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 10 October 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Oct 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 335 331 295
Rank change year-on-year -4 -36 -68
Contract jobs citing NHS 337 183 235
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.73% 0.65% 0.73%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 2.11% 1.79% 2.34%
Number of daily rates quoted 243 125 144
10th Percentile £222 £161 £164
25th Percentile £325 £340 £270
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £454 £475 £350
Median % change year-on-year -4.42% +35.71% +7.78%
75th Percentile £511 £550 £519
90th Percentile £585 £608 £625
UK median daily rate £450 £450 £350
% change year-on-year - +28.57% +14.38%
Number of hourly rates quoted 35 10 17
10th Percentile £14.05 - £15.92
25th Percentile £15.56 £15.50 £17.63
Median hourly rate £17.20 £21.28 £22.40
Median % change year-on-year -19.15% -5.02% +12.00%
75th Percentile £28.51 £29.81 £25.49
90th Percentile £39.46 £30.95 £33.75
UK median hourly rate £17.10 £21.25 £23.80
% change year-on-year -19.53% -10.70% +18.98%

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 15,959 10,205 10,041
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 34.50% 36.38% 31.06%
Number of daily rates quoted 9,584 6,382 6,052
10th Percentile £325 £300 £294
25th Percentile £425 £411 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £540
Median % change year-on-year - -2.78% -1.82%
75th Percentile £645 £645 £675
90th Percentile £750 £763 £825
UK median daily rate £525 £515 £525
% change year-on-year +1.94% -1.90% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,176 534 364
10th Percentile £13.81 £15.13 £16.08
25th Percentile £17.45 £18.82 £24.42
Median hourly rate £33.99 £30.00 £54.00
Median % change year-on-year +13.30% -44.44% +16.93%
75th Percentile £67.85 £55.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £84.38 £73.75 £75.16
UK median hourly rate £36.00 £27.50 £47.50
% change year-on-year +30.91% -42.11% +5.56%

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 10 October 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 10 October 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 10 October 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 -10 144 £465 +9.47% 436
North of England -24 110 £452 -9.60% 329
Yorkshire +8 81 £481 -3.75% 151
North West -36 27 £350 -22.22% 142
South East -55 27 £463 +15.63% 160
East of England -24 26 £180 -29.31% 123
Midlands -35 13 £400 +6.67% 201
West Midlands -40 9 £434 +24.00% 136
South West -24 6 £474 +113.40% 92
East Midlands -11 4 £350 -12.50% 65
North East -43 2 - - 38
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 6 (1.78%) Palantir Foundry
2 4 (1.19%) Confluence
3 2 (0.59%) SharePoint
4 1 (0.30%) Microsoft Exchange
4 1 (0.30%) nginx
4 1 (0.30%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 9 (2.67%) Microsoft Excel
2 7 (2.08%) Microsoft Office
3 3 (0.89%) Spreadsheet
4 2 (0.59%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 1 (0.30%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 7 (2.08%) SystmOne
2 4 (1.19%) Oracle Assets
2 4 (1.19%) Oracle General Ledger
2 4 (1.19%) Oracle Payables
2 4 (1.19%) Oracle Receivables
3 3 (0.89%) Lorenzo
4 2 (0.59%) Cerner Millennium
4 2 (0.59%) Dynamics CRM
5 1 (0.30%) Oracle Cash Management
5 1 (0.30%) Oracle Financials
5 1 (0.30%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 1 (0.30%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
5 1 (0.30%) SAP HCM
5 1 (0.30%) SAP HR
5 1 (0.30%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 47 (13.95%) AWS
2 41 (12.17%) Azure
3 22 (6.53%) Serverless
4 19 (5.64%) Amazon S3
4 19 (5.64%) Power Platform
5 15 (4.45%) Microsoft 365
6 14 (4.15%) AWS Lambda
7 13 (3.86%) GitHub
8 12 (3.56%) Amazon EC2
9 10 (2.97%) GitHub Actions
10 8 (2.37%) Azure DevOps
11 7 (2.08%) Azure Key Vault
11 7 (2.08%) Entra ID
12 6 (1.78%) Amazon CloudWatch
12 6 (1.78%) Azure Data Factory
12 6 (1.78%) Azure Functions
13 5 (1.48%) Azure Synapse Analytics
13 5 (1.48%) Virtual Private Cloud
14 4 (1.19%) Power Automate
15 3 (0.89%) Azure Logic Apps
Communications & Networking
1 9 (2.67%) Firewall
2 8 (2.37%) LAN
2 8 (2.37%) WAN
3 6 (1.78%) Network Security
4 5 (1.48%) Wireless
5 4 (1.19%) DNS
5 4 (1.19%) NGFW
5 4 (1.19%) Structured Cabling
6 1 (0.30%) DHCP
6 1 (0.30%) HTTP
6 1 (0.30%) TCP/IP
6 1 (0.30%) VLAN
6 1 (0.30%) VPN
6 1 (0.30%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 22 (6.53%) Electronic Patient Records
2 16 (4.75%) Power BI
3 14 (4.15%) Data Warehouse
4 9 (2.67%) Amazon RDS
5 6 (1.78%) SQL Server
6 4 (1.19%) DynamoDB
7 3 (0.89%) Amazon Athena
7 3 (0.89%) Data Lake
7 3 (0.89%) Relational Database
7 3 (0.89%) Tableau
8 2 (0.59%) Amazon Redshift
8 2 (0.59%) Delta Lake
8 2 (0.59%) DocumentDB
8 2 (0.59%) Oracle BI Publisher
8 2 (0.59%) Oracle Reports
8 2 (0.59%) Power Query
9 1 (0.30%) Azure SQL Database
9 1 (0.30%) Data Mart
9 1 (0.30%) NoSQL
9 1 (0.30%) Redis
Development Applications
1 10 (2.97%) Git
2 6 (1.78%) JIRA
3 3 (0.89%) GitLab
3 3 (0.89%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.30%) Cypress.io
4 1 (0.30%) JMeter
4 1 (0.30%) Postman
4 1 (0.30%) Rational Rhapsody
4 1 (0.30%) Selenium
General
1 127 (37.69%) Public Sector
2 122 (36.20%) Social Skills
3 38 (11.28%) Finance
4 27 (8.01%) Analytical Skills
5 13 (3.86%) Influencing Skills
6 12 (3.56%) Digital Health
6 12 (3.56%) Organisational Skills
7 11 (3.26%) Local Government
8 7 (2.08%) Digital Healthcare
8 7 (2.08%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 6 (1.78%) General Ledger
9 6 (1.78%) Pharmaceutical
10 5 (1.48%) Legal
11 4 (1.19%) Documentation Skills
11 4 (1.19%) Health Technology
12 3 (0.89%) Advertising
12 3 (0.89%) Banking
12 3 (0.89%) Billing
12 3 (0.89%) Marketing
12 3 (0.89%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 38 (11.28%) Developer
1 38 (11.28%) Senior
2 36 (10.68%) Analyst
3 22 (6.53%) Project Manager
4 20 (5.93%) Designer
4 20 (5.93%) Lead
5 18 (5.34%) Architect
6 16 (4.75%) Business Analyst
7 12 (3.56%) Administrator
7 12 (3.56%) Data Engineer
7 12 (3.56%) Service Designer
8 11 (3.26%) Consultant
9 10 (2.97%) User Researcher
10 9 (2.67%) Delivery Manager
11 7 (2.08%) Network Engineer
11 7 (2.08%) Performance Analyst
11 7 (2.08%) Senior Manager
11 7 (2.08%) Service Analyst
11 7 (2.08%) ServiceNow Developer
11 7 (2.08%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 31 (9.20%) Terraform
2 15 (4.45%) FHIR
3 14 (4.15%) REST
4 12 (3.56%) RESTful
5 9 (2.67%) PySpark
6 7 (2.08%) CSS
6 7 (2.08%) HTML
6 7 (2.08%) React
7 6 (1.78%) OpenID
8 5 (1.48%) .NET
8 5 (1.48%) Playwright
8 5 (1.48%) Vue
9 4 (1.19%) ARM Templates
9 4 (1.19%) CSS3
9 4 (1.19%) Django
9 4 (1.19%) HTML5
9 4 (1.19%) JSON
9 4 (1.19%) Node.js
9 4 (1.19%) OAuth
9 4 (1.19%) OAuth2
Miscellaneous
1 21 (6.23%) Cloud Native
2 19 (5.64%) Product Ownership
3 13 (3.86%) Onboarding
4 11 (3.26%) Management Information System
5 9 (2.67%) Data Structures
6 7 (2.08%) Legacy Systems
7 6 (1.78%) Driving Licence
7 6 (1.78%) Mobile App
8 5 (1.48%) IoT
8 5 (1.48%) Security Posture
9 4 (1.19%) Life Science
10 3 (0.89%) Cloud Security Posture
10 3 (0.89%) Data Protection Act
10 3 (0.89%) Freedom of Information
10 3 (0.89%) Online Banking
10 3 (0.89%) Self-Motivation
11 2 (0.59%) Analytical Mindset
11 2 (0.59%) CMDB
11 2 (0.59%) Distributed Systems
11 2 (0.59%) Housing Association
Operating Systems
1 10 (2.97%) Windows
2 5 (1.48%) Windows 10
3 4 (1.19%) Windows Server
4 2 (0.59%) Android
4 2 (0.59%) Apple iOS
4 2 (0.59%) Mac OS
5 1 (0.30%) CentOS
5 1 (0.30%) Linux
5 1 (0.30%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 1 (0.30%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 98 (29.08%) Agile
2 92 (27.30%) Stakeholder Management
3 56 (16.62%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 54 (16.02%) Problem-Solving
5 50 (14.84%) CI/CD
6 39 (11.57%) Continuous Improvement
7 38 (11.28%) Digital Transformation Programme
8 37 (10.98%) AI
9 35 (10.39%) Infrastructure as Code
10 33 (9.79%) Analytics
10 33 (9.79%) Decision-Making
11 32 (9.50%) Migration
12 31 (9.20%) DevOps
13 27 (8.01%) Data Protection
13 27 (8.01%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
14 26 (7.72%) User Research
14 26 (7.72%) Validation
14 26 (7.72%) Workshop Facilitation
15 25 (7.42%) Business Intelligence
15 25 (7.42%) Information Governance
Programming Languages
1 32 (9.50%) SQL
2 31 (9.20%) Python
3 14 (4.15%) TypeScript
4 13 (3.86%) JavaScript
5 7 (2.08%) C#
6 6 (1.78%) Bicep
7 5 (1.48%) Java
7 5 (1.48%) PowerShell
8 3 (0.89%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 2 (0.59%) Bash
9 2 (0.59%) T-SQL
10 1 (0.30%) Kusto Query Language
10 1 (0.30%) R
Qualifications
1 27 (8.01%) Security Cleared
2 22 (6.53%) SC Cleared
3 17 (5.04%) BPSS Clearance
4 6 (1.78%) Degree
5 4 (1.19%) AWS Certification
5 4 (1.19%) Cisco Certification
5 4 (1.19%) JNCIP
5 4 (1.19%) JNCIS
5 4 (1.19%) Microsoft Certification
6 3 (0.89%) AAT
6 3 (0.89%) ACCA
6 3 (0.89%) Azure Certification
6 3 (0.89%) CIMA
7 2 (0.59%) (ISC)2 CCSP
7 2 (0.59%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
7 2 (0.59%) CCNA
7 2 (0.59%) CISSP
7 2 (0.59%) ISTQB
8 1 (0.30%) CCNP
8 1 (0.30%) CCSP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (7.12%) Accessibility
2 22 (6.53%) QA
3 21 (6.23%) Data Quality
4 20 (5.93%) GDPR
5 14 (4.15%) WCAG
6 13 (3.86%) HL7
7 11 (3.26%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 5 (1.48%) PMO
9 4 (1.19%) Actionable Recommendations
10 3 (0.89%) Cyber Essentials
10 3 (0.89%) NCSC
10 3 (0.89%) SNOMED CT
11 2 (0.59%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 2 (0.59%) IEC 62304
11 2 (0.59%) ISO 13485
12 1 (0.30%) GRC
12 1 (0.30%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 1 (0.30%) NIST
12 1 (0.30%) P3O
12 1 (0.30%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 12 (3.56%) Docker
2 11 (3.26%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.59%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.30%) Firmware
4 1 (0.30%) Hyper-V
4 1 (0.30%) Virtual Machines
4 1 (0.30%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 11 (3.26%) Kubernetes
2 2 (0.59%) Grafana
2 2 (0.59%) Jamf Pro
3 1 (0.30%) Ansible
3 1 (0.30%) Puppet
Vendors
1 51 (15.13%) Microsoft
2 13 (3.86%) ServiceNow
3 12 (3.56%) Oracle
3 12 (3.56%) Palantir
4 10 (2.97%) Brio
5 8 (2.37%) Cerner
6 7 (2.08%) Databricks
7 6 (1.78%) Foundry
8 5 (1.48%) VMware
9 4 (1.19%) Cisco
9 4 (1.19%) Juniper
9 4 (1.19%) Palo Alto
10 3 (0.89%) Adobe
10 3 (0.89%) Citrix
11 2 (0.59%) Blue Prism
11 2 (0.59%) BMC
11 2 (0.59%) Dynatrace
11 2 (0.59%) Google
11 2 (0.59%) Meraki
11 2 (0.59%) SAP
1,356 NHS jobs in England