NHS Contract Job Trends in England

National Health Service (NHS)
UK > England

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term NHS in contract job vacancies in England. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited NHS over the 6 months leading up to 21 August 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
21 Aug 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 325 352 306
Rank change year-on-year +27 -46 -85
Contract jobs citing NHS 341 156 236
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.75% 0.57% 0.71%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 2.22% 1.59% 2.30%
Number of daily rates quoted 267 113 159
10th Percentile £263 £202 £173
25th Percentile £367 £313 £250
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £460 £350
Median % change year-on-year +3.26% +31.43% +7.87%
75th Percentile £538 £538 £509
90th Percentile £608 £593 £613
UK median daily rate £454 £450 £350
% change year-on-year +0.89% +28.57% +12.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 13 6 20
10th Percentile £21.82 £17.16 £13.88
25th Percentile £26.72 £22.52 £15.82
Median hourly rate £31.47 £28.41 £20.40
Median % change year-on-year +10.75% +39.26% +2.00%
75th Percentile £34.62 £32.22 £25.83
90th Percentile £57.00 £34.30 £26.26
UK median hourly rate £31.47 £30.00 £22.40
% change year-on-year +4.88% +33.93% +16.79%

All Generic Skills
England

NHS falls under the General and Transferable Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring generic IT skills in England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for generic IT skills 15,344 9,807 10,264
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 33.60% 35.59% 30.83%
Number of daily rates quoted 9,401 6,191 6,618
10th Percentile £325 £305 £300
25th Percentile £425 £408 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year - -4.55% -
75th Percentile £638 £650 £681
90th Percentile £750 £775 £825
UK median daily rate £525 £520 £550
% change year-on-year +0.96% -5.45% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 934 495 519
10th Percentile £14.97 £15.48 £12.50
25th Percentile £19.34 £18.87 £18.50
Median hourly rate £42.40 £32.71 £48.00
Median % change year-on-year +29.62% -31.85% +9.50%
75th Percentile £70.00 £60.63 £70.00
90th Percentile £85.00 £79.50 £75.00
UK median hourly rate £43.50 £30.00 £45.00
% change year-on-year +45.00% -33.33% +10.31%

NHS
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing NHS relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in England.

NHS job vacancy trend in England

NHS
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing NHS.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing NHS

NHS
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing NHS in England over the 6 months to 21 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for NHS in England

NHS
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing NHS.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing NHS

NHS
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing NHS in England over the 6 months to 21 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for NHS in England

NHS
Contract Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing NHS within the England region over the 6 months to 21 August 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year		 Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads		 Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months		 Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year		 Live
Jobs
London +2 149 £475 +8.57% 125
North of England -21 110 £475 -5.00% 162
Yorkshire +1 84 £500 - 67
North West -30 24 £350 +62.79% 80
South East -61 19 £450 +28.57% 97
East of England -4 17 £210 -7.62% 65
Midlands -43 13 £425 +21.43% 97
South West -37 12 £546 +33.23% 92
West Midlands -46 10 £500 +74.22% 57
East Midlands -17 3 £300 -25.00% 40
North East -35 2 - - 18
NHS
UK

NHS
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 11 (3.23%) Palantir Foundry
2 4 (1.17%) Confluence
2 4 (1.17%) SharePoint
3 2 (0.59%) CMS
3 2 (0.59%) Microsoft Exchange
4 1 (0.29%) nginx
4 1 (0.29%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 3 (0.88%) Microsoft Excel
1 3 (0.88%) Microsoft Office
1 3 (0.88%) Spreadsheet
2 2 (0.59%) Trello
3 1 (0.29%) Microsoft Project
3 1 (0.29%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 5 (1.47%) SystmOne
2 2 (0.59%) Dynamics CRM
2 2 (0.59%) Lorenzo
2 2 (0.59%) Oracle EBS
3 1 (0.29%) Cerner Millennium
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle Assets
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle Cash Management
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle Financials
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle General Ledger
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle Payables
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle Receivables
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
Cloud Services
1 58 (17.01%) AWS
2 47 (13.78%) Azure
3 28 (8.21%) Serverless
4 20 (5.87%) Amazon S3
5 19 (5.57%) AWS Lambda
6 14 (4.11%) Power Platform
7 13 (3.81%) GitHub
8 11 (3.23%) Amazon EC2
8 11 (3.23%) GitHub Actions
9 10 (2.93%) Microsoft 365
10 7 (2.05%) Azure DevOps
10 7 (2.05%) Entra ID
11 6 (1.76%) AWS Step Functions
11 6 (1.76%) Azure Data Factory
11 6 (1.76%) Azure Functions
11 6 (1.76%) Azure Key Vault
12 5 (1.47%) Adobe Analytics
12 5 (1.47%) Azure Synapse Analytics
12 5 (1.47%) Virtual Private Cloud
13 4 (1.17%) Amazon SQS
Communications & Networking
1 8 (2.35%) Firewall
2 7 (2.05%) LAN
2 7 (2.05%) WAN
3 5 (1.47%) Network Security
3 5 (1.47%) NGFW
4 4 (1.17%) Structured Cabling
4 4 (1.17%) Wireless
5 3 (0.88%) DNS
6 1 (0.29%) DHCP
6 1 (0.29%) TCP/IP
6 1 (0.29%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 31 (9.09%) Electronic Patient Records
2 16 (4.69%) Data Warehouse
3 13 (3.81%) SQL Server
4 11 (3.23%) Power BI
5 9 (2.64%) Amazon RDS
6 8 (2.35%) DynamoDB
7 6 (1.76%) Amazon Athena
8 4 (1.17%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 3 (0.88%) BusinessObjects
9 3 (0.88%) Data Lake
9 3 (0.88%) OLAP
9 3 (0.88%) Relational Database
10 2 (0.59%) Amazon Redshift
10 2 (0.59%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.59%) Delta Lake
10 2 (0.59%) DocumentDB
10 2 (0.59%) NoSQL
10 2 (0.59%) Oracle BI Publisher
10 2 (0.59%) Oracle Reports
10 2 (0.59%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 11 (3.23%) Git
2 6 (1.76%) JIRA
3 5 (1.47%) GitLab
4 3 (0.88%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.59%) Cypress.io
6 1 (0.29%) Postman
6 1 (0.29%) Rational Rhapsody
6 1 (0.29%) Selenium
6 1 (0.29%) SonarQube
General
1 137 (40.18%) Public Sector
2 114 (33.43%) Social Skills
3 27 (7.92%) Analytical Skills
4 23 (6.74%) Finance
5 13 (3.81%) Digital Health
5 13 (3.81%) Local Government
6 12 (3.52%) Influencing Skills
7 7 (2.05%) Digital Healthcare
8 6 (1.76%) Pharmaceutical
9 5 (1.47%) Documentation Skills
10 4 (1.17%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 4 (1.17%) Law
10 4 (1.17%) Legal
11 3 (0.88%) Billing
11 3 (0.88%) Health Technology
11 3 (0.88%) Marketing
11 3 (0.88%) Organisational Skills
11 3 (0.88%) Presentation Skills
11 3 (0.88%) Social Housing
12 2 (0.59%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 44 (12.90%) Developer
2 41 (12.02%) Senior
3 31 (9.09%) Architect
4 28 (8.21%) Analyst
5 22 (6.45%) Designer
6 20 (5.87%) Lead
7 19 (5.57%) Data Engineer
8 18 (5.28%) Project Manager
9 15 (4.40%) Business Analyst
10 14 (4.11%) User Researcher
11 13 (3.81%) Consultant
11 13 (3.81%) Delivery Manager
12 11 (3.23%) Data Architect
12 11 (3.23%) Service Designer
13 9 (2.64%) Python Developer
13 9 (2.64%) Solutions Architect
14 8 (2.35%) Full-Stack Developer
15 7 (2.05%) NHS Project Manager
15 7 (2.05%) Senior User Researcher
15 7 (2.05%) ServiceNow Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 34 (9.97%) Terraform
2 23 (6.74%) FHIR
3 13 (3.81%) REST
4 11 (3.23%) PySpark
5 10 (2.93%) RESTful
6 9 (2.64%) React
7 6 (1.76%) Node.js
7 6 (1.76%) Vue
8 5 (1.47%) .NET
8 5 (1.47%) CSS
8 5 (1.47%) HTML
8 5 (1.47%) OpenID
8 5 (1.47%) Playwright
9 4 (1.17%) ARM Templates
9 4 (1.17%) JSON
9 4 (1.17%) OAuth
9 4 (1.17%) OAuth2
10 3 (0.88%) Django
10 3 (0.88%) Flask
10 3 (0.88%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 25 (7.33%) Cloud Native
2 20 (5.87%) Product Ownership
3 14 (4.11%) Onboarding
4 9 (2.64%) Data Structures
5 7 (2.05%) Legacy Systems
6 6 (1.76%) Driving Licence
6 6 (1.76%) IoT
6 6 (1.76%) Management Information System
6 6 (1.76%) Security Posture
7 5 (1.47%) Data Protection Act
8 4 (1.17%) LIMS
8 4 (1.17%) Mobile App
8 4 (1.17%) Replication
9 3 (0.88%) Cloud Security Posture
9 3 (0.88%) Distributed Systems
10 2 (0.59%) Analytical Mindset
10 2 (0.59%) CMDB
10 2 (0.59%) Distributed Architecture
10 2 (0.59%) Enterprise Software
10 2 (0.59%) Housing Association
Operating Systems
1 6 (1.76%) Windows
2 4 (1.17%) Windows Server
3 2 (0.59%) Android
3 2 (0.59%) Apple iOS
3 2 (0.59%) Linux
3 2 (0.59%) Mac OS
4 1 (0.29%) CentOS
4 1 (0.29%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 1 (0.29%) Ubuntu
4 1 (0.29%) Windows 10
Processes & Methodologies
1 121 (35.48%) Agile
2 74 (21.70%) Stakeholder Management
3 57 (16.72%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 53 (15.54%) CI/CD
5 46 (13.49%) Continuous Improvement
6 44 (12.90%) Problem-Solving
7 41 (12.02%) Analytics
8 38 (11.14%) Infrastructure as Code
9 35 (10.26%) Decision-Making
9 35 (10.26%) DevOps
10 33 (9.68%) Digital Transformation Programme
10 33 (9.68%) Migration
11 32 (9.38%) AI
12 31 (9.09%) User Research
12 31 (9.09%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
13 29 (8.50%) Validation
14 26 (7.62%) Information Governance
14 26 (7.62%) Workshop Facilitation
15 25 (7.33%) Service Design
16 24 (7.04%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 37 (10.85%) SQL
2 36 (10.56%) Python
3 16 (4.69%) JavaScript
4 15 (4.40%) TypeScript
5 8 (2.35%) Java
6 7 (2.05%) C#
7 5 (1.47%) Bicep
7 5 (1.47%) PowerShell
7 5 (1.47%) T-SQL
8 2 (0.59%) Bash
9 1 (0.29%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.29%) R
Qualifications
1 34 (9.97%) Security Cleared
2 27 (7.92%) SC Cleared
3 18 (5.28%) BPSS Clearance
4 8 (2.35%) Degree
5 5 (1.47%) AWS Certification
6 4 (1.17%) JNCIP
6 4 (1.17%) JNCIS
6 4 (1.17%) Microsoft Certification
7 3 (0.88%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
7 3 (0.88%) Azure Certification
8 2 (0.59%) Cisco Certification
8 2 (0.59%) DV Cleared
8 2 (0.59%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
9 1 (0.29%) CCSP
9 1 (0.29%) CISSP
9 1 (0.29%) CRISC
9 1 (0.29%) DBS Check
9 1 (0.29%) NVQ Level 3
9 1 (0.29%) PMI Certification
9 1 (0.29%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (7.04%) HL7
2 21 (6.16%) Accessibility
2 21 (6.16%) Data Quality
3 20 (5.87%) QA
4 19 (5.57%) GDPR
5 15 (4.40%) WCAG
6 12 (3.52%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 6 (1.76%) SNOMED CT
8 5 (1.47%) NCSC
8 5 (1.47%) PMO
9 4 (1.17%) DICOM
10 3 (0.88%) Actionable Recommendations
10 3 (0.88%) IEC 62304
11 2 (0.59%) Cyber Essentials
11 2 (0.59%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 2 (0.59%) ISO 13485
12 1 (0.29%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 1 (0.29%) NIST
12 1 (0.29%) PCI DSS
12 1 (0.29%) SLA
System Software
1 14 (4.11%) Docker
2 8 (2.35%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.59%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.29%) Hyper-V
4 1 (0.29%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 12 (3.52%) Kubernetes
2 2 (0.59%) Jamf Pro
3 1 (0.29%) Ansible
3 1 (0.29%) Grafana
3 1 (0.29%) Puppet
Vendors
1 39 (11.44%) Microsoft
2 17 (4.99%) Palantir
3 15 (4.40%) Foundry
4 11 (3.23%) Databricks
4 11 (3.23%) ServiceNow
5 8 (2.35%) Brio
5 8 (2.35%) Oracle
6 6 (1.76%) Cerner
7 5 (1.47%) Adobe
7 5 (1.47%) VMware
8 4 (1.17%) Google
8 4 (1.17%) Juniper
8 4 (1.17%) Palo Alto
8 4 (1.17%) Splunk
9 3 (0.88%) Cisco
9 3 (0.88%) Citrix
9 3 (0.88%) InterSystems
10 2 (0.59%) Blue Prism
10 2 (0.59%) BMC
10 2 (0.59%) MEDITECH
609 NHS jobs in England