 (8.13%) Python
3 122 (7.99%) TypeScript
4 120 (7.86%) SQL
5 108 (7.08%) Java
6 57 (3.74%) C#
7 49 (3.21%) PowerShell
8 30 (1.97%) Kotlin
9 25 (1.64%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 15 (0.98%) Bash
10 15 (0.98%) Swift
11 12 (0.79%) C++
12 9 (0.59%) Lua
13 8 (0.52%) Korn
14 7 (0.46%) Apex Code
14 7 (0.46%) R
15 6 (0.39%) VBA
15 6 (0.39%) VBScript
16 5 (0.33%) Go
16 5 (0.33%) VB
Qualifications
1 214 (14.02%) Security Cleared
2 163 (10.68%) SC Cleared
3 151 (9.90%) Degree
4 35 (2.29%) Computer Science Degree
5 24 (1.57%) BPSS Clearance
6 23 (1.51%) Azure Certification
6 23 (1.51%) DV Cleared
7 22 (1.44%) Microsoft Certification
8 11 (0.72%) Cisco Certification
9 10 (0.66%) Master's Degree
10 9 (0.59%) ITIL Certification
11 8 (0.52%) CCNP
11 8 (0.52%) PMP
12 7 (0.46%) AWS Certification
12 7 (0.46%) CCA
12 7 (0.46%) CCIE
12 7 (0.46%) Citrix Certification
12 7 (0.46%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 6 (0.39%) DBS Check
14 5 (0.33%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 262 (17.17%) Accessibility
2 97 (6.36%) QA
3 85 (5.57%) WCAG
4 45 (2.95%) Data Quality
5 26 (1.70%) GDPR
6 19 (1.25%) Actionable Recommendations
7 11 (0.72%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 8 (0.52%) PMO
8 8 (0.52%) SLA
9 7 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 6 (0.39%) Cyber Essentials
11 4 (0.26%) 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%) NIST
13 2 (0.13%) PCI DSS
13 2 (0.13%) PSD2
14 1 (0.066%) ISO 20022
System Software
1 76 (4.98%) Active Directory
2 48 (3.15%) Docker
3 24 (1.57%) Virtual Desktop
4 13 (0.85%) VMware Infrastructure
5 6 (0.39%) Firmware
6 5 (0.33%) BitLocker
7 4 (0.26%) Microsoft App-V
8 3 (0.20%) Hyper-V
8 3 (0.20%) Virtual Machines
8 3 (0.20%) VMware ESXi
8 3 (0.20%) vSphere
9 2 (0.13%) VMware Workstation
9 2 (0.13%) XenApp
9 2 (0.13%) XenDesktop
10 1 (0.066%) UAG
10 1 (0.066%) Varnish
Systems Management
1 48 (3.15%) Kubernetes
2 47 (3.08%) Microsoft Intune
3 45 (2.95%) Terraform
4 34 (2.23%) SCCM
5 32 (2.10%) Grafana
6 16 (1.05%) Single Sign-On
7 14 (0.92%) Jamf Pro
8 13 (0.85%) Ansible
9 10 (0.66%) Prometheus
10 4 (0.26%) Clonezilla
11 3 (0.20%) Podman
11 3 (0.20%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
11 3 (0.20%) vCenter Server
11 3 (0.20%) WSUS
12 2 (0.13%) Argo
12 2 (0.13%) Failover Clustering
12 2 (0.13%) Packer
12 2 (0.13%) SCOM
12 2 (0.13%) vMotion
13 1 (0.066%) HP ALM
Vendors
1 257 (16.84%) Microsoft
2 87 (5.70%) Adobe
3 70 (4.59%) ServiceNow
4 55 (3.60%) Google
5 47 (3.08%) SAP
6 41 (2.69%) Oracle
7 37 (2.42%) Salesforce
8 21 (1.38%) Databricks
8 21 (1.38%) Dynatrace
8 21 (1.38%) Workday
9 19 (1.25%) Citrix
9 19 (1.25%) Splunk
10 18 (1.18%) Cisco
11 17 (1.11%) Apple
11 17 (1.11%) Foundry
12 15 (0.98%) OpenAI
13 14 (0.92%) VMware
14 12 (0.79%) Aruba
15 10 (0.66%) Zscaler
16 8 (0.52%) Okta