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

6 months to
2 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 82 63 77
Rank change year-on-year -19 +14 -19
Contract jobs citing User Experience 1,518 1,147 1,165
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.95% 3.70% 2.68%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.47% 4.08% 3.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 944 747 770
10th Percentile £317 £305 £306
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 £447 £470
% change year-on-year +6.26% -4.89% -1.05%
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 43,739 28,136 37,017
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.99% 90.86% 85.29%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,189 17,763 23,600
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £415 £405 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £505 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.08% -3.90% -4.55%
75th Percentile £621 £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 2,627 1,381 2,550
10th Percentile £14.82 £14.20 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.00 £17.61 £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 £53.95 £61.30
90th Percentile £81.25 £70.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.96 £25.00 £38.12
% change year-on-year +75.84% -34.42% +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 2 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 2 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 2 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 1,306 £475 -0.52% 947
UK excluding London -6 710 £475 +6.26% 537
London -24 652 £525 +5.00% 510
Work from Home -25 390 £500 +5.26% 469
North of England -21 201 £450 - 167
Midlands +10 154 £475 +18.16% 70
South East -19 135 £500 +5.26% 153
West Midlands +3 112 £475 -9.52% 44
North West -25 111 £437 -3.00% 87
Scotland +11 85 £518 +12.50% 35
South West -6 75 £475 +26.67% 47
Yorkshire -23 58 £500 +24.84% 42
East of England +6 43 £410 -13.68% 50
East Midlands +1 42 £550 +54.49% 26
North East -12 32 £440 -8.33% 39
Wales -7 18 £536 +75.25% 6
Northern Ireland 0 3 - - 18

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 (4.35%) SharePoint
2 48 (3.16%) CMS
3 44 (2.90%) Confluence
4 28 (1.84%) Microsoft Exchange
5 10 (0.66%) WordPress
6 7 (0.46%) Adobe Experience Manager
7 6 (0.40%) Mendix
8 5 (0.33%) Apache
8 5 (0.33%) Drupal
8 5 (0.33%) Skype for Business
9 4 (0.26%) Camunda
9 4 (0.26%) Ethereum
9 4 (0.26%) Hyperledger
9 4 (0.26%) Kentico
9 4 (0.26%) 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%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 34 (2.24%) Sketch
2 28 (1.84%) Adobe Creative Suite
2 28 (1.84%) Microsoft Excel
3 20 (1.32%) Chatbot
3 20 (1.32%) 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 (0.40%) 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 (0.86%) SAP S/4HANA
2 11 (0.72%) Workday HCM
3 10 (0.66%) Dynamics CRM
4 8 (0.53%) Shopify
5 6 (0.40%) Sage X3
6 4 (0.26%) NetSuite
6 4 (0.26%) Oracle iProcurement
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%) Eloqua
8 1 (0.066%) Integrated Workplace Management System
8 1 (0.066%) iTrent
8 1 (0.066%) NEC Housing
8 1 (0.066%) SAP QM
8 1 (0.066%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 242 (15.94%) Azure
2 213 (14.03%) Figma
3 125 (8.23%) AWS
4 120 (7.91%) Microsoft 365
5 113 (7.44%) Power Platform
6 62 (4.08%) Entra ID
7 58 (3.82%) Azure DevOps
8 54 (3.56%) SaaS
9 52 (3.43%) Microsoft Copilot
10 49 (3.23%) GitHub
11 42 (2.77%) GCP
12 41 (2.70%) PowerApps
13 36 (2.37%) OneDrive
14 35 (2.31%) Power Automate
15 30 (1.98%) Copilot Studio
15 30 (1.98%) GitHub Actions
15 30 (1.98%) Serverless
16 20 (1.32%) Azure AI
17 17 (1.12%) Google Workspace
17 17 (1.12%) Snowflake
Communications & Networking
1 33 (2.17%) DNS
2 28 (1.84%) DHCP
3 24 (1.58%) TCP/IP
4 23 (1.52%) Wi-Fi
5 20 (1.32%) Wireless
6 18 (1.19%) LAN
7 13 (0.86%) 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 (0.53%) Cisco Wireless
11 8 (0.53%) HTTP
12 7 (0.46%) 5G
12 7 (0.46%) Skype
12 7 (0.46%) SNMP
12 7 (0.46%) WLAN
13 6 (0.40%) Network Security
14 5 (0.33%) 802.11
Database & Business Intelligence
1 70 (4.61%) Power BI
2 26 (1.71%) PostgreSQL
3 25 (1.65%) NoSQL
3 25 (1.65%) Relational Database
4 22 (1.45%) Metadata
5 20 (1.32%) SQL Server
6 19 (1.25%) Power Query
7 14 (0.92%) MongoDB
8 13 (0.86%) Data Warehouse
9 12 (0.79%) MySQL
10 11 (0.72%) Big Data
11 9 (0.59%) Tableau
12 7 (0.46%) Oracle Database
12 7 (0.46%) Redis
12 7 (0.46%) Snowflake Schema
13 6 (0.40%) Azure SQL Database
13 6 (0.40%) DynamoDB
13 6 (0.40%) Elasticsearch
13 6 (0.40%) ZAP BI
14 5 (0.33%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 92 (6.06%) JIRA
2 85 (5.60%) Git
3 26 (1.71%) Jenkins
4 24 (1.58%) Cypress.io
4 24 (1.58%) Vite
5 20 (1.32%) GitLab
6 14 (0.92%) JUnit
7 10 (0.66%) Claude Code
7 10 (0.66%) fastlane
7 10 (0.66%) Selenium
8 9 (0.59%) Android Studio
8 9 (0.59%) Browser DevTools
8 9 (0.59%) Postman
8 9 (0.59%) Xcode
9 8 (0.53%) Gradle
9 8 (0.53%) Visual Studio
9 8 (0.53%) webpack
10 6 (0.40%) JMeter
10 6 (0.40%) Storybook
11 5 (0.33%) Fiddler
General
1 467 (30.76%) Social Skills
2 271 (17.85%) Finance
3 194 (12.78%) Public Sector
4 151 (9.95%) Analytical Skills
5 117 (7.71%) Banking
6 79 (5.20%) Retail
7 62 (4.08%) Marketing
8 42 (2.77%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 38 (2.50%) Legal
10 31 (2.04%) Influencing Skills
11 30 (1.98%) Presentation Skills
12 27 (1.78%) Automotive
13 25 (1.65%) Publishing
14 24 (1.58%) Manufacturing
15 20 (1.32%) Documentation Skills
15 20 (1.32%) Organisational Skills
16 18 (1.19%) Investment Banking
17 13 (0.86%) Games
18 12 (0.79%) Front Office
19 11 (0.72%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 326 (21.48%) Designer
2 224 (14.76%) Senior
3 204 (13.44%) Developer
4 142 (9.35%) UX Designer
5 111 (7.31%) Analyst
5 111 (7.31%) Lead
6 85 (5.60%) UI Designer
7 77 (5.07%) Consultant
8 71 (4.68%) Senior Designer
9 66 (4.35%) Architect
10 63 (4.15%) Product Designer
11 59 (3.89%) Business Analyst
12 52 (3.43%) Content Designer
12 52 (3.43%) User Researcher
13 49 (3.23%) UI/UX Designer
14 45 (2.96%) IT Support
14 45 (2.96%) User Experience Researcher
15 43 (2.83%) Product Manager
16 39 (2.57%) Full-Stack Engineer
17 36 (2.37%) Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 148 (9.75%) React
2 113 (7.44%) CSS
3 99 (6.52%) HTML
4 95 (6.26%) REST
5 68 (4.48%) RESTful
6 56 (3.69%) AngularJS
7 54 (3.56%) .NET
8 47 (3.10%) Spring
9 46 (3.03%) Spring Boot
10 40 (2.64%) GraphQL
11 33 (2.17%) Redux
12 32 (2.11%) Node.js
13 30 (1.98%) HTML5
14 29 (1.91%) Jest
14 29 (1.91%) Kafka
15 28 (1.84%) CSS3
15 28 (1.84%) JSON
16 26 (1.71%) Next.js
17 24 (1.58%) ASP.NET
18 22 (1.45%) Playwright
Miscellaneous
1 160 (10.54%) Product Ownership
2 78 (5.14%) Mobile App
3 66 (4.35%) Onboarding
4 43 (2.83%) Cloud Native
5 42 (2.77%) AI Agents
6 32 (2.11%) Enterprise Software
7 30 (1.98%) Data Structures
7 30 (1.98%) Self-Motivation
8 26 (1.71%) Data Protection Act
9 25 (1.65%) Legacy Systems
10 23 (1.52%) Animation
11 20 (1.32%) Data Centre
12 19 (1.25%) Analytical Mindset
13 17 (1.12%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
13 17 (1.12%) Taxonomies
14 16 (1.05%) Graphic Design
15 15 (0.99%) Algorithms
15 15 (0.99%) Greenfield Project
16 14 (0.92%) Social Media
17 13 (0.86%) Virtual Reality
Operating Systems
1 116 (7.64%) Windows
2 51 (3.36%) Apple iOS
3 47 (3.10%) Android
4 33 (2.17%) Windows 10
5 24 (1.58%) Mac OS
6 15 (0.99%) Linux
6 15 (0.99%) Windows Server
7 7 (0.46%) Unix
8 6 (0.40%) 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
1 507 (33.40%) UX Design
2 457 (30.11%) Agile
3 276 (18.18%) AI
4 229 (15.09%) Problem-Solving
5 212 (13.97%) Stakeholder Management
6 199 (13.11%) Continuous Improvement
7 191 (12.58%) User Research
8 189 (12.45%) Analytics
9 176 (11.59%) CI/CD
10 166 (10.94%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 160 (10.54%) Roadmaps
12 148 (9.75%) DevOps
13 145 (9.55%) Prototyping
14 136 (8.96%) Decision-Making
15 133 (8.76%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
16 125 (8.23%) Wireframes
17 120 (7.91%) Service Design
17 120 (7.91%) UX Research
18 114 (7.51%) Workshop Facilitation
19 109 (7.18%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 139 (9.16%) JavaScript
2 123 (8.10%) Python
3 122 (8.04%) SQL
3 122 (8.04%) TypeScript
4 107 (7.05%) Java
5 58 (3.82%) C#
6 49 (3.23%) PowerShell
7 28 (1.84%) Kotlin
8 25 (1.65%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 15 (0.99%) Bash
10 14 (0.92%) Swift
11 12 (0.79%) C++
12 9 (0.59%) Lua
13 8 (0.53%) Korn
14 7 (0.46%) Apex Code
14 7 (0.46%) R
15 6 (0.40%) Go
15 6 (0.40%) VBA
15 6 (0.40%) VBScript
16 5 (0.33%) VB
Qualifications
1 212 (13.97%) Security Cleared
2 161 (10.61%) SC Cleared
3 152 (10.01%) Degree
4 35 (2.31%) Computer Science Degree
5 25 (1.65%) BPSS Clearance
6 23 (1.52%) Azure Certification
6 23 (1.52%) DV Cleared
7 22 (1.45%) Microsoft Certification
8 11 (0.72%) Cisco Certification
9 10 (0.66%) Master's Degree
10 9 (0.59%) ITIL Certification
11 8 (0.53%) CCNP
11 8 (0.53%) 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 (0.40%) DBS Check
14 5 (0.33%) CISSP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 257 (16.93%) Accessibility
2 98 (6.46%) QA
3 85 (5.60%) WCAG
4 45 (2.96%) Data Quality
5 25 (1.65%) GDPR
6 18 (1.19%) Actionable Recommendations
7 11 (0.72%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 8 (0.53%) PMO
8 8 (0.53%) SLA
9 7 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 6 (0.40%) 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/IEC 20000
System Software
1 75 (4.94%) Active Directory
2 49 (3.23%) Docker
3 24 (1.58%) Virtual Desktop
4 13 (0.86%) VMware Infrastructure
5 6 (0.40%) 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 49 (3.23%) Kubernetes
2 47 (3.10%) Microsoft Intune
3 45 (2.96%) Terraform
4 34 (2.24%) SCCM
5 32 (2.11%) Grafana
6 16 (1.05%) Single Sign-On
7 14 (0.92%) Jamf Pro
8 13 (0.86%) 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
1 256 (16.86%) Microsoft
2 86 (5.67%) Adobe
3 70 (4.61%) ServiceNow
4 53 (3.49%) Google
5 46 (3.03%) SAP
6 40 (2.64%) Oracle
7 37 (2.44%) Salesforce
8 21 (1.38%) Databricks
8 21 (1.38%) Dynatrace
9 20 (1.32%) Workday
10 19 (1.25%) Citrix
10 19 (1.25%) Splunk
11 18 (1.19%) Cisco
12 17 (1.12%) Apple
12 17 (1.12%) Foundry
13 14 (0.92%) VMware
14 12 (0.79%) Aruba
14 12 (0.79%) OpenAI
15 10 (0.66%) Zscaler
16 8 (0.53%) Okta