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 3 August 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
3 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 319 343 291
Rank change year-on-year +24 -52 -73
Contract jobs citing NHS 344 165 256
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.76% 0.59% 0.77%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 2.27% 1.69% 2.48%
Number of daily rates quoted 267 114 173
10th Percentile £300 £209 £175
25th Percentile £400 £300 £250
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £450 £350
Median % change year-on-year +5.56% +28.57% +8.62%
75th Percentile £538 £529 £500
90th Percentile £600 £575 £600
UK median daily rate £464 £425 £350
% change year-on-year +9.06% +21.43% +12.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 13 10 25
10th Percentile £17.88 £12.57 £12.48
25th Percentile £21.25 £13.98 £15.50
Median hourly rate £26.72 £19.20 £19.00
Median % change year-on-year +39.15% +1.07% +3.12%
75th Percentile £34.62 £29.64 £25.83
90th Percentile £57.00 £33.03 £32.15
UK median hourly rate £26.72 £21.25 £22.10
% change year-on-year +25.74% -3.85% +22.68%

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 15,148 9,746 10,319
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 33.40% 35.09% 30.94%
Number of daily rates quoted 9,330 6,154 6,740
10th Percentile £320 £306 £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 £675
90th Percentile £750 £775 £825
UK median daily rate £525 £525 £550
% change year-on-year - -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 872 484 552
10th Percentile £16.00 £15.48 £12.50
25th Percentile £20.82 £18.87 £18.35
Median hourly rate £43.96 £31.78 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year +38.35% -33.11% +17.02%
75th Percentile £70.00 £60.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £85.00 £80.00 £75.00
UK median hourly rate £43.96 £29.50 £44.74
% change year-on-year +49.02% -34.06% +19.31%

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 3 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 3 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 3 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 +16 151 £489 +14.33% 162
North of England -12 111 £475 -2.81% 158
Yorkshire -4 84 £500 - 73
North West -38 25 £350 +62.79% 66
South East -73 21 £463 +32.14% 90
East of England -9 13 £203 -10.92% 45
South West -26 13 £546 +33.23% 82
Midlands -43 12 £400 +14.29% 85
West Midlands -55 11 £400 +39.37% 58
North East -37 2 - - 21
East Midlands -16 1 - - 27
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 (3.20%) Palantir Foundry
2 6 (1.74%) Confluence
3 5 (1.45%) SharePoint
4 2 (0.58%) CMS
4 2 (0.58%) Microsoft Exchange
5 1 (0.29%) Apache Airflow
5 1 (0.29%) nginx
5 1 (0.29%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 4 (1.16%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (0.87%) Microsoft Excel
2 3 (0.87%) Spreadsheet
3 2 (0.58%) Trello
4 1 (0.29%) Microsoft Project
4 1 (0.29%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 4 (1.16%) SystmOne
2 2 (0.58%) Dynamics CRM
2 2 (0.58%) 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 ERP
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 54 (15.70%) AWS
2 44 (12.79%) Azure
3 26 (7.56%) Serverless
4 18 (5.23%) Amazon S3
5 17 (4.94%) AWS Lambda
6 16 (4.65%) Power Platform
7 14 (4.07%) GitHub
8 10 (2.91%) Amazon EC2
8 10 (2.91%) GitHub Actions
9 7 (2.03%) Azure Data Factory
9 7 (2.03%) Microsoft 365
10 6 (1.74%) AWS Step Functions
10 6 (1.74%) Azure DevOps
10 6 (1.74%) Azure Functions
11 5 (1.45%) Adobe Analytics
11 5 (1.45%) Azure Key Vault
11 5 (1.45%) Azure Synapse Analytics
11 5 (1.45%) GCP
11 5 (1.45%) Virtual Private Cloud
12 4 (1.16%) Apigee
Communications & Networking
1 9 (2.62%) LAN
1 9 (2.62%) WAN
2 8 (2.33%) Firewall
3 5 (1.45%) DNS
3 5 (1.45%) NGFW
4 4 (1.16%) Structured Cabling
4 4 (1.16%) Wireless
5 3 (0.87%) TCP/IP
6 2 (0.58%) Network Security
7 1 (0.29%) DHCP
7 1 (0.29%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 37 (10.76%) Electronic Patient Records
2 14 (4.07%) Data Warehouse
2 14 (4.07%) SQL Server
3 13 (3.78%) Power BI
4 8 (2.33%) Amazon RDS
5 7 (2.03%) DynamoDB
6 6 (1.74%) Amazon Athena
7 4 (1.16%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 3 (0.87%) BusinessObjects
8 3 (0.87%) Data Lake
8 3 (0.87%) Geospatial Data
8 3 (0.87%) OLAP
8 3 (0.87%) Relational Database
9 2 (0.58%) Amazon Redshift
9 2 (0.58%) Azure SQL Database
9 2 (0.58%) Delta Lake
9 2 (0.58%) DocumentDB
9 2 (0.58%) NoSQL
9 2 (0.58%) Oracle BI Publisher
9 2 (0.58%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 10 (2.91%) Git
2 6 (1.74%) GitLab
2 6 (1.74%) JIRA
3 2 (0.58%) Cypress.io
3 2 (0.58%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.29%) JUnit
4 1 (0.29%) Postman
4 1 (0.29%) Selenium
4 1 (0.29%) SonarQube
General
1 140 (40.70%) Public Sector
2 107 (31.10%) Social Skills
3 32 (9.30%) Analytical Skills
4 21 (6.10%) Finance
5 15 (4.36%) Digital Health
6 14 (4.07%) Local Government
7 10 (2.91%) Influencing Skills
8 6 (1.74%) Documentation Skills
8 6 (1.74%) Pharmaceutical
9 5 (1.45%) Digital Healthcare
9 5 (1.45%) Health Technology
9 5 (1.45%) Organisational Skills
10 4 (1.16%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 4 (1.16%) Law
10 4 (1.16%) Legal
11 3 (0.87%) Billing
11 3 (0.87%) Marketing
11 3 (0.87%) Social Housing
12 2 (0.58%) Publishing
12 2 (0.58%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 41 (11.92%) Developer
2 37 (10.76%) Senior
3 34 (9.88%) Architect
4 31 (9.01%) Analyst
5 24 (6.98%) Lead
6 22 (6.40%) Data Engineer
6 22 (6.40%) Designer
7 17 (4.94%) Business Analyst
7 17 (4.94%) Project Manager
8 16 (4.65%) User Researcher
9 12 (3.49%) Consultant
9 12 (3.49%) Delivery Manager
9 12 (3.49%) Solutions Architect
10 11 (3.20%) Data Architect
11 10 (2.91%) Service Designer
12 9 (2.62%) Python Developer
12 9 (2.62%) Senior User Researcher
13 8 (2.33%) Full-Stack Developer
13 8 (2.33%) NHS Project Manager
14 7 (2.03%) Performance Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 26 (7.56%) FHIR
2 12 (3.49%) REST
3 11 (3.20%) PySpark
4 10 (2.91%) RESTful
5 9 (2.62%) React
6 6 (1.74%) .NET
6 6 (1.74%) Node.js
6 6 (1.74%) Vue
7 5 (1.45%) CSS
7 5 (1.45%) HTML
7 5 (1.45%) OpenID
7 5 (1.45%) Playwright
8 4 (1.16%) JSON
8 4 (1.16%) OAuth
8 4 (1.16%) OAuth2
9 3 (0.87%) Flask
9 3 (0.87%) Middleware
9 3 (0.87%) Spring
9 3 (0.87%) Spring Boot
9 3 (0.87%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 25 (7.27%) Cloud Native
2 20 (5.81%) Product Ownership
3 18 (5.23%) Onboarding
4 7 (2.03%) Data Structures
5 6 (1.74%) IoT
6 5 (1.45%) Driving Licence
6 5 (1.45%) LIMS
6 5 (1.45%) Security Posture
7 4 (1.16%) Data Protection Act
7 4 (1.16%) Legacy Systems
7 4 (1.16%) Mobile App
7 4 (1.16%) Replication
8 3 (0.87%) Distributed Systems
8 3 (0.87%) Life Science
8 3 (0.87%) Management Information System
8 3 (0.87%) PACS
9 2 (0.58%) Analytical Mindset
9 2 (0.58%) Distributed Architecture
9 2 (0.58%) Enterprise Software
9 2 (0.58%) Housing Association
Operating Systems
1 8 (2.33%) Windows
2 5 (1.45%) Windows Server
3 2 (0.58%) Android
3 2 (0.58%) Apple iOS
3 2 (0.58%) Linux
3 2 (0.58%) Mac OS
4 1 (0.29%) CentOS
4 1 (0.29%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 1 (0.29%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 118 (34.30%) Agile
2 73 (21.22%) Stakeholder Management
3 52 (15.12%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 49 (14.24%) CI/CD
5 44 (12.79%) Analytics
6 40 (11.63%) Continuous Improvement
7 37 (10.76%) Decision-Making
7 37 (10.76%) Problem-Solving
8 35 (10.17%) DevOps
8 35 (10.17%) User Research
9 32 (9.30%) Infrastructure as Code
10 29 (8.43%) Digital Transformation Programme
11 28 (8.14%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
12 27 (7.85%) Migration
13 26 (7.56%) Service Design
14 25 (7.27%) AI
14 25 (7.27%) Roadmaps
14 25 (7.27%) Validation
15 24 (6.98%) Workshop Facilitation
16 22 (6.40%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 38 (11.05%) SQL
2 36 (10.47%) Python
3 16 (4.65%) JavaScript
4 15 (4.36%) TypeScript
5 9 (2.62%) Java
6 8 (2.33%) C#
7 5 (1.45%) Bicep
7 5 (1.45%) T-SQL
8 3 (0.87%) PowerShell
9 1 (0.29%) Bash
9 1 (0.29%) R
Qualifications
1 32 (9.30%) Security Cleared
2 27 (7.85%) SC Cleared
3 22 (6.40%) BPSS Clearance
4 12 (3.49%) Degree
5 5 (1.45%) AWS Certification
6 4 (1.16%) JNCIP
6 4 (1.16%) JNCIS
7 3 (0.87%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
7 3 (0.87%) Microsoft Certification
8 2 (0.58%) Azure Certification
8 2 (0.58%) DV Cleared
8 2 (0.58%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
9 1 (0.29%) CCNA
9 1 (0.29%) Cisco Certification
9 1 (0.29%) DBS Check
9 1 (0.29%) IIBA
9 1 (0.29%) NVQ Level 3
9 1 (0.29%) PMI Certification
9 1 (0.29%) PMP
9 1 (0.29%) Postgraduate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 29 (8.43%) HL7
2 25 (7.27%) Accessibility
3 23 (6.69%) Data Quality
4 19 (5.52%) QA
5 16 (4.65%) GDPR
6 13 (3.78%) WCAG
7 10 (2.91%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 7 (2.03%) PMO
9 6 (1.74%) SNOMED CT
10 4 (1.16%) Actionable Recommendations
10 4 (1.16%) DICOM
10 4 (1.16%) NCSC
11 3 (0.87%) IEC 62304
12 2 (0.58%) Cyber Essentials
12 2 (0.58%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 2 (0.58%) ISO 13485
13 1 (0.29%) GRC
13 1 (0.29%) NIST
13 1 (0.29%) PCI DSS
13 1 (0.29%) SLA
System Software
1 14 (4.07%) Docker
2 7 (2.03%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.58%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.29%) Hyper-V
4 1 (0.29%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 32 (9.30%) Terraform
2 11 (3.20%) Kubernetes
3 3 (0.87%) Microsoft Intune
4 2 (0.58%) Jamf Pro
5 1 (0.29%) Ansible
5 1 (0.29%) Puppet
Vendors
1 34 (9.88%) Microsoft
2 18 (5.23%) Palantir
3 15 (4.36%) Foundry
4 11 (3.20%) Databricks
5 8 (2.33%) Brio
5 8 (2.33%) Oracle
6 7 (2.03%) ServiceNow
7 5 (1.45%) Adobe
8 4 (1.16%) Google
8 4 (1.16%) Juniper
8 4 (1.16%) Palo Alto
8 4 (1.16%) Splunk
9 3 (0.87%) Cisco
9 3 (0.87%) InterSystems
9 3 (0.87%) VMware
10 2 (0.58%) Blue Prism
10 2 (0.58%) Cerner
10 2 (0.58%) Meraki
10 2 (0.58%) OneLogin
10 2 (0.58%) Zscaler