UX Design Contract Job Trends

User Experience Design (UXD)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring UX Design skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 23 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
23 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 249 217 224
Rank change year-on-year -32 +7 -35
Contract jobs citing UX Design 521 428 447
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.99% 1.31% 1.09%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.16% 1.45% 1.27%
Number of daily rates quoted 323 280 309
10th Percentile £363 £312 £350
25th Percentile £406 £365 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £488 £464 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.12% -7.25% -9.09%
75th Percentile £588 £546 £611
90th Percentile £668 £626 £675
UK excluding London median daily rate £460 £425 £425
% change year-on-year +8.24% - -10.53%
Number of hourly rates quoted 13 12 6
10th Percentile £20.85 £34.56 £29.14
25th Percentile £26.00 £35.25 £32.05
Median hourly rate £33.99 £42.00 £33.07
Median % change year-on-year -19.07% +27.00% -44.88%
75th Percentile £72.50 £60.10 £39.65
90th Percentile £92.75 £70.16 £41.84
UK excluding London median hourly rate £28.09 £70.16 -
% change year-on-year -59.96% - -

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK

UX Design 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 44,826 29,510 35,120
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 85.01% 90.34% 85.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,774 18,532 22,551
10th Percentile £325 £300 £306
25th Percentile £419 £404 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% -4.76% -4.11%
75th Percentile £625 £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 2,642 1,578 2,152
10th Percentile £14.82 £14.20 £13.25
25th Percentile £20.01 £17.46 £17.00
Median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £39.50
Median % change year-on-year +74.79% -36.33% -7.06%
75th Percentile £68.55 £50.94 £62.76
90th Percentile £83.00 £69.13 £73.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £24.34 £40.00
% change year-on-year +84.88% -39.15% -1.45%

UX Design
Job Vacancy Trend

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

UX Design job vacancy trend in the UK

UX Design
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing UX Design.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing UX Design

UX Design
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing UX Design over the 6 months to 23 July 2026.

Daily rate histogram for UX Design in the UK

UX Design
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing UX Design.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing UX Design

UX Design
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing UX Design over the 6 months to 23 July 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for UX Design in the UK

UX Design
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 UX Design within the UK over the 6 months to 23 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 -39 437 £475 +2.15% 185
London -34 237 £513 +7.89% 108
UK excluding London -24 221 £460 +8.24% 106
Work from Home -69 129 £485 +14.12% 98
North of England -48 70 £419 +4.69% 36
Scotland +9 39 £525 +13.51% 7
South West -12 38 £475 +6.26% 16
Midlands -34 35 £550 +54.49% 5
North West -40 32 £384 -4.00% 13
West Midlands -37 29 £488 +62.50% 4
South East -71 27 £550 +25.14% 26
Yorkshire -45 21 £500 - 12
North East -24 17 £413 -9.59% 11
East of England -19 13 £410 -13.68% 9
East Midlands -14 6 £575 +61.52% 1
Wales -15 2 - - 2
Northern Ireland - 1 - - 6

UX Design
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 28 (5.37%) CMS
2 19 (3.65%) Confluence
3 7 (1.34%) WordPress
4 4 (0.77%) Headless CMS
4 4 (0.77%) Kentico
5 3 (0.58%) Umbraco
6 2 (0.38%) Mendix
7 1 (0.19%) Apache
7 1 (0.19%) Apache Spark
7 1 (0.19%) Camunda
7 1 (0.19%) Drupal
7 1 (0.19%) Moodle
7 1 (0.19%) nginx
7 1 (0.19%) SharePoint
7 1 (0.19%) Strapi
7 1 (0.19%) Traefik
Applications
1 28 (5.37%) Sketch
2 15 (2.88%) Adobe XD
3 14 (2.69%) Adobe Creative Suite
4 11 (2.11%) Adobe After Effects
5 10 (1.92%) Photoshop
6 9 (1.73%) Chatbot
7 8 (1.54%) Adobe Illustrator
8 6 (1.15%) Final Cut Pro
9 3 (0.58%) Microsoft Excel
9 3 (0.58%) MS Visio
10 2 (0.38%) InVision
10 2 (0.38%) Microsoft Office
10 2 (0.38%) UserZoom
11 1 (0.19%) Adobe Captivate
11 1 (0.19%) Trello
Business Applications
1 5 (0.96%) Shopify
2 4 (0.77%) Dynamics CRM
3 2 (0.38%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.19%) Eloqua
4 1 (0.19%) Payment Gateway
4 1 (0.19%) SAP HR
4 1 (0.19%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 151 (28.98%) Figma
2 58 (11.13%) Azure
3 29 (5.57%) Azure DevOps
4 28 (5.37%) AWS
5 22 (4.22%) Power Platform
6 15 (2.88%) GitHub
7 14 (2.69%) SaaS
8 11 (2.11%) Firebase
8 11 (2.11%) GitHub Actions
9 10 (1.92%) GCP
10 9 (1.73%) Microsoft Copilot
11 7 (1.34%) Serverless
11 7 (1.34%) Slack
12 6 (1.15%) Google Play
12 6 (1.15%) Miro
13 5 (0.96%) Azure AI
14 4 (0.77%) BigCommerce
14 4 (0.77%) Copilot Studio
14 4 (0.77%) Microsoft 365
14 4 (0.77%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 1 (0.19%) Bluetooth
1 1 (0.19%) Internet
1 1 (0.19%) NFC
1 1 (0.19%) Reverse Proxy
Database & Business Intelligence
1 15 (2.88%) Power BI
2 10 (1.92%) PostgreSQL
3 6 (1.15%) Metadata
3 6 (1.15%) NoSQL
3 6 (1.15%) Power Query
3 6 (1.15%) SQL Server
4 4 (0.77%) Elasticsearch
4 4 (0.77%) MongoDB
4 4 (0.77%) Redis
5 3 (0.58%) Azure SQL Database
5 3 (0.58%) MySQL
5 3 (0.58%) Relational Database
5 3 (0.58%) Star Schema
6 2 (0.38%) DynamoDB
6 2 (0.38%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 2 (0.38%) SQLite
7 1 (0.19%) Amazon QuickSight
7 1 (0.19%) Flink
7 1 (0.19%) Pinecone
7 1 (0.19%) Qlik Sense
Development Applications
1 32 (6.14%) JIRA
2 27 (5.18%) Git
3 17 (3.26%) Cypress.io
4 15 (2.88%) Jenkins
5 10 (1.92%) fastlane
6 8 (1.54%) GitLab
7 6 (1.15%) Android Studio
7 6 (1.15%) Gradle
7 6 (1.15%) Vite
7 6 (1.15%) webpack
8 5 (0.96%) Crashlytics
8 5 (0.96%) Storybook
8 5 (0.96%) Xcode
9 4 (0.77%) Claude Code
9 4 (0.77%) JUnit
10 3 (0.58%) Axure RP
11 2 (0.38%) Jasmine
11 2 (0.38%) Karma Test Runner
11 2 (0.38%) REST Assured
11 2 (0.38%) Selenium
General
1 165 (31.67%) Social Skills
2 105 (20.15%) Public Sector
3 91 (17.47%) Finance
4 50 (9.60%) Banking
5 32 (6.14%) Retail
6 30 (5.76%) Analytical Skills
7 22 (4.22%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 19 (3.65%) Presentation Skills
9 18 (3.45%) Publishing
10 15 (2.88%) Automotive
11 13 (2.50%) Marketing
12 11 (2.11%) Influencing Skills
13 10 (1.92%) Legal
13 10 (1.92%) Military
14 7 (1.34%) Pharmaceutical
15 6 (1.15%) Documentation Skills
16 5 (0.96%) Games
16 5 (0.96%) Law
17 4 (0.77%) Investment Banking
17 4 (0.77%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 265 (50.86%) Designer
2 142 (27.26%) UX Designer
3 91 (17.47%) Senior
4 72 (13.82%) Developer
5 64 (12.28%) UI Designer
6 48 (9.21%) Senior Designer
7 47 (9.02%) UI/UX Designer
8 45 (8.64%) Content Designer
9 42 (8.06%) Lead
10 32 (6.14%) Product Designer
11 30 (5.76%) Senior UX Designer
12 25 (4.80%) User Researcher
13 19 (3.65%) Analyst
13 19 (3.65%) Service Designer
13 19 (3.65%) User Experience Researcher
14 17 (3.26%) Front-End Developer (Client-Side Developer)
15 16 (3.07%) Business Analyst
16 15 (2.88%) Consultant
16 15 (2.88%) Senior Developer
17 13 (2.50%) Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 63 (12.09%) React
2 61 (11.71%) CSS
3 57 (10.94%) HTML
4 38 (7.29%) RESTful
5 28 (5.37%) AngularJS
6 25 (4.80%) HTML5
7 24 (4.61%) CSS3
8 22 (4.22%) REST
9 19 (3.65%) .NET
10 14 (2.69%) Jest
10 14 (2.69%) Redux
11 10 (1.92%) GraphQL
11 10 (1.92%) Node.js
11 10 (1.92%) Vue
12 9 (1.73%) Android SDK
12 9 (1.73%) Playwright
13 8 (1.54%) Next.js
13 8 (1.54%) OAuth
13 8 (1.54%) Spring
13 8 (1.54%) VML
Miscellaneous
1 67 (12.86%) Product Ownership
2 54 (10.36%) Mobile App
3 15 (2.88%) Animation
4 14 (2.69%) Self-Motivation
5 13 (2.50%) Cloud Native
5 13 (2.50%) Onboarding
6 10 (1.92%) AI Agents
6 10 (1.92%) Data Protection Act
7 8 (1.54%) Graphic Design
7 8 (1.54%) Greenfield Project
7 8 (1.54%) Taxonomies
8 7 (1.34%) Enterprise Software
9 6 (1.15%) Legacy Systems
9 6 (1.15%) NHS
10 5 (0.96%) Social Media
10 5 (0.96%) Virtual Reality
11 4 (0.77%) Algorithms
11 4 (0.77%) Data Structures
12 3 (0.58%) Augmented Reality
12 3 (0.58%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 16 (3.07%) Android
2 11 (2.11%) Apple iOS
3 2 (0.38%) Windows
4 1 (0.19%) Linux
4 1 (0.19%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 521 (100.00%) User Experience
2 223 (42.80%) Agile
3 138 (26.49%) User Research
4 111 (21.31%) Prototyping
5 107 (20.54%) Wireframes
6 98 (18.81%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
7 97 (18.62%) AI
8 85 (16.31%) Service Design
9 83 (15.93%) Usability Testing
10 71 (13.63%) UX Research
11 69 (13.24%) Stakeholder Management
12 66 (12.67%) Analytics
12 66 (12.67%) CI/CD
13 65 (12.48%) Interaction Design
14 64 (12.28%) Problem-Solving
15 53 (10.17%) Journey Map
16 52 (9.98%) Customer Experience
16 52 (9.98%) DevOps
17 51 (9.79%) Workshop Facilitation
18 48 (9.21%) Continuous Improvement
Programming Languages
1 57 (10.94%) JavaScript
2 51 (9.79%) TypeScript
3 29 (5.57%) Java
4 27 (5.18%) Python
5 20 (3.84%) SQL
6 14 (2.69%) C#
7 11 (2.11%) Kotlin
8 10 (1.92%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 5 (0.96%) C++
9 5 (0.96%) Korn
9 5 (0.96%) Lua
9 5 (0.96%) Swift
10 4 (0.77%) Apex Code
11 2 (0.38%) Bicep
11 2 (0.38%) PHP
11 2 (0.38%) PowerShell
12 1 (0.19%) C
12 1 (0.19%) Objective-C
12 1 (0.19%) Ruby
12 1 (0.19%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 89 (17.08%) Security Cleared
2 63 (12.09%) SC Cleared
3 53 (10.17%) Degree
4 13 (2.50%) BPSS Clearance
5 12 (2.30%) DV Cleared
6 9 (1.73%) Master's Degree
7 8 (1.54%) Computer Science Degree
8 3 (0.58%) Azure Certification
8 3 (0.58%) DBS Check
9 2 (0.38%) CCA
10 1 (0.19%) Citrix Certification
10 1 (0.19%) CTC Cleared
10 1 (0.19%) IIBA
10 1 (0.19%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
10 1 (0.19%) Microsoft Certification
10 1 (0.19%) Microsoft Certified Professional
10 1 (0.19%) PhD
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 179 (34.36%) Accessibility
2 70 (13.44%) WCAG
3 27 (5.18%) QA
4 11 (2.11%) Data Quality
5 5 (0.96%) Actionable Recommendations
6 3 (0.58%) ISO/IEC 42001
7 2 (0.38%) GDPR
8 1 (0.19%) EU AI Act
8 1 (0.19%) GMP
8 1 (0.19%) GRC
8 1 (0.19%) GxP
8 1 (0.19%) PMO
8 1 (0.19%) WAI
8 1 (0.19%) WAI-ARIA
System Software
1 16 (3.07%) Docker
2 1 (0.19%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 13 (2.50%) Kubernetes
2 12 (2.30%) Terraform
3 1 (0.19%) Grafana
3 1 (0.19%) HP ALM
3 1 (0.19%) Kibana
Vendors
1 43 (8.25%) Adobe
2 35 (6.72%) Microsoft
3 16 (3.07%) Salesforce
4 11 (2.11%) Google
5 10 (1.92%) Dynatrace
6 8 (1.54%) SAP
6 8 (1.54%) ServiceNow
7 5 (0.96%) Apple
7 5 (0.96%) Foundry
8 4 (0.77%) Databricks
8 4 (0.77%) Oracle
8 4 (0.77%) Sitecore
9 3 (0.58%) Progress
9 3 (0.58%) Xamarin
10 2 (0.38%) Blue Prism
10 2 (0.38%) IBM
10 2 (0.38%) OpenAI
10 2 (0.38%) Optimizely
11 1 (0.19%) Automation Anywhere
11 1 (0.19%) Qualtrics