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

6 months to
13 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 296 225 168
Rank change year-on-year -71 -57 +16
Contract jobs citing XML 431 388 574
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.81% 1.18% 1.47%
As % of the Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards category 4.26% 5.27% 6.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 285 260 295
10th Percentile £325 £356 £363
25th Percentile £400 £413 £429
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -10.91%
75th Percentile £613 £550 £600
90th Percentile £700 £631 £675
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £450 £484
% change year-on-year -5.56% -6.98% -8.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 9 24 67
10th Percentile £28.13 £27.03 -
25th Percentile £29.07 £31.25 -
Median hourly rate £39.50 £42.00 £43.00
Median % change year-on-year -5.95% -2.33% -38.57%
75th Percentile £43.00 £43.75 £51.25
90th Percentile £49.34 £57.75 £85.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £39.50 £42.00 £43.00
% change year-on-year -5.95% -2.33% -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 10,118 7,367 8,577
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 18.96% 22.37% 22.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,590 4,943 5,790
10th Percentile £363 £350 £350
25th Percentile £425 £413 £428
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £501 £550
Median % change year-on-year +4.90% -9.00% -
75th Percentile £638 £632 £663
90th Percentile £738 £750 £800
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £469 £500
% change year-on-year +6.61% -6.20% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 262 174 243
10th Percentile £28.04 £29.48 £22.55
25th Percentile £41.28 £40.88 £43.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £54.00 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year +20.37% -1.82% -8.33%
75th Percentile £73.00 £67.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £81.25 £81.01 £74.44
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £55.00 £58.91
% change year-on-year +18.18% -6.63% +0.54%

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 13 August 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 13 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for XML in the UK

XML
Top 16 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 13 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 -70 353 £500 +5.26% 138
London -51 183 £548 +4.29% 79
UK excluding London -102 181 £425 -5.56% 83
Work from Home -54 136 £519 +14.57% 62
South East -51 57 £460 -3.16% 28
North of England -73 41 £390 -13.33% 15
Midlands -36 36 £415 -3.38% 13
North West -56 33 £390 -13.33% 8
West Midlands -32 26 £408 -12.37% 6
Scotland -4 17 £444 -10.53% 6
South West -33 17 £550 +46.67% 9
East Midlands -11 9 £494 +57.32% 7
East of England -37 9 £450 -18.18% 4
Yorkshire -38 8 £399 -24.05% 6
Northern Ireland +4 3 £650 +36.84% 3
Wales -26 3 £600 +60.00% 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 (5.34%) Confluence
1 23 (5.34%) SharePoint
2 18 (4.18%) Anypoint
3 16 (3.71%) IIS
4 14 (3.25%) Oracle Workflow
5 13 (3.02%) Mule
6 6 (1.39%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 6 (1.39%) WebSphere
7 5 (1.16%) CMS
7 5 (1.16%) WebLogic
8 4 (0.93%) Apache
9 3 (0.70%) Apache Airflow
9 3 (0.70%) MQSeries
10 2 (0.46%) CICS
11 1 (0.23%) JBoss
11 1 (0.23%) Mule ESB
11 1 (0.23%) Oracle Self-Service HR
11 1 (0.23%) Oracle Service Bus
11 1 (0.23%) Tomcat
Applications
1 40 (9.28%) Microsoft Excel
2 11 (2.55%) Microsoft Office
3 6 (1.39%) MS Visio
4 3 (0.70%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 3 (0.70%) Spreadsheet
5 1 (0.23%) FrameMaker
5 1 (0.23%) LaTeX
Business Applications
1 22 (5.10%) Oracle EBS
2 15 (3.48%) NetSuite
2 15 (3.48%) Oracle Payables
3 12 (2.78%) Oracle Receivables
4 9 (2.09%) SAP S/4HANA
5 8 (1.86%) Oracle General Ledger
6 7 (1.62%) Dynamics CRM
7 6 (1.39%) Maximo
7 6 (1.39%) Oracle Assets
7 6 (1.39%) Oracle FAH
8 5 (1.16%) Elite 3E
8 5 (1.16%) Oracle Financials
9 4 (0.93%) Oracle E-Business Tax
9 4 (0.93%) Oracle ERP
9 4 (0.93%) Oracle Internet Expenses
9 4 (0.93%) Oracle iProcurement
9 4 (0.93%) SAP FI
9 4 (0.93%) Summit
10 3 (0.70%) Findur
10 3 (0.70%) Oracle Cash Management
Cloud Services
1 102 (23.67%) Azure
2 53 (12.30%) AWS
3 46 (10.67%) Azure DevOps
4 39 (9.05%) Boomi
5 27 (6.26%) GCP
6 19 (4.41%) AtomSphere
6 19 (4.41%) GitHub
7 18 (4.18%) Azure Service Bus
8 17 (3.94%) SaaS
9 15 (3.48%) Entra ID
10 14 (3.25%) Azure Logic Apps
10 14 (3.25%) Serverless
11 12 (2.78%) Power Platform
12 10 (2.32%) IaaS
12 10 (2.32%) iPaaS
12 10 (2.32%) PaaS
13 9 (2.09%) Azure Data Factory
13 9 (2.09%) Azure Functions
13 9 (2.09%) GitHub Actions
13 9 (2.09%) OCI
Communications & Networking
1 26 (6.03%) HTTP
2 8 (1.86%) FTP
3 7 (1.62%) SSL
4 6 (1.39%) TCP/IP
5 5 (1.16%) Network Security
6 3 (0.70%) Wireless
7 2 (0.46%) DNS
7 2 (0.46%) HTTPS
7 2 (0.46%) Internet
7 2 (0.46%) Intranet
7 2 (0.46%) SD-WAN
7 2 (0.46%) WAN
8 1 (0.23%) 3GPP
8 1 (0.23%) AMQP
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 52 (12.06%) SQL Server
2 38 (8.82%) Relational Database
3 21 (4.87%) Oracle Database
4 20 (4.64%) PostgreSQL
5 19 (4.41%) RDBMS
6 17 (3.94%) Oracle Reports
7 13 (3.02%) MongoDB
7 13 (3.02%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 12 (2.78%) Metadata
8 12 (2.78%) Oracle BI Publisher
9 11 (2.55%) NoSQL
10 10 (2.32%) MS Access
11 9 (2.09%) MySQL
12 8 (1.86%) Data Warehouse
12 8 (1.86%) Power BI
12 8 (1.86%) SQL Server Reporting Services
13 7 (1.62%) Tableau
14 6 (1.39%) DataStage
15 5 (1.16%) Azure SQL Database
16 4 (0.93%) Parquet
Development Applications
1 50 (11.60%) Git
2 42 (9.74%) JIRA
3 27 (6.26%) Postman
4 21 (4.87%) Jenkins
4 21 (4.87%) Team Foundation Server
4 21 (4.87%) Visual Studio
5 15 (3.48%) Oracle Forms
5 15 (3.48%) Selenium
6 12 (2.78%) JMeter
7 11 (2.55%) SoapUI
8 10 (2.32%) Maven
9 9 (2.09%) GitLab
9 9 (2.09%) Gradle
10 6 (1.39%) JDeveloper
10 6 (1.39%) LoadRunner
10 6 (1.39%) SonarQube
10 6 (1.39%) WebDriver
11 5 (1.16%) Cypress.io
11 5 (1.16%) eggPlant
11 5 (1.16%) REST Assured
General
1 139 (32.25%) Social Skills
2 95 (22.04%) Finance
3 93 (21.58%) Analytical Skills
4 43 (9.98%) Public Sector
5 38 (8.82%) Banking
6 13 (3.02%) Telecoms
7 12 (2.78%) Manufacturing
7 12 (2.78%) Organisational Skills
8 11 (2.55%) Legal
9 8 (1.86%) Documentation Skills
9 8 (1.86%) Investment Banking
9 8 (1.86%) Publishing
9 8 (1.86%) Retail
10 7 (1.62%) General Ledger
11 6 (1.39%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 5 (1.16%) Financial Institution
12 5 (1.16%) Pharmaceutical
13 4 (0.93%) Aerospace
13 4 (0.93%) Front Office
13 4 (0.93%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 129 (29.93%) Developer
2 61 (14.15%) Consultant
3 49 (11.37%) Senior
4 43 (9.98%) Analyst
5 36 (8.35%) Architect
6 31 (7.19%) Implementation Consultant
7 28 (6.50%) Lead
8 22 (5.10%) Senior Developer
9 20 (4.64%) Business Analyst
10 18 (4.18%) Data Engineer
10 18 (4.18%) Software Developer
11 13 (3.02%) C# Developer
11 13 (3.02%) Payroll Consultant
11 13 (3.02%) Software Engineer
12 12 (2.78%) Integration Specialist
12 12 (2.78%) Oracle Developer
12 12 (2.78%) Technical Consultant
13 11 (2.55%) Integration Developer
13 11 (2.55%) MuleSoft Developer
13 11 (2.55%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 211 (48.96%) JSON
2 158 (36.66%) REST
3 135 (31.32%) SOAP
4 71 (16.47%) .NET
5 68 (15.78%) Middleware
6 61 (14.15%) Web Services
7 45 (10.44%) XSLT
8 40 (9.28%) Kafka
9 39 (9.05%) OAuth
10 35 (8.12%) HTML
11 27 (6.26%) OAuth2
12 24 (5.57%) JWT
13 23 (5.34%) .NET Framework
14 22 (5.10%) EDI
14 22 (5.10%) RESTful
15 21 (4.87%) CSS
16 19 (4.41%) Swagger
17 16 (3.71%) OpenAPI
18 14 (3.25%) ASP.NET
18 14 (3.25%) XSD
Miscellaneous
1 21 (4.87%) Product Ownership
2 19 (4.41%) Legacy Systems
3 17 (3.94%) Enterprise Software
4 16 (3.71%) Data Structures
5 14 (3.25%) Cloud Native
6 13 (3.02%) SWIFT Messaging Network
7 11 (2.55%) Onboarding
7 11 (2.55%) Replication
8 10 (2.32%) Distributed Systems
9 8 (1.86%) CMDB
9 8 (1.86%) Legacy Applications
9 8 (1.86%) PKI
10 7 (1.62%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
11 6 (1.39%) Hybrid Cloud
11 6 (1.39%) Management Information System
11 6 (1.39%) Public Cloud
11 6 (1.39%) Self-Motivation
11 6 (1.39%) Taxonomies
12 5 (1.16%) Algorithms
12 5 (1.16%) Greenfield Project
Operating Systems
1 33 (7.66%) Linux
2 29 (6.73%) Windows
3 25 (5.80%) Unix
4 7 (1.62%) Windows Server
5 4 (0.93%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 2 (0.46%) VMS
6 2 (0.46%) zOS
7 1 (0.23%) Android
7 1 (0.23%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 118 (27.38%) Problem-Solving
2 96 (22.27%) DevOps
3 93 (21.58%) Agile
4 90 (20.88%) CI/CD
5 76 (17.63%) Validation
6 64 (14.85%) Workflow
7 57 (13.23%) Integration Patterns
8 51 (11.83%) Migration
9 50 (11.60%) Data Modelling
10 49 (11.37%) Test Automation
11 47 (10.90%) Stakeholder Management
12 42 (9.74%) Event-Driven
13 41 (9.51%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 40 (9.28%) Data Mapping
14 40 (9.28%) ERP
15 38 (8.82%) User Acceptance Testing
16 37 (8.58%) Scrum
17 36 (8.35%) Continuous Improvement
18 34 (7.89%) API Management
18 34 (7.89%) Software Engineering
Programming Languages
1 188 (43.62%) SQL
2 84 (19.49%) Java
3 76 (17.63%) JavaScript
4 74 (17.17%) Python
5 62 (14.39%) C#
6 45 (10.44%) T-SQL
7 34 (7.89%) PL/SQL
8 22 (5.10%) VBA
9 21 (4.87%) PowerShell
9 21 (4.87%) VB.NET
10 20 (4.64%) Groovy
11 18 (4.18%) C++
12 17 (3.94%) VB
13 16 (3.71%) VB6
14 14 (3.25%) XPath
15 7 (1.62%) DataWeave
16 6 (1.39%) ABAP
16 6 (1.39%) Bicep
16 6 (1.39%) R
16 6 (1.39%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 114 (26.45%) Security Cleared
2 90 (20.88%) SC Cleared
3 29 (6.73%) Degree
4 17 (3.94%) BPSS Clearance
5 16 (3.71%) ISTQB
6 12 (2.78%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
7 11 (2.55%) DV Cleared
8 9 (2.09%) Computer Science Degree
9 8 (1.86%) ISEB
10 6 (1.39%) DBS Check
11 4 (0.93%) TOGAF Certification
12 2 (0.46%) AWS Certification
12 2 (0.46%) Azure Certification
12 2 (0.46%) CISSP
12 2 (0.46%) GIAC
12 2 (0.46%) Master's Degree
12 2 (0.46%) Microsoft Certification
12 2 (0.46%) SSCP
13 1 (0.23%) PMI Certification
13 1 (0.23%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (7.42%) QA
2 22 (5.10%) Data Quality
3 15 (3.48%) ISO 20022
4 8 (1.86%) Accessibility
4 8 (1.86%) GDPR
5 6 (1.39%) GMP
5 6 (1.39%) SLA
6 5 (1.16%) 21 CFR Part 11
6 5 (1.16%) GxP
6 5 (1.16%) HL7
6 5 (1.16%) ISO/IEC 17025
6 5 (1.16%) WCAG
7 4 (0.93%) GRC
8 3 (0.70%) ISO 15022
9 1 (0.23%) Cyber Essentials
9 1 (0.23%) DICOM
9 1 (0.23%) IFRS
9 1 (0.23%) NIST
9 1 (0.23%) NIST 800
9 1 (0.23%) PMO
System Software
1 13 (3.02%) Active Directory
2 11 (2.55%) Docker
3 5 (1.16%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (0.46%) RACF
4 2 (0.46%) Virtual Desktop
5 1 (0.23%) Hyper-V
5 1 (0.23%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 15 (3.48%) Ansible
2 13 (3.02%) Kubernetes
3 12 (2.78%) Single Sign-On
4 8 (1.86%) Terraform
5 5 (1.16%) HP Fortify
6 4 (0.93%) Control-M
7 3 (0.70%) QRadar
7 3 (0.70%) vRealize Orchestrator
7 3 (0.70%) WMI
8 2 (0.46%) CloudHub
8 2 (0.46%) Grafana
9 1 (0.23%) Apache Ranger
9 1 (0.23%) HP Quality Center
9 1 (0.23%) vRealize
Vendors
1 126 (29.23%) Oracle
2 97 (22.51%) Microsoft
3 42 (9.74%) SAP
4 36 (8.35%) MuleSoft
5 35 (8.12%) IBM
6 34 (7.89%) ServiceNow
7 29 (6.73%) Salesforce
8 18 (4.18%) Google
9 17 (3.94%) Workday
10 11 (2.55%) Databricks
11 10 (2.32%) Okta
11 10 (2.32%) webMethods
12 8 (1.86%) Informatica
13 6 (1.39%) TIBCO
14 5 (1.16%) BeyondTrust
14 5 (1.16%) Intapp
14 5 (1.16%) Kronos
14 5 (1.16%) Splunk
14 5 (1.16%) VMware
14 5 (1.16%) WSO2