XML Contract Job Trends

XML
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring XML skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 4 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 303 231 180
Rank change year-on-year -72 -51 +13
Contract jobs citing XML 442 373 532
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.82% 1.15% 1.40%
As % of the Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards category 3.78% 4.54% 5.66%
Number of daily rates quoted 305 251 298
10th Percentile £325 £350 £334
25th Percentile £405 £413 £426
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £480 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.17% -4.00% -9.09%
75th Percentile £613 £575 £618
90th Percentile £700 £688 £679
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £453 £500
% change year-on-year -6.18% -9.40% -5.21%
Number of hourly rates quoted 8 27 44
10th Percentile £27.66 £28.80 -
25th Percentile £29.07 £31.25 -
Median hourly rate £34.75 £42.50 £43.00
Median % change year-on-year -18.24% -1.16% -38.57%
75th Percentile £42.06 £43.75 -
90th Percentile £44.14 £91.25 £85.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £34.75 £42.50 £43.00
% change year-on-year -18.24% -1.16% -38.57%

All Software Libraries and Frameworks
UK

XML falls under the Software Libraries and Frameworks category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring technical specification, industry standards, software libraries and framework skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for technical specification, industry standards, software libraries and framework skills 11,706 8,223 9,393
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 21.82% 25.45% 24.66%
Number of daily rates quoted 7,704 5,544 6,349
10th Percentile £375 £354 £356
25th Percentile £435 £413 £431
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £513 £550
Median % change year-on-year +2.44% -6.82% -
75th Percentile £636 £630 £650
90th Percentile £738 £738 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -2.44%
Number of hourly rates quoted 286 182 191
10th Percentile £29.07 £30.80 £25.60
25th Percentile £46.39 £40.88 £43.00
Median hourly rate £66.83 £52.50 £62.00
Median % change year-on-year +27.30% -15.32% -0.80%
75th Percentile £75.00 £65.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £90.00 £74.75 £74.87
UK excluding London median hourly rate £67.50 £55.00 £65.00
% change year-on-year +22.73% -15.38% +9.22%

XML
Job Vacancy Trend

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

XML job vacancy trend in the UK

XML
Daily Rate Trend

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

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing XML

XML
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing XML over the 6 months to 4 September 2026.

Daily rate histogram for XML in the UK

XML
Hourly Rate Trend

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

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing XML

XML
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing XML over the 6 months to 4 September 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for XML in the UK

XML
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 XML within the UK over the 6 months to 4 September 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 -76 350 £488 - 310
London -49 192 £539 +2.62% 181
UK excluding London -94 173 £425 -6.18% 165
Work from Home -51 148 £525 +9.38% 188
South East -68 46 £401 -15.58% 51
Midlands -28 39 £415 -3.49% 29
North of England -87 35 £375 -16.67% 28
West Midlands -31 31 £410 -11.83% 17
North West -60 26 £375 -16.67% 16
Scotland -9 20 £450 -10.00% 19
South West -41 18 £550 +46.67% 19
East of England -38 10 £480 -1.64% 10
Yorkshire -38 9 £375 -30.23% 9
East Midlands -18 7 £494 +82.96% 12
Northern Ireland +6 3 £650 +59.51% 8
Wales -27 3 £600 +60.00% 5
Channel Islands - 1 £450 -

XML
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 30 (6.79%) SharePoint
2 20 (4.52%) Confluence
3 17 (3.85%) Anypoint
3 17 (3.85%) Oracle Workflow
4 16 (3.62%) IIS
5 13 (2.94%) Mule
6 9 (2.04%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 7 (1.58%) WebSphere
8 6 (1.36%) Apache
9 5 (1.13%) WebLogic
10 3 (0.68%) Apache Airflow
10 3 (0.68%) CMS
10 3 (0.68%) MQSeries
11 2 (0.45%) CICS
11 2 (0.45%) Oracle Service Bus
12 1 (0.23%) JBoss
12 1 (0.23%) Jupyter
12 1 (0.23%) Mule ESB
12 1 (0.23%) Oracle Self-Service HR
12 1 (0.23%) Tomcat
Applications
1 26 (5.88%) Microsoft Excel
2 12 (2.71%) Microsoft Office
3 7 (1.58%) MS Visio
4 6 (1.36%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.68%) Spreadsheet
6 2 (0.45%) Windchill
7 1 (0.23%) FrameMaker
7 1 (0.23%) LaTeX
Business Applications
1 22 (4.98%) Oracle EBS
2 16 (3.62%) NetSuite
2 16 (3.62%) Oracle Payables
3 14 (3.17%) Dynamics CRM
4 13 (2.94%) Oracle Receivables
5 9 (2.04%) Oracle General Ledger
5 9 (2.04%) SAP S/4HANA
6 7 (1.58%) Oracle Assets
6 7 (1.58%) Oracle FAH
7 6 (1.36%) Maximo
7 6 (1.36%) Oracle Financials
8 5 (1.13%) Elite 3E
8 5 (1.13%) FLEXCUBE
8 5 (1.13%) SAP FI
9 4 (0.90%) Oracle E-Business Tax
9 4 (0.90%) Oracle Internet Expenses
9 4 (0.90%) Oracle iProcurement
9 4 (0.90%) Summit
9 4 (0.90%) Workday HCM
10 3 (0.68%) SAP CO
Cloud Services
1 112 (25.34%) Azure
2 59 (13.35%) AWS
3 53 (11.99%) Azure DevOps
4 41 (9.28%) Boomi
5 28 (6.33%) GCP
6 21 (4.75%) GitHub
7 20 (4.52%) AtomSphere
7 20 (4.52%) Power Platform
8 19 (4.30%) Azure Service Bus
9 18 (4.07%) Entra ID
10 17 (3.85%) Azure Logic Apps
11 16 (3.62%) SaaS
12 15 (3.39%) Dynamics 365
13 14 (3.17%) Azure Functions
13 14 (3.17%) Serverless
14 13 (2.94%) Power Automate
15 10 (2.26%) GitHub Actions
15 10 (2.26%) iPaaS
15 10 (2.26%) PowerApps
16 9 (2.04%) Amazon S3
Communications & Networking
1 30 (6.79%) HTTP
2 9 (2.04%) FTP
3 7 (1.58%) SSL
4 6 (1.36%) TCP/IP
5 5 (1.13%) Network Security
6 3 (0.68%) Wireless
7 2 (0.45%) DNS
7 2 (0.45%) HTTPS
7 2 (0.45%) Internet
7 2 (0.45%) Intranet
7 2 (0.45%) SD-WAN
7 2 (0.45%) WAN
8 1 (0.23%) Bluetooth
8 1 (0.23%) Firewall
8 1 (0.23%) NAS
8 1 (0.23%) NFC
8 1 (0.23%) SAN
8 1 (0.23%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 60 (13.57%) SQL Server
2 40 (9.05%) Relational Database
3 25 (5.66%) Oracle Database
4 21 (4.75%) PostgreSQL
5 17 (3.85%) Oracle Reports
6 15 (3.39%) RDBMS
7 14 (3.17%) Metadata
8 13 (2.94%) Oracle BI Publisher
8 13 (2.94%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 11 (2.49%) SQL Server Reporting Services
10 10 (2.26%) MS Access
10 10 (2.26%) MySQL
11 9 (2.04%) MongoDB
12 8 (1.81%) Data Warehouse
12 8 (1.81%) NoSQL
12 8 (1.81%) Power BI
13 7 (1.58%) DataStage
13 7 (1.58%) Tableau
14 6 (1.36%) Data Lake
14 6 (1.36%) Parquet
Development Applications
1 58 (13.12%) Git
2 45 (10.18%) JIRA
3 25 (5.66%) Postman
4 24 (5.43%) Jenkins
5 22 (4.98%) Team Foundation Server
5 22 (4.98%) Visual Studio
6 19 (4.30%) Oracle Forms
6 19 (4.30%) Selenium
7 11 (2.49%) JMeter
8 10 (2.26%) GitLab
8 10 (2.26%) Gradle
9 9 (2.04%) Maven
9 9 (2.04%) SoapUI
10 8 (1.81%) eggPlant
10 8 (1.81%) SonarQube
10 8 (1.81%) WebDriver
11 6 (1.36%) JDeveloper
11 6 (1.36%) LoadRunner
12 5 (1.13%) Cucumber
12 5 (1.13%) Cypress.io
General
1 144 (32.58%) Social Skills
2 105 (23.76%) Finance
3 103 (23.30%) Analytical Skills
4 50 (11.31%) Public Sector
5 44 (9.95%) Banking
6 12 (2.71%) Legal
6 12 (2.71%) Manufacturing
6 12 (2.71%) Telecoms
7 10 (2.26%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 9 (2.04%) General Ledger
8 9 (2.04%) Law
8 9 (2.04%) Organisational Skills
9 8 (1.81%) Documentation Skills
9 8 (1.81%) Investment Banking
9 8 (1.81%) Publishing
9 8 (1.81%) Retail
10 6 (1.36%) Police
11 4 (0.90%) Advertising
11 4 (0.90%) Front Office
11 4 (0.90%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 141 (31.90%) Developer
2 56 (12.67%) Senior
3 47 (10.63%) Consultant
4 45 (10.18%) Architect
5 44 (9.95%) Analyst
6 30 (6.79%) Lead
7 26 (5.88%) Senior Developer
8 24 (5.43%) Data Engineer
9 22 (4.98%) Software Developer
10 19 (4.30%) Business Analyst
11 15 (3.39%) Implementation Consultant
11 15 (3.39%) Solutions Architect
12 13 (2.94%) C# Developer
12 13 (2.94%) Integration Developer
12 13 (2.94%) Software Engineer
13 12 (2.71%) Lead Developer
13 12 (2.71%) Oracle Developer
13 12 (2.71%) Technical Consultant
13 12 (2.71%) Test Analyst
14 10 (2.26%) Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 222 (50.23%) JSON
2 166 (37.56%) REST
3 146 (33.03%) SOAP
4 86 (19.46%) .NET
5 75 (16.97%) Web Services
6 74 (16.74%) Middleware
7 53 (11.99%) XSLT
8 41 (9.28%) HTML
9 40 (9.05%) OAuth
10 39 (8.82%) Kafka
11 27 (6.11%) .NET Framework
12 26 (5.88%) OAuth2
13 25 (5.66%) EDI
13 25 (5.66%) RESTful
14 24 (5.43%) JWT
15 23 (5.20%) CSS
16 20 (4.52%) Swagger
17 17 (3.85%) OpenAPI
18 16 (3.62%) XSD
19 15 (3.39%) RabbitMQ
Miscellaneous
1 21 (4.75%) Enterprise Software
2 20 (4.52%) Legacy Systems
3 19 (4.30%) Product Ownership
4 18 (4.07%) SWIFT Messaging Network
5 17 (3.85%) Data Structures
6 15 (3.39%) Cloud Native
7 13 (2.94%) Distributed Systems
8 11 (2.49%) Management Information System
8 11 (2.49%) Onboarding
8 11 (2.49%) Replication
9 9 (2.04%) Legacy Applications
9 9 (2.04%) LIMS
9 9 (2.04%) Taxonomies
10 8 (1.81%) CMDB
10 8 (1.81%) PKI
11 7 (1.58%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
11 7 (1.58%) Hybrid Cloud
12 6 (1.36%) Algorithms
12 6 (1.36%) Self-Motivation
13 5 (1.13%) Analytical Mindset
Operating Systems
1 34 (7.69%) Linux
2 32 (7.24%) Windows
3 26 (5.88%) Unix
4 10 (2.26%) Windows Server
5 4 (0.90%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 3 (0.68%) zOS
7 1 (0.23%) Android
7 1 (0.23%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 133 (30.09%) Problem-Solving
2 103 (23.30%) Agile
3 99 (22.40%) DevOps
4 98 (22.17%) CI/CD
5 85 (19.23%) Validation
6 65 (14.71%) Workflow
7 62 (14.03%) Integration Patterns
8 60 (13.57%) Test Automation
9 55 (12.44%) Stakeholder Management
10 54 (12.22%) Migration
11 53 (11.99%) Data Modelling
12 48 (10.86%) Event-Driven
13 47 (10.63%) Continuous Improvement
14 46 (10.41%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 44 (9.95%) ERP
16 41 (9.28%) Scrum
17 39 (8.82%) Data Mapping
17 39 (8.82%) User Acceptance Testing
18 37 (8.37%) Software Engineering
18 37 (8.37%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 189 (42.76%) SQL
2 101 (22.85%) Java
3 83 (18.78%) JavaScript
4 78 (17.65%) C#
5 76 (17.19%) Python
6 38 (8.60%) PL/SQL
7 30 (6.79%) T-SQL
8 24 (5.43%) VB.NET
9 23 (5.20%) PowerShell
9 23 (5.20%) VBA
10 20 (4.52%) Groovy
11 19 (4.30%) C++
12 18 (4.07%) VB
13 17 (3.85%) VB6
14 14 (3.17%) XPath
15 9 (2.04%) TypeScript
16 7 (1.58%) Bicep
16 7 (1.58%) Shell Script
17 6 (1.36%) DataWeave
17 6 (1.36%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 123 (27.83%) Security Cleared
2 99 (22.40%) SC Cleared
3 37 (8.37%) Degree
4 21 (4.75%) BPSS Clearance
5 16 (3.62%) ISTQB
6 14 (3.17%) DV Cleared
7 11 (2.49%) Computer Science Degree
7 11 (2.49%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
8 8 (1.81%) ISEB
9 7 (1.58%) Microsoft Certification
10 6 (1.36%) DBS Check
11 5 (1.13%) AWS Certification
11 5 (1.13%) TOGAF Certification
12 4 (0.90%) Azure Certification
13 2 (0.45%) CISSP
13 2 (0.45%) GIAC
13 2 (0.45%) Master's Degree
13 2 (0.45%) SSCP
14 1 (0.23%) CISM
14 1 (0.23%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (7.69%) QA
2 25 (5.66%) Data Quality
3 20 (4.52%) ISO 20022
4 13 (2.94%) Accessibility
5 11 (2.49%) GDPR
6 10 (2.26%) WCAG
7 9 (2.04%) GMP
8 8 (1.81%) 21 CFR Part 11
8 8 (1.81%) GxP
8 8 (1.81%) ISO/IEC 17025
9 6 (1.36%) HL7
9 6 (1.36%) SLA
10 5 (1.13%) GRC
11 4 (0.90%) ISO 15022
12 3 (0.68%) SEPA
13 2 (0.45%) NCSC
14 1 (0.23%) Cyber Essentials
14 1 (0.23%) NIST
14 1 (0.23%) NIST 800
14 1 (0.23%) PMO
System Software
1 16 (3.62%) Active Directory
2 11 (2.49%) Docker
3 5 (1.13%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (0.45%) RACF
5 1 (0.23%) Hyper-V
5 1 (0.23%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 15 (3.39%) Ansible
1 15 (3.39%) Single Sign-On
2 12 (2.71%) Kubernetes
3 5 (1.13%) Control-M
3 5 (1.13%) HP Fortify
4 3 (0.68%) QRadar
4 3 (0.68%) vRealize Orchestrator
4 3 (0.68%) WMI
5 2 (0.45%) CloudHub
6 1 (0.23%) Apache Ranger
6 1 (0.23%) Grafana
6 1 (0.23%) HP Quality Center
6 1 (0.23%) Kibana
6 1 (0.23%) vRealize
Vendors
1 136 (30.77%) Oracle
2 108 (24.43%) Microsoft
3 46 (10.41%) SAP
4 41 (9.28%) IBM
5 36 (8.14%) MuleSoft
6 32 (7.24%) ServiceNow
7 30 (6.79%) Salesforce
8 22 (4.98%) Google
8 22 (4.98%) Workday
9 13 (2.94%) Okta
10 11 (2.49%) Databricks
11 10 (2.26%) Informatica
11 10 (2.26%) webMethods
12 8 (1.81%) BeyondTrust
12 8 (1.81%) TIBCO
13 7 (1.58%) WSO2
14 5 (1.13%) Intapp
14 5 (1.13%) Kronos
14 5 (1.13%) VMware
15 4 (0.90%) InterSystems