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 17 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
17 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 83 63 77
Rank change year-on-year -20 +14 -18
Contract jobs citing User Experience 1,487 1,122 1,180
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.96% 3.78% 2.71%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.48% 4.15% 3.18%
Number of daily rates quoted 957 730 780
10th Percentile £325 £303 £306
25th Percentile £402 £380 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £492 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +3.58% -5.00% -2.44%
75th Percentile £588 £575 £600
90th Percentile £683 £688 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £425 £475
% change year-on-year +11.76% -10.53% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 64 31 46
10th Percentile £16.00 £32.89 £16.25
25th Percentile £21.22 £35.25 £25.00
Median hourly rate £33.99 £53.50 £32.39
Median % change year-on-year -36.47% +65.17% +22.23%
75th Percentile £52.24 £67.58 £66.31
90th Percentile £81.38 £85.50 £74.44
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.98 £70.08 £27.50
% change year-on-year -51.51% +154.84% +56.16%

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 42,679 27,009 37,072
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.81% 91.00% 85.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 26,607 17,137 23,609
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £413 £406 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £508 £525
Median % change year-on-year +0.99% -3.33% -4.55%
75th Percentile £619 £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 2,567 1,242 2,598
10th Percentile £14.82 £14.20 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.09 £17.87 £16.03
Median hourly rate £43.96 £26.27 £37.34
Median % change year-on-year +67.37% -29.66% +6.69%
75th Percentile £68.00 £55.25 £61.30
90th Percentile £81.25 £73.75 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £44.50 £25.15 £38.12
% change year-on-year +76.94% -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 17 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 17 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 17 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 -13 1,275 £485 +2.11% 1,519
UK excluding London +1 685 £475 +11.76% 1,546
London -25 647 £520 +4.00% 401
Work from Home -23 391 £500 +5.26% 1,440
North of England -19 192 £450 +3.21% 336
Midlands +3 155 £475 +18.16% 181
South East -14 133 £490 +3.16% 371
North West -10 119 £425 -4.92% 176
West Midlands -5 108 £475 -7.32% 92
Scotland +10 83 £525 +15.38% 160
South West -1 73 £475 +26.67% 116
Yorkshire -37 50 £519 +31.50% 96
East Midlands +5 47 £550 +55.81% 89
East of England -9 34 £410 -13.68% 203
North East -23 23 £450 -6.25% 65
Wales -7 16 £536 +75.25% 93
Northern Ireland 0 3 - - 101

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 62 (4.17%) SharePoint
2 49 (3.30%) Confluence
3 46 (3.09%) CMS
4 24 (1.61%) Microsoft Exchange
5 10 (0.67%) 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 39 (2.62%) Sketch
2 24 (1.61%) Microsoft Excel
3 23 (1.55%) Adobe Creative Suite
4 22 (1.48%) Photoshop
5 20 (1.34%) Chatbot
6 19 (1.28%) Adobe After Effects
6 19 (1.28%) Adobe XD
7 17 (1.14%) Adobe Illustrator
8 14 (0.94%) MS Visio
9 13 (0.87%) Microsoft Office
10 8 (0.54%) Microsoft PowerPoint
11 7 (0.47%) InVision
12 5 (0.34%) Final Cut Pro
13 4 (0.27%) Adobe Captivate
14 3 (0.20%) Spreadsheet
14 3 (0.20%) Trello
14 3 (0.20%) UserZoom
14 3 (0.20%) UXPin
15 2 (0.13%) Oracle Smart View
16 1 (0.067%) Blender
Business Applications
1 13 (0.87%) 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%) 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%) SAP HR
9 1 (0.067%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 234 (15.74%) Azure
2 212 (14.26%) Figma
3 124 (8.34%) AWS
4 114 (7.67%) Microsoft 365
5 111 (7.46%) Power Platform
6 60 (4.03%) Entra ID
7 57 (3.83%) Azure DevOps
8 49 (3.30%) GitHub
9 47 (3.16%) Microsoft Copilot
10 45 (3.03%) SaaS
11 37 (2.49%) GCP
11 37 (2.49%) PowerApps
12 35 (2.35%) Power Automate
13 34 (2.29%) OneDrive
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 28 (1.88%) DNS
2 24 (1.61%) DHCP
3 23 (1.55%) Wi-Fi
4 20 (1.34%) Wireless
5 18 (1.21%) TCP/IP
6 14 (0.94%) LAN
7 13 (0.87%) Internet
8 11 (0.74%) Intranet
9 10 (0.67%) SD-WAN
10 9 (0.61%) HTTP
11 8 (0.54%) Cisco Wireless
11 8 (0.54%) VPN
11 8 (0.54%) WAN
12 7 (0.47%) 5G
12 7 (0.47%) Firewall
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 (4.84%) Power BI
2 26 (1.75%) PostgreSQL
3 24 (1.61%) Relational Database
4 23 (1.55%) NoSQL
5 22 (1.48%) Metadata
5 22 (1.48%) SQL Server
6 18 (1.21%) Power Query
7 15 (1.01%) Data Warehouse
8 14 (0.94%) MongoDB
9 12 (0.81%) MySQL
10 11 (0.74%) Big Data
11 9 (0.61%) Tableau
12 7 (0.47%) Redis
13 6 (0.40%) DynamoDB
13 6 (0.40%) Elasticsearch
13 6 (0.40%) Oracle Database
13 6 (0.40%) Pinecone
13 6 (0.40%) ZAP BI
14 5 (0.34%) Snowflake Schema
15 4 (0.27%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 96 (6.46%) JIRA
2 85 (5.72%) Git
3 25 (1.68%) Jenkins
4 24 (1.61%) 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 (30.40%) Social Skills
2 258 (17.35%) Finance
3 189 (12.71%) Public Sector
4 137 (9.21%) Analytical Skills
5 113 (7.60%) Banking
6 75 (5.04%) Retail
7 60 (4.03%) Marketing
8 40 (2.69%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 33 (2.22%) Legal
10 31 (2.08%) Influencing Skills
10 31 (2.08%) Presentation Skills
11 29 (1.95%) Automotive
12 23 (1.55%) Manufacturing
12 23 (1.55%) Publishing
13 18 (1.21%) Documentation Skills
14 17 (1.14%) Investment Banking
15 16 (1.08%) Organisational Skills
16 13 (0.87%) Games
17 11 (0.74%) Front Office
17 11 (0.74%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 314 (21.12%) Designer
2 221 (14.86%) Senior
3 201 (13.52%) Developer
4 142 (9.55%) UX Designer
5 114 (7.67%) Analyst
6 99 (6.66%) Lead
7 78 (5.25%) UI Designer
8 75 (5.04%) Consultant
9 64 (4.30%) Senior Designer
10 62 (4.17%) Architect
11 57 (3.83%) Business Analyst
11 57 (3.83%) Product Designer
12 51 (3.43%) Content Designer
13 49 (3.30%) User Experience Researcher
13 49 (3.30%) User Researcher
14 46 (3.09%) IT Support
15 45 (3.03%) UI/UX Designer
16 39 (2.62%) Product Manager
17 37 (2.49%) Senior Developer
18 33 (2.22%) Full-Stack Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 148 (9.95%) React
2 121 (8.14%) CSS
3 109 (7.33%) HTML
4 94 (6.32%) REST
5 67 (4.51%) RESTful
6 64 (4.30%) AngularJS
7 54 (3.63%) .NET
8 50 (3.36%) 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 (1.88%) HTML5
14 27 (1.82%) Jest
15 26 (1.75%) CSS3
16 25 (1.68%) ASP.NET
16 25 (1.68%) OAuth
17 24 (1.61%) Next.js
Miscellaneous
1 153 (10.29%) Product Ownership
2 72 (4.84%) Mobile App
3 61 (4.10%) Onboarding
4 37 (2.49%) AI Agents
5 33 (2.22%) Cloud Native
6 31 (2.08%) Enterprise Software
7 29 (1.95%) Data Structures
8 26 (1.75%) Legacy Systems
9 23 (1.55%) Self-Motivation
10 22 (1.48%) Animation
11 21 (1.41%) Data Protection Act
12 18 (1.21%) Data Centre
13 17 (1.14%) Analytical Mindset
14 16 (1.08%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
14 16 (1.08%) Taxonomies
15 15 (1.01%) Graphic Design
16 14 (0.94%) Algorithms
16 14 (0.94%) Greenfield Project
16 14 (0.94%) Social Media
17 13 (0.87%) Distributed Systems
Operating Systems
1 106 (7.13%) Windows
2 49 (3.30%) Apple iOS
3 43 (2.89%) Android
4 31 (2.08%) 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
1 504 (33.89%) UX Design
2 451 (30.33%) Agile
3 260 (17.48%) AI
4 219 (14.73%) Problem-Solving
5 196 (13.18%) Stakeholder Management
5 196 (13.18%) User Research
6 195 (13.11%) Analytics
7 185 (12.44%) Continuous Improvement
8 163 (10.96%) CI/CD
9 162 (10.89%) Roadmaps
9 162 (10.89%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 146 (9.82%) Prototyping
11 144 (9.68%) DevOps
12 138 (9.28%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
13 128 (8.61%) Wireframes
14 124 (8.34%) Decision-Making
15 123 (8.27%) UX Research
16 121 (8.14%) Service Design
17 104 (6.99%) Usability Testing
18 103 (6.93%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 148 (9.95%) JavaScript
2 118 (7.94%) Python
3 115 (7.73%) SQL
4 114 (7.67%) TypeScript
5 106 (7.13%) Java
6 59 (3.97%) C#
7 47 (3.16%) PowerShell
8 26 (1.75%) Kotlin
9 22 (1.48%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 14 (0.94%) Swift
11 13 (0.87%) 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
1 197 (13.25%) Security Cleared
2 147 (9.89%) SC Cleared
3 146 (9.82%) Degree
4 30 (2.02%) Computer Science Degree
5 26 (1.75%) BPSS Clearance
6 22 (1.48%) DV Cleared
6 22 (1.48%) Microsoft Certification
7 17 (1.14%) 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%) DBS Check
14 5 (0.34%) MCSE
15 4 (0.27%) CWNA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 257 (17.28%) Accessibility
2 97 (6.52%) QA
3 87 (5.85%) WCAG
4 43 (2.89%) Data Quality
5 24 (1.61%) 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 71 (4.77%) Active Directory
2 48 (3.23%) Docker
3 24 (1.61%) Virtual Desktop
4 13 (0.87%) 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 43 (2.89%) 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 (0.87%) 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%) AirWatch
Vendors
1 239 (16.07%) Microsoft
2 90 (6.05%) Adobe
3 72 (4.84%) ServiceNow
4 55 (3.70%) Google
5 42 (2.82%) SAP
6 41 (2.76%) Salesforce
7 36 (2.42%) Oracle
8 21 (1.41%) Databricks
9 20 (1.34%) 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 (0.87%) 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