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 27 February 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
27 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 267 239 200
Rank change year-on-year -28 -39 -4
Contract jobs citing XML 396 349 517
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.95% 1.14% 1.17%
As % of the Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards category 4.32% 5.00% 5.67%
Number of daily rates quoted 259 229 318
10th Percentile £350 £324 £372
25th Percentile £400 £400 £464
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £550
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% -9.09% -
75th Percentile £600 £588 £614
90th Percentile £701 £650 £744
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £450 £513
% change year-on-year - -12.20% +2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 12 3 49
10th Percentile £41.30 £39.93 -
25th Percentile £46.25 £59.18 £43.75
Median hourly rate £47.50 £92.50 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year -48.65% +94.74% -34.48%
75th Percentile £59.50 £93.75 £51.25
90th Percentile £79.30 - £59.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £47.50 £27.76 £47.50
% change year-on-year +71.11% -41.56% -32.14%

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 9,171 6,974 9,113
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 22.08% 22.76% 20.64%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,129 4,541 6,371
10th Percentile £358 £360 £350
25th Percentile £413 £425 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £514 £525 £534
Median % change year-on-year -2.10% -1.69% -7.13%
75th Percentile £619 £650 £650
90th Percentile £725 £775 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £500 £500
% change year-on-year - - -2.68%
Number of hourly rates quoted 232 91 219
10th Percentile £35.03 £26.25 £21.63
25th Percentile £52.50 £38.88 £42.50
Median hourly rate £65.00 £62.50 £48.72
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% +28.28% -25.05%
75th Percentile £72.36 £68.00 £66.25
90th Percentile £81.00 £81.01 £76.53
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £48.72
% change year-on-year - +33.42% -25.05%

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 27 February 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 27 February 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for XML in the UK

XML
Top 14 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 27 February 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 -11 355 £475 -7.32% 107
London -35 182 £525 -1.87% 27
UK excluding London -44 159 £450 - 91
Work from Home -22 124 £470 -0.27% 50
North of England -42 58 £402 -12.94% 25
South East -25 47 £488 +26.30% 34
North West -7 46 £400 -10.66% 18
Midlands -32 32 £445 -21.52% 15
West Midlands -32 27 £440 -22.40% 13
East of England -18 15 £675 - 6
Yorkshire -63 12 £463 -18.43% 5
South West -21 6 £475 +2.70% 7
Scotland -4 5 £500 +6.38% 5
East Midlands - 5 £525 - 2

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 23 (5.81%) WebLogic
2 21 (5.30%) Confluence
3 18 (4.55%) Oracle SOA Suite
4 12 (3.03%) Apache
5 10 (2.53%) WebSphere
6 9 (2.27%) JBoss
7 7 (1.77%) Appian
7 7 (1.77%) MQSeries
7 7 (1.77%) Oracle Workflow
8 5 (1.26%) Anypoint
8 5 (1.26%) Mule
9 4 (1.01%) Oracle Service Bus
10 3 (0.76%) Apache Spark
10 3 (0.76%) Documentum
11 2 (0.51%) BizTalk Server
11 2 (0.51%) Mule ESB
11 2 (0.51%) Oracle Self-Service HR
11 2 (0.51%) SharePoint
12 1 (0.25%) Alfresco
12 1 (0.25%) CMS
Applications
1 12 (3.03%) Microsoft Excel
2 5 (1.26%) Microsoft Office
3 4 (1.01%) MS Visio
4 3 (0.76%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.51%) Chatbot
5 2 (0.51%) EngageOne
5 2 (0.51%) FrameMaker
6 1 (0.25%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.25%) SPSS
Business Applications
1 11 (2.78%) Oracle ERP
2 9 (2.27%) SAP Payroll
3 8 (2.02%) SAP S/4HANA
4 7 (1.77%) BusinessWorks
4 7 (1.77%) Oracle Payables
4 7 (1.77%) Oracle Receivables
4 7 (1.77%) SAP HCM
5 6 (1.52%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
6 5 (1.26%) Dynamics CRM
6 5 (1.26%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
6 5 (1.26%) Payment Gateway
7 4 (1.01%) Maximo
7 4 (1.01%) Oracle 11i
7 4 (1.01%) Oracle General Ledger
7 4 (1.01%) Workday HCM
8 3 (0.76%) Oracle Assets
8 3 (0.76%) Oracle Cash Management
8 3 (0.76%) Salesforce CRM
9 2 (0.51%) NEC Housing
9 2 (0.51%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 90 (22.73%) Azure
2 66 (16.67%) AWS
3 28 (7.07%) OCI
4 26 (6.57%) Power Platform
5 23 (5.81%) Azure DevOps
5 23 (5.81%) SaaS
6 22 (5.56%) GCP
7 20 (5.05%) GitHub
8 18 (4.55%) Cloud Computing
9 17 (4.29%) Serverless
10 16 (4.04%) PaaS
11 15 (3.79%) Boomi
12 14 (3.54%) Dynamics 365
12 14 (3.54%) IaaS
13 12 (3.03%) Apigee
13 12 (3.03%) Azure Data Factory
13 12 (3.03%) Tricentis Tosca
14 11 (2.78%) GitHub Actions
15 10 (2.53%) Azure Logic Apps
16 8 (2.02%) Azure Functions
Communications & Networking
1 30 (7.58%) HTTP
2 22 (5.56%) HTTPS
3 10 (2.53%) Firewall
4 6 (1.52%) 3GPP
4 6 (1.52%) FTP
5 5 (1.26%) SSL
6 4 (1.01%) RTCP
6 4 (1.01%) RTP
6 4 (1.01%) XCAP
7 3 (0.76%) NFC
7 3 (0.76%) PPP
8 2 (0.51%) 5G
8 2 (0.51%) BGP
8 2 (0.51%) F5 BIG-IP GTM
8 2 (0.51%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
8 2 (0.51%) FIX Connectivity
8 2 (0.51%) MPLS
8 2 (0.51%) VPN
9 1 (0.25%) Network Security
9 1 (0.25%) Radio Access Network
Database & Business Intelligence
1 43 (10.86%) Relational Database
1 43 (10.86%) SQL Server
2 26 (6.57%) MongoDB
3 25 (6.31%) Data Warehouse
4 24 (6.06%) PostgreSQL
5 18 (4.55%) RDBMS
6 17 (4.29%) NoSQL
6 17 (4.29%) Oracle Reports
6 17 (4.29%) Power BI
7 15 (3.79%) Oracle Database
8 12 (3.03%) Data Lake
8 12 (3.03%) Metadata
8 12 (3.03%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 10 (2.53%) MySQL
10 9 (2.27%) DataStage
11 7 (1.77%) DB2
12 6 (1.52%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 6 (1.52%) Tableau
13 5 (1.26%) Amazon Redshift
13 5 (1.26%) Big Data
Development Applications
1 53 (13.38%) JIRA
2 50 (12.63%) Git
2 50 (12.63%) Postman
3 31 (7.83%) Jenkins
4 27 (6.82%) Selenium
5 23 (5.81%) JUnit
6 19 (4.80%) Cucumber
7 15 (3.79%) Eclipse
8 14 (3.54%) SoapUI
9 12 (3.03%) Maven
10 9 (2.27%) GitLab
10 9 (2.27%) IntelliJ
10 9 (2.27%) SpecFlow
10 9 (2.27%) TestRail
10 9 (2.27%) Zephyr
11 7 (1.77%) Toad
12 6 (1.52%) SonarQube
13 5 (1.26%) MSTest
13 5 (1.26%) Robot Framework
13 5 (1.26%) Subversion
General
1 130 (32.83%) Social Skills
2 88 (22.22%) Finance
3 74 (18.69%) Analytical Skills
4 39 (9.85%) Banking
5 38 (9.60%) Public Sector
6 21 (5.30%) Documentation Skills
7 11 (2.78%) Investment Banking
8 9 (2.27%) Influencing Skills
9 8 (2.02%) Legal
9 8 (2.02%) Private Banking
10 7 (1.77%) Financial Institution
10 7 (1.77%) Retail
10 7 (1.77%) Telecoms
11 6 (1.52%) Military
12 5 (1.26%) Aerospace
12 5 (1.26%) Publishing
13 4 (1.01%) General Ledger
13 4 (1.01%) Organisational Skills
14 3 (0.76%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 3 (0.76%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 123 (31.06%) Developer
2 57 (14.39%) Analyst
3 42 (10.61%) Consultant
4 29 (7.32%) Senior
5 25 (6.31%) Business Analyst
6 21 (5.30%) Architect
7 20 (5.05%) Lead
7 20 (5.05%) Software Engineer
8 17 (4.29%) Data Engineer
9 16 (4.04%) Integration Developer
10 14 (3.54%) DBA
11 12 (3.03%) Tester
12 11 (2.78%) Implementation Consultant
12 11 (2.78%) Integration Specialist
12 11 (2.78%) Java Developer
12 11 (2.78%) SAP Consultant
13 10 (2.53%) Senior Developer
13 10 (2.53%) Solutions Architect
14 9 (2.27%) Oracle Specialist
14 9 (2.27%) Technical Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 216 (54.55%) JSON
2 139 (35.10%) REST
3 133 (33.59%) SOAP
4 53 (13.38%) Web Services
5 47 (11.87%) XSLT
6 43 (10.86%) OAuth
7 33 (8.33%) HTML
8 32 (8.08%) .NET
9 29 (7.32%) JWT
9 29 (7.32%) Oracle Fusion
10 26 (6.57%) Middleware
11 23 (5.81%) RESTful
12 22 (5.56%) JMS
12 22 (5.56%) XSD
13 20 (5.05%) Spring
13 20 (5.05%) Swagger
14 19 (4.80%) J2EE
14 19 (4.80%) Kafka
15 17 (4.29%) CSS
16 16 (4.04%) Hibernate
Miscellaneous
1 18 (4.55%) Data Structures
2 12 (3.03%) Management Information System
2 12 (3.03%) Public Cloud
2 12 (3.03%) Replication
3 10 (2.53%) Legacy Systems
4 9 (2.27%) Enterprise Software
4 9 (2.27%) Onboarding
4 9 (2.27%) Product Ownership
5 8 (2.02%) AS400
5 8 (2.02%) Data Protection Act
5 8 (2.02%) Virtual Team
6 7 (1.77%) Fixed Income
7 6 (1.52%) Algorithms
7 6 (1.52%) Cloud Native
7 6 (1.52%) Low-Code
7 6 (1.52%) SWIFT Messaging Network
8 5 (1.26%) CMDB
8 5 (1.26%) Derivative
8 5 (1.26%) Digital Wallet
8 5 (1.26%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
Operating Systems
1 44 (11.11%) Linux
2 30 (7.58%) Unix
3 16 (4.04%) Windows
4 5 (1.26%) AIX
4 5 (1.26%) Ubuntu
5 4 (1.01%) Android
6 1 (0.25%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.25%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.25%) VMS
6 1 (0.25%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 142 (35.86%) Agile
2 118 (29.80%) DevOps
3 102 (25.76%) Problem-Solving
4 79 (19.95%) CI/CD
5 57 (14.39%) Validation
6 55 (13.89%) ERP
7 49 (12.37%) Scrum
8 48 (12.12%) Data Modelling
9 47 (11.87%) ETL
10 45 (11.36%) Migration
11 39 (9.85%) Integration Patterns
11 39 (9.85%) Microservices
11 39 (9.85%) Test Automation
12 37 (9.34%) Requirements Gathering
12 37 (9.34%) Software Engineering
13 35 (8.84%) SDLC
14 34 (8.59%) Continuous Improvement
14 34 (8.59%) Stakeholder Management
15 32 (8.08%) Mentoring
16 31 (7.83%) Computer Science
Programming Languages
1 151 (38.13%) SQL
2 108 (27.27%) Java
3 67 (16.92%) C#
4 56 (14.14%) Python
5 50 (12.63%) JavaScript
6 21 (5.30%) PowerShell
7 19 (4.80%) PL/SQL
8 18 (4.55%) T-SQL
9 16 (4.04%) XPath
10 10 (2.53%) Shell Script
11 9 (2.27%) Scala
12 8 (2.02%) ABAP
12 8 (2.02%) C++
12 8 (2.02%) Groovy
12 8 (2.02%) RPG
13 7 (1.77%) Korn
14 6 (1.52%) Kotlin
15 5 (1.26%) Perl
16 4 (1.01%) Bicep
17 3 (0.76%) Data Analysis Expressions
Qualifications
1 100 (25.25%) Security Cleared
2 75 (18.94%) SC Cleared
3 40 (10.10%) Degree
4 22 (5.56%) Computer Science Degree
5 14 (3.54%) BPSS Clearance
6 12 (3.03%) ISTQB
7 10 (2.53%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
8 7 (1.77%) AWS Certification
9 6 (1.52%) ISEB
10 5 (1.26%) Azure Certification
10 5 (1.26%) CCNP
10 5 (1.26%) Cisco Certification
10 5 (1.26%) DV Cleared
10 5 (1.26%) Master's Degree
10 5 (1.26%) PMI Certification
10 5 (1.26%) PMP
11 3 (0.76%) CEH
11 3 (0.76%) GIAC
11 3 (0.76%) GWAPT
12 2 (0.51%) OCP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (6.57%) QA
2 16 (4.04%) Data Quality
3 8 (2.02%) GDPR
4 6 (1.52%) PCI DSS
5 5 (1.26%) PSD2
6 4 (1.01%) GAAP
7 3 (0.76%) California Consumer Privacy Act
7 3 (0.76%) FATCA
7 3 (0.76%) ISO 8583
7 3 (0.76%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 2 (0.51%) Basel III
8 2 (0.51%) HL7
8 2 (0.51%) IFRS
8 2 (0.51%) IFRS 17
8 2 (0.51%) IFRS 9
8 2 (0.51%) SEPA
9 1 (0.25%) 21 CFR Part 11
9 1 (0.25%) Accessibility
9 1 (0.25%) EMIR
9 1 (0.25%) ISO 20022
System Software
1 32 (8.08%) Docker
2 3 (0.76%) Oracle RAC
3 2 (0.51%) Virtual Desktop
4 1 (0.25%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 14 (3.54%) Kubernetes
2 11 (2.78%) Ansible
3 10 (2.53%) Control-M
3 10 (2.53%) Puppet
4 7 (1.77%) TIBCO Hawk
5 6 (1.52%) logstash
6 5 (1.26%) Kibana
7 3 (0.76%) ITRS Geneos
8 2 (0.51%) CloudHub
8 2 (0.51%) Fluentd
8 2 (0.51%) FortiGate
8 2 (0.51%) Grafana
8 2 (0.51%) QRadar
8 2 (0.51%) Terraform
9 1 (0.25%) Docker Swarm
9 1 (0.25%) HP ALM
9 1 (0.25%) Podman
9 1 (0.25%) Progress Chef
9 1 (0.25%) Prometheus
9 1 (0.25%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 112 (28.28%) Oracle
2 43 (10.86%) SAP
3 42 (10.61%) Microsoft
4 35 (8.84%) IBM
5 23 (5.81%) webMethods
6 17 (4.29%) MuleSoft
7 16 (4.04%) Workday
8 12 (3.03%) ServiceNow
9 11 (2.78%) Informatica
9 11 (2.78%) Splunk
10 10 (2.53%) TIBCO
11 8 (2.02%) Google
11 8 (2.02%) Talend
12 7 (1.77%) BEA
12 7 (1.77%) Cisco
12 7 (1.77%) Pega
12 7 (1.77%) Red Hat
12 7 (1.77%) Software AG
13 6 (1.52%) Salesforce
14 5 (1.26%) Ariba