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 6 April 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
6 Apr 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 265 295 197
Rank change year-on-year +30 -98 -28
Contract jobs citing NHS 376 184 437
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.97% 0.75% 1.17%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 2.95% 2.21% 3.78%
Number of daily rates quoted 287 129 292
10th Percentile £243 £175 £163
25th Percentile £340 £209 £205
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £388 £290
Median % change year-on-year +16.13% +33.62% -3.33%
75th Percentile £525 £488 £428
90th Percentile £600 £550 £550
UK median daily rate £450 £383 £300
% change year-on-year +17.49% +27.67% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 27 18 77
10th Percentile £6.00 £13.08 £11.25
25th Percentile £15.65 £15.58 £12.70
Median hourly rate £19.00 £22.23 £15.99
Median % change year-on-year -14.51% +39.04% -27.34%
75th Percentile £23.75 £33.75 £25.83
90th Percentile £34.62 £33.87 £39.00
UK median hourly rate £19.00 £25.00 £15.75
% change year-on-year -24.00% +58.73% -28.41%

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 12,746 8,319 11,547
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 32.97% 34.13% 30.92%
Number of daily rates quoted 8,104 5,454 7,552
10th Percentile £300 £300 £263
25th Percentile £413 £413 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £545 £550
Median % change year-on-year -5.96% -0.91% -4.35%
75th Percentile £625 £670 £672
90th Percentile £749 £788 £788
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £536
% change year-on-year -4.76% -2.05% -2.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 642 312 805
10th Percentile £15.81 £16.67 £12.32
25th Percentile £20.31 £22.27 £15.17
Median hourly rate £45.00 £34.25 £28.00
Median % change year-on-year +31.39% +22.32% +24.44%
75th Percentile £70.00 £66.00 £57.50
90th Percentile £85.49 £84.90 £67.23
UK median hourly rate £44.50 £32.50 £27.75
% change year-on-year +36.92% +17.12% +23.42%

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 6 April 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 6 April 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 6 April 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 -8 120 £438 +1.74% 54
North of England -19 106 £500 +25.00% 94
Yorkshire -2 85 £500 +5.26% 64
East of England +26 61 £278 -0.89% 20
South East -62 29 £450 +63.64% 34
Midlands -56 23 £400 +78.57% 51
West Midlands -47 20 £425 +89.73% 32
North West -44 16 £438 +103.49% 29
South West -13 14 £573 +90.83% 24
North East - 5 £400 - 5
East Midlands - 3 £338 - 19
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 (2.93%) SharePoint
2 7 (1.86%) Confluence
3 5 (1.33%) CMS
4 3 (0.80%) Palantir Foundry
5 2 (0.53%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.53%) Microsoft Exchange
6 1 (0.27%) Apache Airflow
6 1 (0.27%) Umbraco
Applications
1 15 (3.99%) Microsoft Office
2 11 (2.93%) Microsoft Excel
3 5 (1.33%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 5 (1.33%) MS Visio
4 3 (0.80%) Spreadsheet
5 2 (0.53%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.53%) Trello
Business Applications
1 15 (3.99%) SystmOne
2 3 (0.80%) Lorenzo
3 2 (0.53%) Cerner Millennium
3 2 (0.53%) Oracle EBS
4 1 (0.27%) Oracle ERP
Cloud Services
1 52 (13.83%) AWS
2 46 (12.23%) Azure
3 20 (5.32%) Serverless
4 17 (4.52%) Microsoft 365
5 16 (4.26%) AWS Lambda
6 14 (3.72%) GitHub
7 13 (3.46%) Amazon S3
7 13 (3.46%) Azure DevOps
8 12 (3.19%) Power Platform
9 10 (2.66%) GCP
10 8 (2.13%) Amazon ECS
11 7 (1.86%) GitHub Actions
12 6 (1.60%) Amazon EC2
12 6 (1.60%) AWS CloudFormation
12 6 (1.60%) Entra ID
13 4 (1.06%) Amazon SQS
13 4 (1.06%) AWS Step Functions
13 4 (1.06%) Azure AKS
14 3 (0.80%) Microsoft Purview
14 3 (0.80%) Miro
Communications & Networking
1 13 (3.46%) DNS
2 11 (2.93%) TCP/IP
3 10 (2.66%) LAN
3 10 (2.66%) WAN
4 9 (2.39%) Firewall
5 7 (1.86%) VPN
6 6 (1.60%) Wireless
7 4 (1.06%) DHCP
7 4 (1.06%) Network Security
8 3 (0.80%) Structured Cabling
9 2 (0.53%) BGP
9 2 (0.53%) Junos
9 2 (0.53%) OSPF
9 2 (0.53%) VLAN
10 1 (0.27%) Ethernet VPN
10 1 (0.27%) Internet
10 1 (0.27%) NGFW
10 1 (0.27%) NGN
10 1 (0.27%) Remote Desktop
10 1 (0.27%) X.400
Database & Business Intelligence
1 64 (17.02%) Electronic Patient Records
2 14 (3.72%) SQL Server
3 12 (3.19%) Data Warehouse
4 10 (2.66%) Power BI
5 6 (1.60%) DynamoDB
5 6 (1.60%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 5 (1.33%) PostgreSQL
7 4 (1.06%) Amazon Athena
7 4 (1.06%) Data Lake
7 4 (1.06%) NoSQL
8 3 (0.80%) Amazon RDS
8 3 (0.80%) BusinessObjects
8 3 (0.80%) EDMS
8 3 (0.80%) Geospatial Data
8 3 (0.80%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 2 (0.53%) MongoDB
9 2 (0.53%) QlikView
9 2 (0.53%) Relational Database
9 2 (0.53%) SQL Server Analysis Services
9 2 (0.53%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 8 (2.13%) GitLab
2 7 (1.86%) JIRA
3 5 (1.33%) Jenkins
4 4 (1.06%) Git
5 2 (0.53%) ERwin
5 2 (0.53%) MSI
6 1 (0.27%) Android Studio
6 1 (0.27%) Appium
6 1 (0.27%) Cypress.io
6 1 (0.27%) JUnit
6 1 (0.27%) Rational Rhapsody
6 1 (0.27%) Team Foundation Server
General
1 138 (36.70%) Public Sector
2 124 (32.98%) Social Skills
3 40 (10.64%) Analytical Skills
4 26 (6.91%) Organisational Skills
5 25 (6.65%) Finance
6 22 (5.85%) Digital Health
7 19 (5.05%) Documentation Skills
8 16 (4.26%) Legal
9 13 (3.46%) Health Technology
9 13 (3.46%) Telecoms
10 12 (3.19%) Marketing
11 11 (2.93%) Electronics
11 11 (2.93%) Manufacturing
12 10 (2.66%) Influencing Skills
13 9 (2.39%) Local Government
14 7 (1.86%) Digital Healthcare
15 4 (1.06%) Pharmaceutical
15 4 (1.06%) Publishing
16 3 (0.80%) Law
17 2 (0.53%) Military
Job Titles
1 57 (15.16%) Analyst
2 35 (9.31%) Lead
3 31 (8.24%) Architect
4 30 (7.98%) Developer
4 30 (7.98%) Senior
5 27 (7.18%) Project Manager
6 26 (6.91%) Business Analyst
7 17 (4.52%) Consultant
8 14 (3.72%) Administrator
8 14 (3.72%) Designer
9 13 (3.46%) Data Engineer
10 12 (3.19%) AWS Engineer
10 12 (3.19%) NHS Business Analyst
10 12 (3.19%) NHS Project Manager
10 12 (3.19%) Technical Analyst
10 12 (3.19%) Technical Support
10 12 (3.19%) Technical Support Analyst
10 12 (3.19%) User Researcher
11 10 (2.66%) Data Architect
11 10 (2.66%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 42 (11.17%) FHIR
2 15 (3.99%) .NET
3 13 (3.46%) React
4 12 (3.19%) RESTful
5 7 (1.86%) Spring
5 7 (1.86%) Spring Boot
6 6 (1.60%) Vue
7 5 (1.33%) Kafka
7 5 (1.33%) Node.js
8 4 (1.06%) .NET Core
9 3 (0.80%) Django
9 3 (0.80%) FastAPI
9 3 (0.80%) Flask
9 3 (0.80%) GeoJSON
9 3 (0.80%) Middleware
9 3 (0.80%) OpenAPI
9 3 (0.80%) RabbitMQ
9 3 (0.80%) REST
9 3 (0.80%) Spring Cloud
9 3 (0.80%) Swagger
Miscellaneous
1 20 (5.32%) Onboarding
2 14 (3.72%) LIMS
2 14 (3.72%) Management Information System
3 13 (3.46%) Cloud Native
4 12 (3.19%) Product Ownership
5 10 (2.66%) PACS
6 9 (2.39%) Legacy Systems
7 6 (1.60%) Analytical Mindset
7 6 (1.60%) Data Structures
8 4 (1.06%) Data Protection Act
8 4 (1.06%) Distributed Systems
8 4 (1.06%) Security Posture
9 3 (0.80%) CMDB
9 3 (0.80%) Driving Licence
9 3 (0.80%) Freedom of Information
9 3 (0.80%) Life Science
9 3 (0.80%) Replication
10 2 (0.53%) IoT
10 2 (0.53%) Reference Data
10 2 (0.53%) SystemC
Operating Systems
1 30 (7.98%) Windows
2 15 (3.99%) Windows Server
3 8 (2.13%) Linux
4 5 (1.33%) Windows Server 2003
4 5 (1.33%) Windows Server 2012
5 3 (0.80%) Windows 10
6 1 (0.27%) Amazon Linux
6 1 (0.27%) Android
6 1 (0.27%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 96 (25.53%) Agile
2 53 (14.10%) Stakeholder Management
3 50 (13.30%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 46 (12.23%) Problem-Solving
5 42 (11.17%) CI/CD
6 38 (10.11%) Analytics
6 38 (10.11%) Information Governance
7 36 (9.57%) DevOps
8 32 (8.51%) Digital Transformation Programme
9 31 (8.24%) Data Governance
10 30 (7.98%) Continuous Improvement
10 30 (7.98%) Infrastructure as Code
10 30 (7.98%) Migration
11 28 (7.45%) Business Intelligence
11 28 (7.45%) User Research
12 27 (7.18%) Decision-Making
13 25 (6.65%) Data Protection
13 25 (6.65%) Project Management
14 22 (5.85%) PRINCE2
14 22 (5.85%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 35 (9.31%) Python
1 35 (9.31%) SQL
2 14 (3.72%) Java
3 13 (3.46%) TypeScript
4 11 (2.93%) JavaScript
5 10 (2.66%) C#
6 4 (1.06%) Bash
6 4 (1.06%) PowerShell
6 4 (1.06%) T-SQL
7 3 (0.80%) PHP
7 3 (0.80%) PL/SQL
8 2 (0.53%) Ruby
9 1 (0.27%) Bicep
Qualifications
1 27 (7.18%) Security Cleared
2 26 (6.91%) Degree
3 24 (6.38%) SC Cleared
4 14 (3.72%) BPSS Clearance
5 6 (1.60%) HND
6 5 (1.33%) HNC
6 5 (1.33%) MCSE
6 5 (1.33%) Microsoft Certification
6 5 (1.33%) Microsoft Certified Professional
7 4 (1.06%) ECDL
7 4 (1.06%) ITIL Certification
7 4 (1.06%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
8 3 (0.80%) Cisco Certification
8 3 (0.80%) JNCIA
8 3 (0.80%) JNCIP
8 3 (0.80%) JNCIS
8 3 (0.80%) TOGAF Certification
9 2 (0.53%) DBS Check
9 2 (0.53%) ISEB
9 2 (0.53%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 40 (10.64%) HL7
2 22 (5.85%) Data Quality
3 16 (4.26%) Accessibility
4 13 (3.46%) GDPR
5 12 (3.19%) QA
6 10 (2.66%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 7 (1.86%) PMO
8 6 (1.60%) NCSC
9 5 (1.33%) Cyber Essentials
10 4 (1.06%) DICOM
10 4 (1.06%) SNOMED CT
10 4 (1.06%) WCAG
11 3 (0.80%) NIST
12 2 (0.53%) Actionable Recommendations
12 2 (0.53%) GRC
13 1 (0.27%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 1 (0.27%) ISO 9001
13 1 (0.27%) SLA
13 1 (0.27%) SOC 2
System Software
1 22 (5.85%) Active Directory
2 21 (5.59%) Docker
3 4 (1.06%) Hyper-V
3 4 (1.06%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (0.53%) Virtual Machines
4 2 (0.53%) Xen
5 1 (0.27%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 31 (8.24%) Terraform
2 18 (4.79%) Kubernetes
3 10 (2.66%) Microsoft Intune
4 3 (0.80%) Grafana
5 2 (0.53%) Ansible
5 2 (0.53%) Nessus
5 2 (0.53%) SCCM
5 2 (0.53%) Single Sign-On
6 1 (0.27%) Argo
6 1 (0.27%) Packer
Vendors
1 44 (11.70%) Microsoft
2 14 (3.72%) Oracle
3 11 (2.93%) Brio
3 11 (2.93%) Cerner
3 11 (2.93%) SAP
4 7 (1.86%) Foundry
4 7 (1.86%) Splunk
5 6 (1.60%) Databricks
5 6 (1.60%) Palantir
6 5 (1.33%) Cisco
7 4 (1.06%) Juniper
7 4 (1.06%) VMware
8 3 (0.80%) InterSystems
9 2 (0.53%) Adobe
9 2 (0.53%) CheckPoint
9 2 (0.53%) Cribl.io
9 2 (0.53%) Fortinet
9 2 (0.53%) Google
9 2 (0.53%) OneLogin
9 2 (0.53%) Rapid7
272 NHS jobs in England