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 2 September 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
2 Sep 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 316 347 311
Rank change year-on-year +31 -36 -94
Contract jobs citing NHS 348 168 227
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.76% 0.61% 0.69%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 2.27% 1.71% 2.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 271 122 151
10th Percentile £250 £178 £175
25th Percentile £363 £303 £262
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £466 £450 £350
Median % change year-on-year +3.44% +28.57% +7.69%
75th Percentile £538 £538 £517
90th Percentile £600 £593 £606
UK median daily rate £451 £420 £350
% change year-on-year +7.26% +20.00% +11.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 16 4 19
10th Percentile £17.00 £22.77 £14.39
25th Percentile £19.75 £25.05 £15.92
Median hourly rate £30.88 £28.41 £21.59
Median % change year-on-year +8.70% +31.59% +7.95%
75th Percentile £34.62 £31.24 £25.66
90th Percentile £52.50 £32.12 £26.69
UK median hourly rate £30.30 £30.00 £22.10
% change year-on-year +1.00% +35.75% +13.33%

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 15,362 9,824 10,156
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 33.69% 35.87% 30.72%
Number of daily rates quoted 9,373 6,216 6,421
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £425 £406 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year - -4.55% -
75th Percentile £638 £650 £688
90th Percentile £750 £775 £825
UK median daily rate £525 £518 £550
% change year-on-year +1.45% -5.91% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 974 487 486
10th Percentile £14.62 £15.49 £13.50
25th Percentile £19.01 £18.87 £20.81
Median hourly rate £38.25 £32.05 £51.25
Median % change year-on-year +19.34% -37.46% +11.85%
75th Percentile £68.75 £60.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £82.33 £77.50 £75.00
UK median hourly rate £38.72 £29.50 £45.00
% change year-on-year +31.25% -34.44% +4.65%

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 2 September 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 2 September 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 2 September 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 +9 151 £481 +6.94% 264
North of England -26 109 £475 -2.56% 225
Yorkshire +2 82 £500 - 108
North West -40 25 £350 +7.69% 108
East of England -6 24 £191 -15.87% 75
South East -62 18 £450 +28.57% 108
Midlands -48 14 £425 +21.43% 135
South West -33 11 £570 +80.38% 94
West Midlands -41 11 £500 +74.22% 82
East Midlands -14 3 £300 -25.00% 53
North East -44 2 - - 14
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 (3.16%) Palantir Foundry
2 4 (1.15%) Confluence
3 3 (0.86%) SharePoint
4 2 (0.57%) CMS
5 1 (0.29%) Microsoft Exchange
5 1 (0.29%) nginx
5 1 (0.29%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 5 (1.44%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (0.86%) Microsoft Excel
2 3 (0.86%) Spreadsheet
3 1 (0.29%) Microsoft Project
3 1 (0.29%) MS Visio
3 1 (0.29%) Trello
Business Applications
1 4 (1.15%) SystmOne
2 2 (0.57%) Cerner Millennium
2 2 (0.57%) Dynamics CRM
2 2 (0.57%) Lorenzo
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle Assets
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle Cash Management
3 1 (0.29%) Oracle EBS
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 61 (17.53%) AWS
2 47 (13.51%) Azure
3 28 (8.05%) Serverless
4 21 (6.03%) Amazon S3
5 19 (5.46%) AWS Lambda
6 17 (4.89%) Power Platform
7 14 (4.02%) GitHub
8 12 (3.45%) Amazon EC2
9 11 (3.16%) GitHub Actions
9 11 (3.16%) Microsoft 365
10 7 (2.01%) Azure DevOps
10 7 (2.01%) Entra ID
11 6 (1.72%) AWS Step Functions
11 6 (1.72%) Azure Data Factory
11 6 (1.72%) Azure Functions
11 6 (1.72%) Azure Key Vault
11 6 (1.72%) Virtual Private Cloud
12 5 (1.44%) Adobe Analytics
12 5 (1.44%) Azure Synapse Analytics
13 4 (1.15%) Amazon SQS
Communications & Networking
1 7 (2.01%) Firewall
1 7 (2.01%) LAN
1 7 (2.01%) WAN
2 5 (1.44%) Network Security
3 4 (1.15%) NGFW
3 4 (1.15%) Structured Cabling
3 4 (1.15%) Wireless
4 3 (0.86%) DNS
5 1 (0.29%) DHCP
5 1 (0.29%) HTTP
5 1 (0.29%) TCP/IP
5 1 (0.29%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 33 (9.48%) Electronic Patient Records
2 17 (4.89%) Data Warehouse
3 14 (4.02%) Power BI
4 12 (3.45%) SQL Server
5 10 (2.87%) Amazon RDS
6 8 (2.30%) DynamoDB
7 6 (1.72%) Amazon Athena
8 4 (1.15%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 3 (0.86%) BusinessObjects
9 3 (0.86%) Data Lake
9 3 (0.86%) OLAP
9 3 (0.86%) Relational Database
9 3 (0.86%) Tableau
10 2 (0.57%) Amazon Redshift
10 2 (0.57%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.57%) Delta Lake
10 2 (0.57%) DocumentDB
10 2 (0.57%) NoSQL
10 2 (0.57%) Oracle BI Publisher
10 2 (0.57%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 11 (3.16%) Git
2 6 (1.72%) JIRA
3 5 (1.44%) GitLab
4 3 (0.86%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.57%) Cypress.io
6 1 (0.29%) Postman
6 1 (0.29%) Rational Rhapsody
6 1 (0.29%) Selenium
6 1 (0.29%) SonarQube
General
1 138 (39.66%) Public Sector
2 120 (34.48%) Social Skills
3 31 (8.91%) Analytical Skills
4 22 (6.32%) Finance
5 15 (4.31%) Local Government
6 14 (4.02%) Digital Health
7 13 (3.74%) Influencing Skills
8 8 (2.30%) Digital Healthcare
9 7 (2.01%) Pharmaceutical
10 5 (1.44%) Documentation Skills
11 4 (1.15%) Law
11 4 (1.15%) Legal
11 4 (1.15%) Organisational Skills
12 3 (0.86%) Billing
12 3 (0.86%) Health Technology
12 3 (0.86%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 3 (0.86%) Marketing
12 3 (0.86%) Presentation Skills
12 3 (0.86%) Social Housing
13 2 (0.57%) Military
Job Titles
1 46 (13.22%) Developer
2 40 (11.49%) Senior
3 36 (10.34%) Analyst
4 32 (9.20%) Architect
5 22 (6.32%) Designer
6 20 (5.75%) Lead
7 19 (5.46%) Data Engineer
8 17 (4.89%) Business Analyst
9 16 (4.60%) Project Manager
10 12 (3.45%) Delivery Manager
11 11 (3.16%) Consultant
11 11 (3.16%) Data Architect
11 11 (3.16%) Service Designer
12 10 (2.87%) User Researcher
13 9 (2.59%) Python Developer
13 9 (2.59%) Solutions Architect
14 8 (2.30%) Full-Stack Developer
14 8 (2.30%) Performance Analyst
15 7 (2.01%) AWS Engineer
15 7 (2.01%) ServiceNow Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (10.06%) Terraform
2 25 (7.18%) FHIR
3 14 (4.02%) REST
4 11 (3.16%) PySpark
4 11 (3.16%) RESTful
5 10 (2.87%) React
6 7 (2.01%) Node.js
7 6 (1.72%) Vue
8 5 (1.44%) .NET
8 5 (1.44%) CSS
8 5 (1.44%) HTML
8 5 (1.44%) JSON
8 5 (1.44%) OpenID
8 5 (1.44%) Playwright
9 4 (1.15%) ARM Templates
9 4 (1.15%) Django
9 4 (1.15%) OAuth
9 4 (1.15%) OAuth2
10 3 (0.86%) Flask
10 3 (0.86%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 25 (7.18%) Cloud Native
2 19 (5.46%) Product Ownership
3 16 (4.60%) Onboarding
4 11 (3.16%) Data Structures
5 8 (2.30%) Legacy Systems
6 7 (2.01%) Management Information System
7 6 (1.72%) Driving Licence
7 6 (1.72%) IoT
7 6 (1.72%) Security Posture
8 5 (1.44%) Data Protection Act
9 4 (1.15%) LIMS
9 4 (1.15%) Mobile App
9 4 (1.15%) Replication
10 3 (0.86%) Cloud Security Posture
10 3 (0.86%) Distributed Systems
11 2 (0.57%) Analytical Mindset
11 2 (0.57%) Distributed Architecture
11 2 (0.57%) Enterprise Software
11 2 (0.57%) Housing Association
11 2 (0.57%) Life Science
Operating Systems
1 8 (2.30%) Windows
2 4 (1.15%) Windows Server
3 3 (0.86%) Windows 10
4 2 (0.57%) Android
4 2 (0.57%) Apple iOS
4 2 (0.57%) Linux
4 2 (0.57%) Mac OS
5 1 (0.29%) CentOS
5 1 (0.29%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 1 (0.29%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 120 (34.48%) Agile
2 79 (22.70%) Stakeholder Management
3 56 (16.09%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 55 (15.80%) CI/CD
5 46 (13.22%) Continuous Improvement
5 46 (13.22%) Problem-Solving
6 40 (11.49%) Analytics
6 40 (11.49%) Decision-Making
7 39 (11.21%) Infrastructure as Code
8 36 (10.34%) DevOps
9 34 (9.77%) Digital Transformation Programme
10 32 (9.20%) AI
10 32 (9.20%) Migration
10 32 (9.20%) Validation
11 30 (8.62%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
12 27 (7.76%) Information Governance
13 26 (7.47%) Workshop Facilitation
14 25 (7.18%) Data Protection
14 25 (7.18%) User Research
15 24 (6.90%) Service Design
Programming Languages
1 40 (11.49%) SQL
2 38 (10.92%) Python
3 16 (4.60%) JavaScript
3 16 (4.60%) TypeScript
4 8 (2.30%) Java
5 7 (2.01%) C#
6 5 (1.44%) Bicep
6 5 (1.44%) PowerShell
7 4 (1.15%) T-SQL
8 2 (0.57%) Bash
8 2 (0.57%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 1 (0.29%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.29%) R
Qualifications
1 33 (9.48%) Security Cleared
2 26 (7.47%) SC Cleared
3 18 (5.17%) BPSS Clearance
4 9 (2.59%) Degree
5 5 (1.44%) AWS Certification
6 4 (1.15%) JNCIP
6 4 (1.15%) JNCIS
6 4 (1.15%) Microsoft Certification
7 3 (0.86%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
7 3 (0.86%) Azure Certification
8 2 (0.57%) Cisco Certification
8 2 (0.57%) DV Cleared
8 2 (0.57%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
9 1 (0.29%) CCNA
9 1 (0.29%) CCSP
9 1 (0.29%) CISSP
9 1 (0.29%) CRISC
9 1 (0.29%) NVQ Level 3
9 1 (0.29%) PMI Certification
9 1 (0.29%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 25 (7.18%) HL7
2 23 (6.61%) Accessibility
3 22 (6.32%) Data Quality
3 22 (6.32%) QA
4 20 (5.75%) GDPR
5 16 (4.60%) WCAG
6 11 (3.16%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 5 (1.44%) SNOMED CT
8 4 (1.15%) DICOM
8 4 (1.15%) NCSC
8 4 (1.15%) PMO
9 3 (0.86%) Actionable Recommendations
9 3 (0.86%) IEC 62304
10 2 (0.57%) Cyber Essentials
10 2 (0.57%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.57%) ISO 13485
11 1 (0.29%) GRC
11 1 (0.29%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 1 (0.29%) PCI DSS
11 1 (0.29%) SLA
System Software
1 14 (4.02%) Docker
2 8 (2.30%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.57%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.29%) Hyper-V
4 1 (0.29%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 12 (3.45%) Kubernetes
2 2 (0.57%) Jamf Pro
3 1 (0.29%) Ansible
3 1 (0.29%) Grafana
3 1 (0.29%) Puppet
Vendors
1 41 (11.78%) Microsoft
2 17 (4.89%) Palantir
3 15 (4.31%) Foundry
4 11 (3.16%) Databricks
4 11 (3.16%) ServiceNow
5 9 (2.59%) Oracle
6 8 (2.30%) Brio
6 8 (2.30%) Cerner
7 5 (1.44%) Adobe
7 5 (1.44%) Splunk
7 5 (1.44%) VMware
8 4 (1.15%) Google
8 4 (1.15%) Juniper
8 4 (1.15%) Palo Alto
9 3 (0.86%) Cisco
9 3 (0.86%) Citrix
9 3 (0.86%) InterSystems
10 2 (0.57%) Blue Prism
10 2 (0.57%) BMC
10 2 (0.57%) Meraki
864 NHS jobs in England