The La Fosse Salary Index is our biannual deep dive into salaries, hiring trends and workforce capability across technology, data, product and transformation.
The H2 2026 Workforce Insights Report brings updated benchmark data, expanded AI coverage, refreshed market intelligence and a workforce strategy framework designed for the second half of 2026. Built from live placement data across more than 5,000 roles and combined with insight from our specialist consultants, it is the intelligence organisations and professionals need to plan, hire and compete through H2 and into 2027.
The numbers that matter
The 2026 market at a glance
The H2 2026 edition reflects a market split in two. Generalist talent has rarely been more available, giving hiring managers the strongest buyer’s market in years. Specialist talent tells the opposite story, with AI, data, cyber, cloud and senior product leadership all operating under materially different market conditions. Specialist salary inflation continues to materially outperform the broader market.
Whether you are building your H2 hiring strategy or benchmarking your own market value, The La Fosse Salary Index gives you the data to move with confidence.
“In 2026, the question is no longer whether to hire, but which talent model fits which problem, and how quickly organisations can adapt.” — Ollie Whiting, Group CEO
What's shaping the market in 2026?
The talent market has bifurcated
Generalist talent has rarely been more available, following redundancies across 2025 and a slower correction in technology hiring. Specialist talent in AI, data, cyber and senior leadership tells the opposite story. Specialist salary inflation continues to materially outperform the broader market, driven by constrained supply and growing strategic demand.
From AI adoption to AI execution
AI adoption is now widespread, but scaled enterprise impact remains limited. Most organisations have introduced AI into at least one area of the business, but far fewer have embedded it consistently across operating models, leadership behaviour and day-to-day workflows. The organisations generating the strongest outcomes are those where leadership teams actively use and model AI capability themselves.
Retention has become the imperative
The cost of replacing senior talent continues to rise, with longer hiring cycles and increased competition for specialist capability contributing to sustained retention pressure. Progression, recognition, flexibility and meaningful investment in development are increasingly influential in retention decisions alongside base salary.
New AI roles reshaping the benchmark
Our AI coverage has expanded in this edition, with new roles including AI Architect, AI Governance Lead, AI Product Manager and Head of AI added to the benchmark. Further roles such as Chief AI Officer, Agentic Operations Manager and Human-in-the-Loop Designer are appearing consistently across forward-looking organisations, with published benchmarks still forming.
Benchmark your salary live
Want to know where you stand?
Our Salary Benchmark Tool has been updated with new H2 2026 placement data. Compare your salary or day rate against real placement figures, filtered by job type, function and role. Whether you are permanent, contract inside IR35 or contract outside IR35, see how you measure up against the market.
What's included in the report
The La Fosse H2 2026 Workforce Insights Report provides comprehensive salary benchmarks and market insight across:
Practice areas
- Technology and IT: Cloud, Infrastructure & DevOps, InfoSec, Privacy & Governance
- Data, Engineering and Digital: Product, UX, Design & Delivery, Software Engineering, Data & AI, IT Architecture
- Projects and Programmes: Change & Transformation, ERP, CRM
- Corporate Functions: Finance Transformation
Market intelligence and workforce strategy
- The market in 60 seconds
- The AI reality: from adoption to execution
- The skills gap is bigger than the data shows
- The retention imperative
- The diversity challenge: the economic case
- Regulatory watch: what organisations should prioritise now
- Building your H2 workforce strategy: the hire, build, borrow framework
Get the full report with detailed salary benchmarks, market trends and expert insight to inform your 2026 talent strategy and beyond.
Beyond the benchmark
The La Fosse Salary Index is just one part of how we support organisations and professionals across the tech and transformation landscape. Through our research, community initiatives and pro bono work, we’re addressing the deeper challenges shaping the future of work.
UNBOUND
Our community for women in tech and transformation, supporting women at every stage of their careers. In 2026, we are expanding UNBOUND in two areas.
- The UNBOUND Stamp of Approval is our tiered employer certification for organisations committed to gender equity in tech, with Approved, Endorsed and Certified status.
- The UNBOUND Mentorship Programme matches senior women with rising talent, focusing on the mid-career transition. Applications are now open for mentors and mentees.
ConnEx
Mobilising leadership for good. ConnEx is La Fosse’s pro bono advisory initiative connecting UK charities with C-suite executive talent, completely free of charge. We place senior leaders from finance, technology, data, operations, people and cyber security into advisory roles that help charities reach their full potential.
Applications are now open again. Charities looking for board or advisory-level support, and senior leaders interested in offering their expertise pro bono, can register their interest via our website.
AI Reality Check and Beyond Headcount
AI is transforming workplaces faster than most businesses can keep up. Our AI Reality Check research, surveying over 2,000 UK tech workers, reveals the reality of workplace AI adoption. The findings challenge almost everything leadership teams think they know about AI readiness, risk and capability.
Our next phase is Beyond Headcount, a forward-looking blueprint on the workforce in 2027. Developed with the La Fosse AI Council of senior leaders from UK enterprise, private equity and the public sector, Beyond Headcount will answer the questions boards are asking about how AI will reshape hiring, capability and organisational design.
Access the report and find out more about Beyond Headcount
