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

6 months to
23 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 294 235 166
Rank change year-on-year -59 -69 +28
Contract jobs citing XML 421 387 607
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.80% 1.18% 1.48%
As % of the Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards category 4.11% 5.24% 6.88%
Number of daily rates quoted 271 269 315
10th Percentile £325 £361 £375
25th Percentile £400 £423 £430
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -9.09%
75th Percentile £625 £575 £604
90th Percentile £713 £625 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £454 £500
% change year-on-year -6.39% -9.20% -0.99%
Number of hourly rates quoted 9 11 68
10th Percentile £29.07 £27.00 -
25th Percentile £30.00 £27.05 -
Median hourly rate £39.50 £37.50 £43.00
Median % change year-on-year +5.33% -12.79% -38.57%
75th Percentile £46.80 £43.75 £51.25
90th Percentile £59.50 £63.75 £85.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £39.50 £37.50 £43.00
% change year-on-year +5.33% -12.79% -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 10,235 7,379 8,828
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 19.41% 22.59% 21.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,677 4,985 6,032
10th Percentile £363 £350 £350
25th Percentile £425 £413 £426
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £508 £543
Median % change year-on-year +3.45% -6.45% -1.36%
75th Percentile £630 £638 £664
90th Percentile £738 £750 £800
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £472 £500
% change year-on-year +5.87% -5.54% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 266 155 260
10th Percentile £29.07 £30.10 £23.70
25th Percentile £46.39 £38.52 £43.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £55.00 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year +18.18% - -12.00%
75th Percentile £74.82 £67.25 £70.00
90th Percentile £85.00 £80.61 £74.44
UK excluding London median hourly rate £67.50 £62.50 £58.30
% change year-on-year +8.00% +7.20% -0.87%

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 23 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 23 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 23 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 -82 345 £500 +3.09% 97
UK excluding London -80 184 £425 -6.39% 56
London -58 170 £550 +4.76% 46
Work from Home -61 130 £509 +7.44% 42
South East -57 58 £500 +5.26% 17
North of England -75 44 £390 -13.33% 6
Midlands -32 41 £418 -10.22% 13
North West -51 35 £383 -15.00% 3
West Midlands -43 32 £415 -17.00% 10
Scotland -4 15 £437 -19.77% 4
South West -34 14 £550 +46.67% 9
East Midlands -6 9 £438 +39.49% 3
East of England -28 9 £450 -18.18% 6
Yorkshire -46 9 £400 -23.81% 3
Wales -29 3 £600 +60.00%
Northern Ireland +1 2 £650 +36.84% 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 24 (5.70%) Confluence
2 19 (4.51%) SharePoint
3 16 (3.80%) IIS
4 15 (3.56%) Oracle Workflow
5 14 (3.33%) Anypoint
6 10 (2.38%) Mule
7 7 (1.66%) WebLogic
8 5 (1.19%) CMS
8 5 (1.19%) WebSphere
9 3 (0.71%) Apache Airflow
10 2 (0.48%) Apache
10 2 (0.48%) CICS
10 2 (0.48%) MQSeries
10 2 (0.48%) Mule ESB
10 2 (0.48%) Oracle Self-Service HR
11 1 (0.24%) Appian
11 1 (0.24%) JBoss
11 1 (0.24%) Oracle SOA Suite
11 1 (0.24%) Tomcat
Applications
1 37 (8.79%) Microsoft Excel
2 11 (2.61%) Microsoft Office
3 7 (1.66%) MS Visio
4 4 (0.95%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.71%) Spreadsheet
6 2 (0.48%) EngageOne
7 1 (0.24%) FrameMaker
Business Applications
1 19 (4.51%) Oracle EBS
2 14 (3.33%) Oracle Payables
3 12 (2.85%) NetSuite
3 12 (2.85%) Oracle Receivables
4 8 (1.90%) SAP S/4HANA
5 7 (1.66%) Oracle General Ledger
6 6 (1.43%) Dynamics CRM
6 6 (1.43%) Maximo
6 6 (1.43%) Oracle Assets
6 6 (1.43%) Oracle FAH
7 5 (1.19%) Elite 3E
7 5 (1.19%) Oracle Financials
7 5 (1.19%) Summit
8 4 (0.95%) Oracle Cash Management
8 4 (0.95%) Oracle E-Business Tax
8 4 (0.95%) Oracle ERP
8 4 (0.95%) Oracle Internet Expenses
8 4 (0.95%) Oracle iProcurement
8 4 (0.95%) Workday HCM
9 3 (0.71%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 92 (21.85%) Azure
2 51 (12.11%) AWS
3 37 (8.79%) Azure DevOps
4 35 (8.31%) Boomi
5 20 (4.75%) GCP
6 19 (4.51%) GitHub
7 17 (4.04%) AtomSphere
7 17 (4.04%) Power Platform
7 17 (4.04%) SaaS
8 13 (3.09%) Azure Data Factory
8 13 (3.09%) Serverless
9 11 (2.61%) Entra ID
10 10 (2.38%) GitHub Actions
11 9 (2.14%) Azure Logic Apps
11 9 (2.14%) Azure Service Bus
11 9 (2.14%) Azure Synapse Analytics
12 8 (1.90%) Amazon S3
12 8 (1.90%) Azure Functions
12 8 (1.90%) Dynamics 365
12 8 (1.90%) Power Automate
Communications & Networking
1 26 (6.18%) HTTP
2 8 (1.90%) FTP
3 6 (1.43%) 3GPP
3 6 (1.43%) TCP/IP
4 5 (1.19%) SSL
5 4 (0.95%) Network Security
5 4 (0.95%) RTCP
5 4 (0.95%) RTP
5 4 (0.95%) XCAP
6 2 (0.48%) DNS
6 2 (0.48%) HTTPS
6 2 (0.48%) Internet
6 2 (0.48%) Intranet
6 2 (0.48%) SD-WAN
6 2 (0.48%) WAN
6 2 (0.48%) Wireless
7 1 (0.24%) Bluetooth
7 1 (0.24%) NFC
7 1 (0.24%) SAN
7 1 (0.24%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 55 (13.06%) SQL Server
2 39 (9.26%) Relational Database
3 20 (4.75%) PostgreSQL
3 20 (4.75%) RDBMS
4 19 (4.51%) Oracle Database
4 19 (4.51%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 16 (3.80%) Oracle Reports
6 14 (3.33%) Data Warehouse
6 14 (3.33%) MongoDB
7 13 (3.09%) Metadata
7 13 (3.09%) NoSQL
7 13 (3.09%) Power BI
8 11 (2.61%) MySQL
8 11 (2.61%) Oracle BI Publisher
8 11 (2.61%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 10 (2.38%) Data Lake
9 10 (2.38%) MS Access
10 6 (1.43%) DataStage
11 5 (1.19%) Azure SQL Database
12 4 (0.95%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 44 (10.45%) Git
2 41 (9.74%) JIRA
3 29 (6.89%) Postman
4 20 (4.75%) Team Foundation Server
5 19 (4.51%) Visual Studio
6 16 (3.80%) Jenkins
7 15 (3.56%) Oracle Forms
8 9 (2.14%) GitLab
9 8 (1.90%) SoapUI
10 7 (1.66%) JMeter
10 7 (1.66%) Maven
10 7 (1.66%) Selenium
11 6 (1.43%) JDeveloper
12 5 (1.19%) Cypress.io
12 5 (1.19%) Eclipse
12 5 (1.19%) Gradle
12 5 (1.19%) JUnit
12 5 (1.19%) Subversion
13 4 (0.95%) Newman
13 4 (0.95%) TeamCity
General
1 133 (31.59%) Social Skills
2 88 (20.90%) Finance
3 87 (20.67%) Analytical Skills
4 39 (9.26%) Public Sector
5 32 (7.60%) Banking
6 12 (2.85%) Organisational Skills
6 12 (2.85%) Telecoms
7 10 (2.38%) Documentation Skills
7 10 (2.38%) Manufacturing
8 9 (2.14%) Investment Banking
8 9 (2.14%) Legal
9 8 (1.90%) General Ledger
9 8 (1.90%) Publishing
9 8 (1.90%) Retail
10 6 (1.43%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 5 (1.19%) Financial Institution
11 5 (1.19%) Military
11 5 (1.19%) Pharmaceutical
12 4 (0.95%) Advertising
12 4 (0.95%) Front Office
Job Titles
1 131 (31.12%) Developer
2 60 (14.25%) Consultant
3 47 (11.16%) Analyst
4 38 (9.03%) Senior
5 32 (7.60%) Architect
6 30 (7.13%) Implementation Consultant
7 23 (5.46%) Business Analyst
8 22 (5.23%) Lead
9 21 (4.99%) Data Engineer
10 19 (4.51%) Senior Developer
11 18 (4.28%) Software Developer
12 16 (3.80%) C# Developer
13 13 (3.09%) Payroll Consultant
14 12 (2.85%) Integration Developer
14 12 (2.85%) Software Engineer
14 12 (2.85%) Technical Consultant
15 11 (2.61%) Oracle Developer
16 10 (2.38%) .NET Developer
16 10 (2.38%) DBA
17 9 (2.14%) Test Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 201 (47.74%) JSON
2 140 (33.25%) REST
3 126 (29.93%) SOAP
4 67 (15.91%) .NET
5 61 (14.49%) Web Services
6 59 (14.01%) Middleware
7 44 (10.45%) XSLT
8 30 (7.13%) OAuth
9 29 (6.89%) HTML
10 28 (6.65%) .NET Framework
11 24 (5.70%) Kafka
12 23 (5.46%) RESTful
13 21 (4.99%) ASP.NET
14 20 (4.75%) Swagger
15 19 (4.51%) EDI
15 19 (4.51%) OAuth2
16 18 (4.28%) CSS
16 18 (4.28%) JWT
17 15 (3.56%) OpenAPI
18 14 (3.33%) ASP.NET Web API
Miscellaneous
1 17 (4.04%) Legacy Systems
2 16 (3.80%) Data Structures
3 15 (3.56%) Product Ownership
4 11 (2.61%) Replication
5 10 (2.38%) Enterprise Software
5 10 (2.38%) Onboarding
6 9 (2.14%) Cloud Native
7 8 (1.90%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
7 8 (1.90%) Management Information System
7 8 (1.90%) SWIFT Messaging Network
8 7 (1.66%) CMDB
8 7 (1.66%) Distributed Systems
8 7 (1.66%) Legacy Applications
9 6 (1.43%) Algorithms
9 6 (1.43%) Data Protection Act
9 6 (1.43%) Derivative
9 6 (1.43%) Fixed Income
9 6 (1.43%) Hybrid Cloud
9 6 (1.43%) PKI
9 6 (1.43%) Taxonomies
Operating Systems
1 26 (6.18%) Windows
2 24 (5.70%) Unix
3 23 (5.46%) Linux
4 7 (1.66%) Windows Server
5 3 (0.71%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 2 (0.48%) Android
6 2 (0.48%) VMS
6 2 (0.48%) zOS
7 1 (0.24%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 108 (25.65%) Problem-Solving
2 97 (23.04%) Agile
3 80 (19.00%) DevOps
4 79 (18.76%) CI/CD
5 65 (15.44%) Workflow
6 61 (14.49%) Validation
7 52 (12.35%) Data Modelling
8 51 (12.11%) Migration
9 49 (11.64%) Integration Patterns
10 40 (9.50%) ERP
11 39 (9.26%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 38 (9.03%) Data Mapping
12 38 (9.03%) Stakeholder Management
13 34 (8.08%) Scrum
13 34 (8.08%) User Acceptance Testing
14 33 (7.84%) Event-Driven
14 33 (7.84%) Software Engineering
15 31 (7.36%) ETL
15 31 (7.36%) Test Automation
16 30 (7.13%) Continuous Improvement
Programming Languages
1 189 (44.89%) SQL
2 70 (16.63%) C#
3 65 (15.44%) Java
4 58 (13.78%) Python
5 57 (13.54%) JavaScript
6 49 (11.64%) T-SQL
7 36 (8.55%) PL/SQL
8 25 (5.94%) PowerShell
9 21 (4.99%) VBA
10 18 (4.28%) Groovy
10 18 (4.28%) VB.NET
11 16 (3.80%) C++
11 16 (3.80%) VB
12 15 (3.56%) VB6
13 14 (3.33%) XPath
14 8 (1.90%) Shell Script
15 7 (1.66%) DataWeave
16 6 (1.43%) Bicep
16 6 (1.43%) R
16 6 (1.43%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 99 (23.52%) Security Cleared
2 78 (18.53%) SC Cleared
3 28 (6.65%) Degree
4 17 (4.04%) BPSS Clearance
5 9 (2.14%) ISTQB
5 9 (2.14%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
6 8 (1.90%) DV Cleared
7 7 (1.66%) Computer Science Degree
8 5 (1.19%) Azure Certification
8 5 (1.19%) DBS Check
8 5 (1.19%) ISEB
9 4 (0.95%) AWS Certification
9 4 (0.95%) TOGAF Certification
10 3 (0.71%) Master's Degree
11 2 (0.48%) CISSP
11 2 (0.48%) GIAC
11 2 (0.48%) Microsoft Certification
11 2 (0.48%) SSCP
12 1 (0.24%) CISM
12 1 (0.24%) GCIA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 30 (7.13%) QA
2 19 (4.51%) Data Quality
3 9 (2.14%) GDPR
4 8 (1.90%) Accessibility
4 8 (1.90%) ISO 20022
5 7 (1.66%) SLA
6 6 (1.43%) GMP
6 6 (1.43%) HL7
7 5 (1.19%) 21 CFR Part 11
7 5 (1.19%) GxP
7 5 (1.19%) ISO/IEC 17025
7 5 (1.19%) WCAG
8 4 (0.95%) GRC
9 3 (0.71%) FATCA
10 2 (0.48%) ISO 15022
11 1 (0.24%) California Consumer Privacy Act
11 1 (0.24%) IFRS
11 1 (0.24%) NIST
11 1 (0.24%) NIST 800
11 1 (0.24%) PSD2
System Software
1 11 (2.61%) Active Directory
1 11 (2.61%) Docker
2 4 (0.95%) VMware Infrastructure
3 2 (0.48%) Oracle RAC
3 2 (0.48%) RACF
3 2 (0.48%) Virtual Desktop
4 1 (0.24%) Hyper-V
Systems Management
1 14 (3.33%) Ansible
2 11 (2.61%) Kubernetes
2 11 (2.61%) Single Sign-On
3 8 (1.90%) Terraform
4 3 (0.71%) QRadar
4 3 (0.71%) vRealize Orchestrator
4 3 (0.71%) WMI
5 2 (0.48%) CloudHub
5 2 (0.48%) Grafana
6 1 (0.24%) Apache Ranger
6 1 (0.24%) HP Quality Center
6 1 (0.24%) vRealize
Vendors
1 121 (28.74%) Oracle
2 89 (21.14%) Microsoft
3 32 (7.60%) SAP
4 30 (7.13%) ServiceNow
5 28 (6.65%) MuleSoft
6 23 (5.46%) IBM
7 20 (4.75%) Salesforce
8 19 (4.51%) Workday
9 15 (3.56%) Google
10 10 (2.38%) Okta
11 9 (2.14%) Databricks
11 9 (2.14%) webMethods
12 7 (1.66%) Dell
13 5 (1.19%) BeyondTrust
13 5 (1.19%) Guidewire
13 5 (1.19%) Informatica
13 5 (1.19%) Intapp
13 5 (1.19%) InterSystems
13 5 (1.19%) Kronos
13 5 (1.19%) Talend