Coding and software development job market insights report: Trends and statistics for the UK sector [January 26]
Based on current data taken from Adzuna, one of the UK's largest job search engines, we've identified the clear trends and figures that define the state of the coding and software development sector job market today. This report was last updated on 28 January 2026.
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- Coding and software development salary trends
- Trends in demand for coding professionals
- Industries hiring coding and software development professionals in 2026
- Common benefits offers for coding roles
- Trends in remote and hybrid working for coding roles
- Demand by location for coding and software development roles
- Where does this data come from?
- Is a coding career for you?
Coding and software development salaries are 56.8% above the national average
- Despite an incline at the very beginning of 2026, mean salaries for data roles consistently exceed the national average.
- The mean salary for data roles October 2025 to January 2026 inclusively is £66,566 which represents a 5.2% YoY increase.
Demand for coding professionals remains high compared to the national average
- The total number of unique postings for coding and software development job roles on the Adzuna website, October 2025 to January 2026: 40,490.
- The number of new postings for coding job roles on the Adzuna website, October 2025 to January 2026: 32,273
- The dip in unique and new postings at the end of 2025 is due to seasonal trends - both increase as expected further into January, with a 8.2% YoY increase for new postings.
Communications and finance industries among the top hiring coding professionals
The demand for coding and software development professionals is growing - the need goes beyond just IT and tech, spanning numerous industries such as science, manufacturing, defence, and the arts.
Top benefits for coding and software development roles include private healthcare and flexible working
The data above is calculated from 16,369 (40.4%) unique coding job role postings.
16,518 (40.8%) unique postings offered at least one benefit.
Over half of coding roles are flexible or remote
- 38.36% of coding and software development job roles were listed on Adzuna as hybrid or flexible roles.
- 44.93% required on-site work.
- 16.71% were fully remote.
The South East and North West sees most demand for coding roles
London leads data job demand with 14,000 job openings on Adzuna, reflecting its status as a major business hub. The South East follows with 4,662 unique postings, and the North West with 3377 for the period October 2025 to January 2026.
Where does this data come from?
To create this report, we've partnered with Adzuna, one of the UK's biggest job search engine platforms and an extremely comprehensive source of job market data.
Based on millions of job postings, the Adzuna Intelligence database gives us a better understanding of job or specific role demand in the coding and software development sector.
It also helps us identify trends related to salary, geographic location within the UK, the kinds of benefits that are being offered to coding and software development professionals, and much more.
These insights into the coding and software development job market provide of the period October 2025 to January 2026.
The purpose of this? To give you insight into the job market that can guide your career choices as well as decision about coding and software development courses and training, ensuring better alignment with market demands.
The following coding and software development job titles were included when collecting the data for this report:
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