Most consulting statistics roundups are a pile of numbers with no dates, no sample sizes and no way to check them. This one gives every figure a source, a sample and a year, because a statistic you cannot verify is not worth quoting.
The short version: the industry is growing again, but slowly, and it is doing so while utilisation sits at the lowest point ever recorded and margins stay in single digits.
The four numbers that frame 2026
Every figure below is attributed to a named published source with its survey size and reference period stated inline.
- Selection rule
- A figure is included only if the original source names its sample and reference period. Statistics circulating without provenance were left out, however widely repeated.
- Primary sources
- MCA Annual Industry Report 2026 (with Oxford Economics), SPI Research 2026 Professional Services Maturity Benchmark (509 organisations), Source Global Research (3,887 companies), IT Jobs Watch, and Pave's 2025 AI/ML talent report.
- Currency
- Figures are reported in the currency of the original source. UK market data is in pounds; day rates are UK contract market medians.
- What we added
- The day-rate comparison table is ConsultingDemand's own compilation from IT Jobs Watch pages, covering 3,659 quoted day rates across 9 contract job titles, plus two skill markers reported separately because they count a different population.
- Review cycle
- Reviewed quarterly. Figures verified August 2026, except the US federal ceiling-rate figure, checked on 28 September 2026.
ConsultingDemand, “Consulting Industry Statistics 2026”, data as of August 2026. https://consultingdemand.com/blog/consulting-industry-statistics/
Market size and growth
1. The UK consulting industry generated £21.8 billion in revenue in 2025, up 3% on 2024. (MCA Annual Industry Report 2026, with Oxford Economics)
2. The MCA projects 6% growth in 2026 and 8% in 2027. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
3. UK consulting leaders themselves projected growth of 5.7% for 2026. (MCA member survey, conducted for the MCA by Savanta)
4. Professional services revenue grew 5.2% in 2025, up from 4.6% in 2024. Both sit at roughly half the 10% rate SPI Research considers healthy for the industry. (SPI Research 2026 Benchmark, 509 organisations)
5. Export earnings from UK consulting rose 9% year on year. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
6. Exports now account for 31% of total UK consulting fee income. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
7. More than 60% of UK firms generate some revenue overseas. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
8. Export income splits as Europe 10%, North America 10%, Asia-Pacific 4%, Middle East and Africa 3%, South America 2%. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
Utilisation and profitability
This is the uncomfortable section.
9. Billable utilisation across professional services stands at 66.4%, described by SPI Research as the lowest point in the history of their survey. (SPI Research 2026 Benchmark)
10. Average EBITDA across the 509 organisations surveyed is 9.9%. (SPI Research 2026 Benchmark)
11. Employee attrition sits at 11.4%. (SPI Research 2026 Benchmark)
12. Firms still at the experimental stage with AI posted 9.0% EBITDA. Firms using it widely with measurable benefits posted 17.9%, close to double. (SPI Research 2026 Benchmark)
This figure is frequently misreported as consulting margins being at their weakest on record. That is not what the data says. It is utilisation specifically that hit a record low. Project margins and EBITDA have moved far less dramatically. If you see a claim that margins are at an all-time low, check whether the underlying source actually says utilisation.
Fees and day rates
13. UK contract day rates across 9 consulting and adjacent contract job titles range from £500 to £600 at the median. (ConsultingDemand compilation from IT Jobs Watch, 3,659 quoted rates, six months to 21 August 2026)
14. Management consulting day rates fell 12.00% year on year, to £550 from £625. (IT Jobs Watch, 67 quoted rates)
15. Cyber security consulting rose 21.75%, to £599 from £492, the largest movement of any specialism. (IT Jobs Watch, 43 quoted rates)
16. Data science rose 12.94% to £600. (IT Jobs Watch, 217 quoted rates)
17. Vacancies citing artificial intelligence carry a £559 median day rate, up just 1.64%, on 3,018 quoted rates, the largest sample in our benchmark. AI is a skill marker rather than a job title, so this spans every contract role citing it. (IT Jobs Watch)
18. Business analyst rates did not move at all, holding at £500. (IT Jobs Watch, 1,376 quoted rates)
19. Cloud architect rates fell 5.14% to £600. (IT Jobs Watch, 229 quoted rates)
20. Median US federal ceiling rates for consulting run from $108 an hour in operations and supply chain to $171 in AI and data science. A ceiling rate is the most a contractor may charge a US federal agency for that labour category. (Consulting fees by industry, from 24,480 rates in GSA CALC+, 28 September 2026)
Detail by specialism sits in our benchmarks for management consulting, AI, cyber security and IT, with US federal ceiling rates and public project fees in the consulting fees by industry guide.
Buyers and trust
21. 70% of consulting buyers said they would not trust a report produced with AI. (Source Global Research poll of 3,887 companies, reported by Resultsense on 4 August 2026)
22. Among companies that had used consultants’ AI tools, 77% thought the technology was a bubble about to burst, against 55% of those that had not: a 22-point gap. (Source Global Research)
23. KPMG International pressed its auditor, Grant Thornton UK, to pass on AI efficiencies. The fee for auditing its 2025 accounts fell 14%, to $357,000 from $416,000. (Financial Times, republished by The Irish Times, 6 February 2026)
24. Asked what was holding AI progress back, 40% of clients pointed to data security and privacy, 34% to a lack of skilled internal teams, 29% to high implementation costs, and 28% to difficulty defining a clear AI strategy and roadmap. (MCA 2026 Client Survey)
Firms that market AI as a productivity gain are handing procurement a reason to pay less. The KPMG fee cut is the clearest published example: the same efficiency story used to win work was used to reduce the fee. Any firm building an AI pitch should decide in advance how it answers the question 'so why does this still cost the same?'
Hiring and talent
25. MCA member firms hired more than 5,400 new staff in 2025. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
26. Graduate recruitment rose 10%, and apprentice hiring rose 31% on a like-for-like basis. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
27. Experienced professionals now make up 37% of new hires, a marked shift from the traditional graduate-heavy intake. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
28. Annual attrition for AI and machine learning individual contributors runs at 28%, against 17% for software engineers. (Pave 2025 AI/ML Talent Report)
29. UK consultants receive an average of 7 days of training a year. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
30. Chartered Management Consultant accreditation holders passed 2,800, a 55% year-on-year increase. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
Market structure
31. Large firms take 77% of total UK fee income, medium firms 20%, and small firms just 3%. (MCA / Oxford Economics)
That last number is the one most worth sitting with. The UK consulting market is not a level playing field with a long tail of thriving boutiques. It is heavily concentrated, and the small-firm share is small enough that strategy for an independent consultancy has to assume it is competing for a narrow slice rather than for the market average.
- The UK consulting market reached £21.8bn in 2025 but grew only 3%, with 6% forecast for 2026
- Billable utilisation is at 66.4%, the lowest ever recorded, while average EBITDA sits at 9.9%
- Firms using AI widely posted 17.9% EBITDA against 9.0% for those still experimenting, close to a doubling
- Day rates diverged sharply: cyber security up 21.75%, management consulting down 12.00%
- 70% of buyers would not trust an AI-produced report, and exposure to consultants' AI tools increased scepticism rather than easing it
- Large firms take 77% of UK fee income while small firms take 3%, so market-average figures describe very few actual businesses
Last updated: 28 September 2026