February 2026
The salary data driving smarter decisions in leadership, technology and change
The La Fosse Salary Index is our annual deep dive into salaries, hiring trends and workforce capability across technology, data, product and transformation. Built from live placement data across more than 5,000 roles, combined with insight from our specialist consultants, it’s the market intelligence organisations and professionals need to plan, hire and compete in 2026.
The numbers that matter:
- 12% salary inflation for AI, data and cyber security roles
- 42% of hiring managers say retention is their biggest challenge
- 7 weeks average time to hire for senior product leadership roles
- £1B jobs globally needing reskilling by 2030
The 2026 market at a glance
This year’s report reveals a market in transition. Salary inflation has cooled in generalist roles, but specialist talent in AI, data, cloud and security continues to command significant premiums. More striking is the shift in what drives talent decisions: benefits have overtaken base salary as the primary factor for senior hires, and retention has become a bigger challenge than recruitment for 42% of hiring managers.
Whether you’re building your 2026 hiring strategy or benchmarking your own market value, The La Fosse Salary Index gives you the data to move with confidence.
“2026 will reward organisations that have done the groundwork: strong leadership pipelines, teams equipped with the right skills, and a culture that retains top talent. Those still relying on reactive hiring will find themselves falling behind.” – Ollie Whiting, Group CEO
What’s included in the report
The La Fosse Salary Index 2026 provides comprehensive salary benchmarks and market insight across:
- Technology and IT: Cloud, Infrastructure, DevOps, InfoSec, Privacy and Governance
- Data, Engineering and Digital: Product, UX, Design, Software Engineering, Data and AI, IT Architecture
- Projects and Programmes: Change and Transformation, ERP, CRM
- Corporate Functions: Finance Transformation
- Permanent, contract and interim rates across all disciplines
- Expert commentary from our specialist consultants on what’s driving market movement
- 2026 outlook with actionable insight for hiring managers and candidates
Get the full report with detailed salary benchmarks, market trends and expert insight to inform your 2026 talent strategy.