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 3 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
3 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 315 237 170
Rank change year-on-year -78 -67 +20
Contract jobs citing XML 371 344 622
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.72% 1.10% 1.43%
As % of the Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards category 3.70% 4.83% 6.68%
Number of daily rates quoted 229 232 327
10th Percentile £341 £375 £385
25th Percentile £403 £438 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £486 £520
Median % change year-on-year +7.97% -6.49% -5.45%
75th Percentile £625 £575 £616
90th Percentile £688 £630 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £427 £470 £500
% change year-on-year -9.15% -6.00% -0.99%
Number of hourly rates quoted 11 10 69
10th Percentile £29.07 £26.39 -
25th Percentile £29.92 £27.03 -
Median hourly rate £39.50 £34.75 £43.00
Median % change year-on-year +13.67% -19.19% -38.57%
75th Percentile £44.90 £58.75 £51.25
90th Percentile £59.50 £89.25 £85.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £39.50 £32.00 £43.00
% change year-on-year +23.44% -25.58% -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 10,024 7,127 9,317
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 19.46% 22.79% 21.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,578 4,824 6,384
10th Percentile £363 £350 £350
25th Percentile £425 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £513 £538
Median % change year-on-year +2.44% -4.65% -2.27%
75th Percentile £625 £638 £650
90th Percentile £738 £763 £788
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 278 146 280
10th Percentile £30.00 £28.29 £22.50
25th Percentile £51.25 £35.00 £43.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £55.00 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year +18.18% - -15.38%
75th Percentile £74.82 £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £85.00 £80.51 £74.44
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £62.50 £58.30
% change year-on-year +4.00% +7.20% -6.72%

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 3 July 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 3 July 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 3 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 -69 318 £525 +5.53% 105
UK excluding London -89 168 £427 -9.15% 71
London -68 149 £550 +2.82% 45
Work from Home -45 115 £520 +9.47% 46
South East -52 54 £513 +7.89% 28
North of England -72 48 £390 -13.33% 10
North West -45 39 £383 -15.00% 9
Midlands -43 30 £425 -15.00% 11
West Midlands -49 22 £425 -22.73% 4
South West -19 14 £550 +15.79% 11
East of England -20 11 £450 -18.18% 6
Yorkshire -49 9 £463 -11.90%
East Midlands -9 8 £471 +50.08% 7
Scotland -12 7 £413 -26.14% 3
Northern Ireland -2 2 £650 +36.84% 2
Wales -27 2 £635 +61.27% 1

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 (6.20%) Confluence
2 13 (3.50%) SharePoint
3 12 (3.23%) Anypoint
4 10 (2.70%) IIS
5 8 (2.16%) Mule
5 8 (2.16%) Oracle Workflow
6 5 (1.35%) CMS
6 5 (1.35%) WebLogic
6 5 (1.35%) WebSphere
7 3 (0.81%) Oracle Self-Service HR
8 2 (0.54%) Apache Airflow
8 2 (0.54%) Appian
8 2 (0.54%) CICS
8 2 (0.54%) MQSeries
8 2 (0.54%) Mule ESB
9 1 (0.27%) Apache
9 1 (0.27%) BizTalk Server
9 1 (0.27%) JBoss
9 1 (0.27%) Oracle SOA Suite
9 1 (0.27%) Tomcat
Applications
1 31 (8.36%) Microsoft Excel
2 7 (1.89%) MS Visio
3 5 (1.35%) Microsoft Office
4 4 (1.08%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.54%) EngageOne
5 2 (0.54%) FrameMaker
6 1 (0.27%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 9 (2.43%) Oracle EBS
1 9 (2.43%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (1.89%) NetSuite
3 6 (1.62%) Dynamics CRM
3 6 (1.62%) Maximo
3 6 (1.62%) Oracle ERP
3 6 (1.62%) Oracle Payables
3 6 (1.62%) Summit
4 5 (1.35%) Elite 3E
4 5 (1.35%) Oracle Cash Management
5 4 (1.08%) Oracle Receivables
5 4 (1.08%) Payment Gateway
5 4 (1.08%) Workday HCM
6 3 (0.81%) Findur
6 3 (0.81%) Oracle Assets
6 3 (0.81%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
6 3 (0.81%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
7 2 (0.54%) NEC Housing
7 2 (0.54%) Oracle Retail
7 2 (0.54%) SAP FI
Cloud Services
1 79 (21.29%) Azure
2 46 (12.40%) AWS
3 28 (7.55%) Azure DevOps
4 27 (7.28%) Boomi
5 17 (4.58%) GitHub
5 17 (4.58%) Power Platform
6 16 (4.31%) GCP
7 14 (3.77%) Serverless
8 13 (3.50%) Azure Data Factory
9 11 (2.96%) SaaS
10 10 (2.70%) AtomSphere
10 10 (2.70%) OCI
11 9 (2.43%) Azure Functions
11 9 (2.43%) Azure Logic Apps
11 9 (2.43%) Azure Synapse Analytics
11 9 (2.43%) Dynamics 365
12 8 (2.16%) Amazon S3
12 8 (2.16%) Azure Service Bus
12 8 (2.16%) GitHub Actions
13 7 (1.89%) Azure Cosmos DB
Communications & Networking
1 17 (4.58%) HTTP
2 8 (2.16%) FTP
3 6 (1.62%) 3GPP
3 6 (1.62%) TCP/IP
4 4 (1.08%) RTCP
4 4 (1.08%) RTP
4 4 (1.08%) XCAP
5 3 (0.81%) Network Security
5 3 (0.81%) SSL
6 2 (0.54%) DNS
6 2 (0.54%) HTTPS
6 2 (0.54%) Internet
6 2 (0.54%) Intranet
6 2 (0.54%) SD-WAN
6 2 (0.54%) WAN
6 2 (0.54%) Wireless
7 1 (0.27%) AMQP
7 1 (0.27%) NAS
7 1 (0.27%) SAN
7 1 (0.27%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 39 (10.51%) SQL Server
2 38 (10.24%) Relational Database
3 20 (5.39%) RDBMS
4 19 (5.12%) PostgreSQL
5 16 (4.31%) Data Warehouse
5 16 (4.31%) NoSQL
6 15 (4.04%) MongoDB
6 15 (4.04%) Oracle Database
7 13 (3.50%) Power BI
7 13 (3.50%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 12 (3.23%) Data Lake
8 12 (3.23%) Metadata
8 12 (3.23%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 10 (2.70%) MySQL
9 10 (2.70%) Oracle Reports
10 5 (1.35%) Azure SQL Database
10 5 (1.35%) Oracle BI Publisher
11 4 (1.08%) DataStage
11 4 (1.08%) MS Access
11 4 (1.08%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 38 (10.24%) Git
2 32 (8.63%) JIRA
3 30 (8.09%) Postman
4 11 (2.96%) Jenkins
5 10 (2.70%) GitLab
6 9 (2.43%) Maven
6 9 (2.43%) SoapUI
6 9 (2.43%) Team Foundation Server
7 8 (2.16%) Visual Studio
8 6 (1.62%) JMeter
8 6 (1.62%) Selenium
9 5 (1.35%) Eclipse
9 5 (1.35%) Oracle Forms
9 5 (1.35%) Subversion
10 4 (1.08%) Bitbucket
10 4 (1.08%) Cypress.io
10 4 (1.08%) Gradle
10 4 (1.08%) JUnit
10 4 (1.08%) REST Assured
10 4 (1.08%) TeamCity
General
1 123 (33.15%) Social Skills
2 79 (21.29%) Analytical Skills
3 73 (19.68%) Finance
4 33 (8.89%) Banking
4 33 (8.89%) Public Sector
5 12 (3.23%) Organisational Skills
6 10 (2.70%) Documentation Skills
6 10 (2.70%) Legal
7 9 (2.43%) Investment Banking
8 8 (2.16%) Manufacturing
8 8 (2.16%) Publishing
8 8 (2.16%) Telecoms
9 7 (1.89%) Military
9 7 (1.89%) Retail
10 5 (1.35%) Financial Institution
10 5 (1.35%) General Ledger
10 5 (1.35%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 5 (1.35%) Marketing
11 4 (1.08%) Advertising
11 4 (1.08%) Billing
Job Titles
1 103 (27.76%) Developer
2 58 (15.63%) Consultant
3 45 (12.13%) Analyst
4 30 (8.09%) Implementation Consultant
4 30 (8.09%) Senior
5 27 (7.28%) Business Analyst
6 25 (6.74%) Architect
7 22 (5.93%) Data Engineer
8 14 (3.77%) Lead
9 13 (3.50%) C# Developer
9 13 (3.50%) Payroll Consultant
10 12 (3.23%) Senior Developer
10 12 (3.23%) Software Engineer
11 10 (2.70%) DBA
11 10 (2.70%) Integration Specialist
11 10 (2.70%) Software Developer
11 10 (2.70%) Technical Consultant
12 9 (2.43%) Integration Developer
12 9 (2.43%) Integration Engineer
13 8 (2.16%) Integration Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 181 (48.79%) JSON
2 122 (32.88%) REST
3 108 (29.11%) SOAP
4 53 (14.29%) Web Services
5 50 (13.48%) Middleware
6 49 (13.21%) .NET
7 38 (10.24%) XSLT
8 25 (6.74%) OAuth
9 24 (6.47%) HTML
10 20 (5.39%) Kafka
11 18 (4.85%) CSS
11 18 (4.85%) EDI
11 18 (4.85%) JWT
11 18 (4.85%) Swagger
12 17 (4.58%) .NET Framework
12 17 (4.58%) RESTful
13 15 (4.04%) Oracle Fusion
14 14 (3.77%) ASP.NET
14 14 (3.77%) OAuth2
14 14 (3.77%) XSD
Miscellaneous
1 14 (3.77%) Data Structures
1 14 (3.77%) Product Ownership
2 11 (2.96%) Legacy Systems
3 8 (2.16%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
3 8 (2.16%) Onboarding
4 7 (1.89%) Analytical Mindset
4 7 (1.89%) Credit Risk
4 7 (1.89%) Derivative
4 7 (1.89%) Enterprise Software
4 7 (1.89%) Fixed Income
4 7 (1.89%) Management Information System
4 7 (1.89%) Market Risk
4 7 (1.89%) SWIFT Messaging Network
5 6 (1.62%) CMDB
5 6 (1.62%) Data Protection Act
5 6 (1.62%) Hybrid Cloud
5 6 (1.62%) Public Cloud
5 6 (1.62%) Replication
6 5 (1.35%) Cloud Native
6 5 (1.35%) Data Centre
Operating Systems
1 22 (5.93%) Linux
2 21 (5.66%) Unix
3 12 (3.23%) Windows
4 4 (1.08%) Windows Server
5 3 (0.81%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 2 (0.54%) VMS
6 2 (0.54%) zOS
7 1 (0.27%) Android
7 1 (0.27%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 100 (26.95%) Problem-Solving
2 91 (24.53%) Agile
3 73 (19.68%) CI/CD
4 71 (19.14%) DevOps
5 55 (14.82%) Workflow
6 53 (14.29%) Validation
7 49 (13.21%) Integration Patterns
8 44 (11.86%) Migration
9 41 (11.05%) Data Modelling
10 40 (10.78%) ERP
11 37 (9.97%) Stakeholder Management
12 34 (9.16%) ETL
12 34 (9.16%) User Acceptance Testing
13 33 (8.89%) Data Mapping
13 33 (8.89%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 30 (8.09%) Software Engineering
15 29 (7.82%) Scrum
16 26 (7.01%) Performance Tuning
17 25 (6.74%) Event-Driven
17 25 (6.74%) SDLC
Programming Languages
1 165 (44.47%) SQL
2 62 (16.71%) Java
3 55 (14.82%) Python
4 54 (14.56%) JavaScript
5 52 (14.02%) C#
6 43 (11.59%) T-SQL
7 24 (6.47%) PL/SQL
8 16 (4.31%) PowerShell
9 14 (3.77%) C++
10 13 (3.50%) Groovy
11 11 (2.96%) VB.NET
12 10 (2.70%) VB
13 9 (2.43%) VB6
13 9 (2.43%) VBA
14 8 (2.16%) XPath
15 6 (1.62%) Bicep
16 5 (1.35%) DataWeave
17 4 (1.08%) ABAP
17 4 (1.08%) C
17 4 (1.08%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 88 (23.72%) Security Cleared
2 66 (17.79%) SC Cleared
3 28 (7.55%) Degree
4 11 (2.96%) BPSS Clearance
5 9 (2.43%) DV Cleared
6 8 (2.16%) Computer Science Degree
7 5 (1.35%) AWS Certification
7 5 (1.35%) DBS Check
8 4 (1.08%) Azure Certification
8 4 (1.08%) ISTQB
8 4 (1.08%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
8 4 (1.08%) TOGAF Certification
9 3 (0.81%) Master's Degree
10 2 (0.54%) CISSP
10 2 (0.54%) GIAC
10 2 (0.54%) HNC
10 2 (0.54%) HND
10 2 (0.54%) Microsoft Certification
10 2 (0.54%) SSCP
11 1 (0.27%) ISEB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 25 (6.74%) QA
2 19 (5.12%) Data Quality
3 12 (3.23%) GDPR
4 7 (1.89%) Accessibility
4 7 (1.89%) ISO 20022
5 6 (1.62%) HL7
6 4 (1.08%) WCAG
7 3 (0.81%) 21 CFR Part 11
7 3 (0.81%) California Consumer Privacy Act
7 3 (0.81%) FATCA
7 3 (0.81%) GMP
7 3 (0.81%) GRC
7 3 (0.81%) GxP
7 3 (0.81%) PCI DSS
7 3 (0.81%) PSD2
8 2 (0.54%) ISO 15022
8 2 (0.54%) ISO 8583
8 2 (0.54%) ISO/IEC 17025
8 2 (0.54%) SLA
9 1 (0.27%) ISO/IEC 27001
System Software
1 12 (3.23%) Docker
2 4 (1.08%) VMware Infrastructure
3 3 (0.81%) Active Directory
3 3 (0.81%) Oracle RAC
4 2 (0.54%) RACF
4 2 (0.54%) Virtual Desktop
5 1 (0.27%) Hyper-V
Systems Management
1 13 (3.50%) Ansible
2 12 (3.23%) Kubernetes
3 7 (1.89%) Terraform
4 5 (1.35%) Single Sign-On
5 3 (0.81%) vRealize Orchestrator
6 2 (0.54%) Grafana
6 2 (0.54%) QRadar
6 2 (0.54%) WMI
7 1 (0.27%) HP Quality Center
7 1 (0.27%) vRealize
Vendors
1 95 (25.61%) Oracle
2 68 (18.33%) Microsoft
3 29 (7.82%) SAP
4 28 (7.55%) ServiceNow
5 26 (7.01%) MuleSoft
6 20 (5.39%) Workday
7 17 (4.58%) IBM
7 17 (4.58%) Salesforce
8 12 (3.23%) Google
9 8 (2.16%) Databricks
10 7 (1.89%) Dell
11 6 (1.62%) webMethods
12 5 (1.35%) Intapp
12 5 (1.35%) InterSystems
12 5 (1.35%) Kronos
12 5 (1.35%) Talend
13 4 (1.08%) Atlassian
13 4 (1.08%) Okta
13 4 (1.08%) Pega
13 4 (1.08%) VMware