Trust Center

Data Sources & Methodology

How PayMetric Labs collects, normalizes, and publishes salary and contractor day rate benchmarks for 22 global markets. Read this before you cite a figure in a negotiation.

Last updated: May 28, 2026

No blended averages

Role, level, and location stay separated.

Confidence scored

Every figure shows how much weight to give it.

Source year visible

You always see which data period applies.

Benchmark pipeline

From raw signals to published benchmarks

Rolling quality cycle

Collect from trusted sources

Salary ranges, contractor day rates, titles, seniority, and location from guides, job boards, agency rate cards, and selected public datasets.

Raw pay signals

Standardize roles & locations

Titles map into consistent role families and levels. Currencies stay local so Dublin and London stay like-for-like, not blended.

Comparable cohorts

Calculate ranges & bands

Median, P25/P75, and YoY movement per role and place. UK rates carry IR35 context; Ireland rates carry structure context.

Benchmark figures

Quality-check and publish

Confidence scores reflect source depth and consistency. Pages go live only after quality and editorial review.

Live verified pages

In detail

Sources, scoring, and coverage

Where salary data comes from

Job boards, recruitment firm reports, salary guides, and selected public datasets. Multiple sources let us cross-check outliers before publish.

Where contractor day rates come from

Agency rate cards, contractor surveys, and market reports for 22 global markets, segmented by role, seniority, and IR35 status where relevant.

Why we standardize first

Sources disagree on titles and levels. We normalize before any median is calculated, so a day rate and a salary for the same role sit on an equivalent basis.

How confidence scores work

High Confidence (citation-ready) is reserved for benchmarks corroborated across independent sources. Moderate Confidence is directional context while that coverage is still building. Limited Market Data means early signals only. We do not inflate newer markets to High just to look complete.

Market intelligence reports

The same benchmark pipeline feeds top-paying roles, in-demand skills, and fastest pay growth: permanent and contract hiring together.

Currency & regional separation

Ireland (EUR) and UK (GBP) stay separate. We do not convert in ways that distort comparisons. IR35 context applies only to UK contractor figures.

Ireland contractor structures

Take-home estimates across sole trader, PAYE umbrella, and director paths using current Revenue rates: guidance, not personal tax advice.

Refresh cadence

Rolling review cycle. Every salary and day-rate page shows its source year so you know how recent a figure is before you use it.

Newer market calculators

Take-home tools for 13 further markets use each country's official tax and social rates, not the IE/UK salary pipeline. Full benchmarks follow when sourced data meets the same bar.

See the methodology in the data

Open a salary or day-rate page and you will see source year, confidence, and ranges: the same standards described here.

Ireland salaries UK salaries Ireland day rates UK day rates FAQ