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 4 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 270 200 229
Rank change year-on-year -70 +29 -42
Contract jobs citing UX Design 503 434 421
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.95% 1.32% 1.07%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.12% 1.46% 1.26%
Number of daily rates quoted 302 283 283
10th Percentile £363 £313 £350
25th Percentile £406 £364 £411
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £488 £469 £500
Median % change year-on-year +3.94% -6.20% -9.09%
75th Percentile £588 £550 £600
90th Percentile £668 £625 £675
UK excluding London median daily rate £465 £425 £425
% change year-on-year +9.41% - -10.53%
Number of hourly rates quoted 14 17 6
10th Percentile £21.12 £32.69 £29.14
25th Percentile £26.31 £35.25 £32.05
Median hourly rate £38.15 £36.50 £33.07
Median % change year-on-year +4.52% +10.37% -46.01%
75th Percentile £70.63 £70.16 £39.65
90th Percentile £90.38 £70.90 £41.84
UK excluding London median hourly rate £28.09 £49.00 -
% change year-on-year -42.67% - -

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 44,879 29,748 33,534
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.93% 90.41% 85.55%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,704 18,653 21,488
10th Percentile £325 £300 £310
25th Percentile £420 £404 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £625 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £725 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,741 1,659 1,873
10th Percentile £14.50 £14.20 £14.00
25th Percentile £19.50 £17.30 £18.14
Median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £40.50
Median % change year-on-year +74.79% -37.90% -4.71%
75th Percentile £68.00 £50.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £82.25 £68.00 £74.91
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.96 £23.05 £40.94
% change year-on-year +90.72% -43.70% +3.38%

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 4 August 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 4 August 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 4 August 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 -54 428 £475 +1.17% 320
London -46 231 £516 +6.44% 185
UK excluding London -28 219 £465 +9.41% 166
Work from Home -66 124 £498 +17.06% 177
North of England -30 72 £438 +9.38% 58
Scotland -4 38 £525 +13.51% 8
South West -17 38 £475 +6.26% 25
Midlands -35 35 £550 +54.49% 21
West Midlands -37 29 £513 +28.13% 19
North West -47 29 £375 - 27
Yorkshire -32 27 £500 - 20
South East -75 23 £550 +12.82% 40
North East -26 16 £450 -7.69% 11
East of England -11 13 £410 -13.68% 9
East Midlands -11 6 £575 +61.52% 2
Wales -12 2 - - 2
Northern Ireland - 1 - - 4

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 29 (5.77%) CMS
2 20 (3.98%) Confluence
3 8 (1.59%) WordPress
4 4 (0.80%) Headless CMS
4 4 (0.80%) Kentico
5 3 (0.60%) Umbraco
6 2 (0.40%) Mendix
7 1 (0.20%) Apache
7 1 (0.20%) Apache Spark
7 1 (0.20%) Camunda
7 1 (0.20%) Drupal
7 1 (0.20%) Moodle
7 1 (0.20%) nginx
7 1 (0.20%) Strapi
7 1 (0.20%) Traefik
Applications
1 29 (5.77%) Sketch
2 15 (2.98%) Adobe Creative Suite
2 15 (2.98%) Adobe XD
3 10 (1.99%) Adobe After Effects
4 9 (1.79%) Photoshop
5 8 (1.59%) Adobe Illustrator
5 8 (1.59%) Chatbot
6 6 (1.19%) Final Cut Pro
7 3 (0.60%) Microsoft Excel
7 3 (0.60%) MS Visio
8 2 (0.40%) InVision
8 2 (0.40%) Microsoft Office
9 1 (0.20%) Adobe Captivate
9 1 (0.20%) Trello
9 1 (0.20%) UserZoom
Business Applications
1 5 (0.99%) Shopify
2 4 (0.80%) Dynamics CRM
3 2 (0.40%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.20%) Eloqua
4 1 (0.20%) Payment Gateway
4 1 (0.20%) SAP HR
4 1 (0.20%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 144 (28.63%) Figma
2 56 (11.13%) Azure
3 31 (6.16%) AWS
4 27 (5.37%) Azure DevOps
5 21 (4.17%) Power Platform
6 15 (2.98%) GitHub
7 14 (2.78%) SaaS
8 11 (2.19%) Firebase
8 11 (2.19%) GCP
9 10 (1.99%) GitHub Actions
10 9 (1.79%) Microsoft Copilot
11 7 (1.39%) Serverless
11 7 (1.39%) Slack
12 6 (1.19%) Google Play
13 5 (0.99%) Azure AI
13 5 (0.99%) Miro
14 4 (0.80%) AWS Lambda
14 4 (0.80%) BigCommerce
14 4 (0.80%) Copilot Studio
14 4 (0.80%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 1 (0.20%) Bluetooth
1 1 (0.20%) NFC
1 1 (0.20%) Reverse Proxy
Database & Business Intelligence
1 15 (2.98%) Power BI
2 10 (1.99%) PostgreSQL
3 6 (1.19%) Metadata
3 6 (1.19%) NoSQL
3 6 (1.19%) Power Query
4 5 (0.99%) SQL Server
5 4 (0.80%) Elasticsearch
5 4 (0.80%) MongoDB
5 4 (0.80%) Redis
6 3 (0.60%) Azure SQL Database
6 3 (0.60%) MySQL
6 3 (0.60%) Relational Database
6 3 (0.60%) Star Schema
7 2 (0.40%) Data Warehouse
7 2 (0.40%) DynamoDB
7 2 (0.40%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 2 (0.40%) SQLite
8 1 (0.20%) Amazon QuickSight
8 1 (0.20%) Pinecone
8 1 (0.20%) Qlik Sense
Development Applications
1 33 (6.56%) JIRA
2 24 (4.77%) Git
3 16 (3.18%) Jenkins
4 14 (2.78%) Cypress.io
5 10 (1.99%) fastlane
6 7 (1.39%) GitLab
7 6 (1.19%) Android Studio
7 6 (1.19%) Gradle
8 5 (0.99%) Crashlytics
8 5 (0.99%) Vite
8 5 (0.99%) Xcode
9 4 (0.80%) Claude Code
9 4 (0.80%) Storybook
9 4 (0.80%) webpack
10 3 (0.60%) Axure RP
10 3 (0.60%) JUnit
11 2 (0.40%) Babel
11 2 (0.40%) Jasmine
11 2 (0.40%) Karma Test Runner
12 1 (0.20%) Gemini Tracker
General
1 157 (31.21%) Social Skills
2 101 (20.08%) Public Sector
3 93 (18.49%) Finance
4 49 (9.74%) Banking
5 30 (5.96%) Retail
6 27 (5.37%) Analytical Skills
7 23 (4.57%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 19 (3.78%) Publishing
9 16 (3.18%) Presentation Skills
10 15 (2.98%) Automotive
11 12 (2.39%) Marketing
12 10 (1.99%) Influencing Skills
12 10 (1.99%) Legal
12 10 (1.99%) Military
13 7 (1.39%) Pharmaceutical
14 6 (1.19%) Documentation Skills
15 5 (0.99%) Games
15 5 (0.99%) Law
16 3 (0.60%) Aerospace
16 3 (0.60%) Manufacturing
Job Titles
1 258 (51.29%) Designer
2 140 (27.83%) UX Designer
3 95 (18.89%) Senior
4 71 (14.12%) Developer
5 65 (12.92%) UI Designer
6 48 (9.54%) UI/UX Designer
7 47 (9.34%) Senior Designer
8 45 (8.95%) Content Designer
9 41 (8.15%) Lead
10 30 (5.96%) Senior UX Designer
11 28 (5.57%) Product Designer
12 21 (4.17%) User Researcher
13 19 (3.78%) User Experience Researcher
14 18 (3.58%) Analyst
15 17 (3.38%) Front-End Developer (Client-Side Developer)
15 17 (3.38%) Service Designer
16 16 (3.18%) Business Analyst
16 16 (3.18%) Senior Developer
17 15 (2.98%) Consultant
18 13 (2.58%) Junior Designer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 60 (11.93%) React
2 59 (11.73%) CSS
3 55 (10.93%) HTML
4 30 (5.96%) RESTful
5 27 (5.37%) AngularJS
6 24 (4.77%) HTML5
7 23 (4.57%) CSS3
8 20 (3.98%) REST
9 14 (2.78%) .NET
10 13 (2.58%) Redux
11 12 (2.39%) Jest
12 11 (2.19%) Android SDK
13 10 (1.99%) GraphQL
13 10 (1.99%) Vue
14 9 (1.79%) Next.js
14 9 (1.79%) Node.js
15 8 (1.59%) VML
16 7 (1.39%) .NET Framework
16 7 (1.39%) OAuth
16 7 (1.39%) Spring
Miscellaneous
1 65 (12.92%) Product Ownership
2 51 (10.14%) Mobile App
3 14 (2.78%) Animation
3 14 (2.78%) Self-Motivation
4 13 (2.58%) Onboarding
5 12 (2.39%) Cloud Native
6 11 (2.19%) AI Agents
7 9 (1.79%) Data Protection Act
8 8 (1.59%) Graphic Design
8 8 (1.59%) Taxonomies
9 7 (1.39%) Enterprise Software
9 7 (1.39%) Greenfield Project
10 6 (1.19%) Legacy Systems
10 6 (1.19%) NHS
10 6 (1.19%) Social Media
11 5 (0.99%) Virtual Reality
12 4 (0.80%) Algorithms
12 4 (0.80%) Data Structures
12 4 (0.80%) Distributed Systems
12 4 (0.80%) Educational Technology
Operating Systems
1 14 (2.78%) Android
2 8 (1.59%) Apple iOS
3 2 (0.40%) Windows
4 1 (0.20%) Linux
4 1 (0.20%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 503 (100.00%) User Experience
2 212 (42.15%) Agile
3 127 (25.25%) User Research
4 103 (20.48%) Wireframes
5 100 (19.88%) Prototyping
6 96 (19.09%) AI
6 96 (19.09%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
7 77 (15.31%) Service Design
8 74 (14.71%) Usability Testing
9 67 (13.32%) CI/CD
10 66 (13.12%) Stakeholder Management
11 65 (12.92%) Analytics
12 64 (12.72%) UX Research
13 63 (12.52%) Interaction Design
14 60 (11.93%) Problem-Solving
15 51 (10.14%) Customer Experience
15 51 (10.14%) Workshop Facilitation
16 50 (9.94%) DevOps
16 50 (9.94%) Journey Map
17 48 (9.54%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 53 (10.54%) JavaScript
2 48 (9.54%) TypeScript
3 27 (5.37%) Java
4 24 (4.77%) Python
5 21 (4.17%) SQL
6 13 (2.58%) Kotlin
7 10 (1.99%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 9 (1.79%) C#
9 5 (0.99%) Korn
9 5 (0.99%) Swift
10 4 (0.80%) Apex Code
10 4 (0.80%) C++
10 4 (0.80%) Lua
11 3 (0.60%) PHP
12 2 (0.40%) Bicep
12 2 (0.40%) PowerShell
12 2 (0.40%) Ruby
13 1 (0.20%) Gremlin
13 1 (0.20%) JSX
13 1 (0.20%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 86 (17.10%) Security Cleared
2 61 (12.13%) SC Cleared
3 49 (9.74%) Degree
4 13 (2.58%) BPSS Clearance
5 12 (2.39%) DV Cleared
6 9 (1.79%) Computer Science Degree
7 8 (1.59%) Master's Degree
8 3 (0.60%) Azure Certification
8 3 (0.60%) DBS Check
9 2 (0.40%) CCA
10 1 (0.20%) Citrix Certification
10 1 (0.20%) CTC Cleared
10 1 (0.20%) IIBA
10 1 (0.20%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
10 1 (0.20%) Microsoft Certification
10 1 (0.20%) Microsoft Certified Professional
10 1 (0.20%) PhD
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 170 (33.80%) Accessibility
2 67 (13.32%) WCAG
3 26 (5.17%) QA
4 11 (2.19%) Data Quality
5 3 (0.60%) Actionable Recommendations
5 3 (0.60%) ISO/IEC 42001
6 2 (0.40%) GDPR
7 1 (0.20%) EU AI Act
7 1 (0.20%) GMP
7 1 (0.20%) GRC
7 1 (0.20%) GxP
7 1 (0.20%) PMO
7 1 (0.20%) WAI
7 1 (0.20%) WAI-ARIA
System Software
1 15 (2.98%) Docker
2 1 (0.20%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 12 (2.39%) Kubernetes
2 11 (2.19%) Terraform
3 2 (0.40%) Grafana
4 1 (0.20%) Kibana
Vendors
1 44 (8.75%) Adobe
2 34 (6.76%) Microsoft
3 16 (3.18%) Salesforce
4 11 (2.19%) Dynatrace
5 10 (1.99%) Google
6 8 (1.59%) SAP
7 7 (1.39%) ServiceNow
8 5 (0.99%) Apple
8 5 (0.99%) Foundry
9 4 (0.80%) Databricks
9 4 (0.80%) Oracle
9 4 (0.80%) Sitecore
10 3 (0.60%) Progress
11 2 (0.40%) Anaplan
11 2 (0.40%) Blue Prism
11 2 (0.40%) IBM
11 2 (0.40%) OpenAI
11 2 (0.40%) Optimizely
12 1 (0.20%) AppDynamics
12 1 (0.20%) MuleSoft