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 November 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
6 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 294 299 211
Rank change year-on-year +5 -88 -17
Contract jobs citing NHS 232 231 461
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.79% 0.74% 1.17%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 2.16% 2.38% 3.60%
Number of daily rates quoted 152 140 363
10th Percentile £174 £156 £170
25th Percentile £350 £256 £210
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £350 £310
Median % change year-on-year +35.71% +12.90% +0.99%
75th Percentile £541 £500 £494
90th Percentile £608 £580 £600
UK median daily rate £450 £350 £302
% change year-on-year +28.57% +15.80% -5.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 19 14 35
10th Percentile £6.00 £18.43 £15.23
25th Percentile £15.50 £20.67 £16.70
Median hourly rate £16.00 £23.80 £20.00
Median % change year-on-year -32.76% +18.98% +13.90%
75th Percentile £21.40 £28.97 £23.88
90th Percentile £30.28 £33.75 £31.77
UK median hourly rate £16.00 £24.00 £19.50
% change year-on-year -33.33% +23.08% +11.05%

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 10,727 9,707 12,821
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 36.41% 31.22% 32.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,702 5,809 8,745
10th Percentile £290 £294 £285
25th Percentile £409 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £540 £550
Median % change year-on-year -2.78% -1.82% -2.22%
75th Percentile £638 £675 £675
90th Percentile £750 £800 £775
UK median daily rate £513 £525 £550
% change year-on-year -2.38% -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 588 294 461
10th Percentile £14.31 £16.76 £17.13
25th Percentile £18.44 £23.80 £21.31
Median hourly rate £28.00 £47.50 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year -41.05% +5.56% +66.79%
75th Percentile £51.06 £70.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £73.23 £75.16 £78.00
UK median hourly rate £27.00 £40.00 £44.50
% change year-on-year -32.50% -10.11% +64.94%

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 November 2025.

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 November 2025.

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 November 2025. 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 -37 76 £414 +27.31% 95
North of England -11 75 £500 +25.00% 85
Yorkshire -5 55 £500 +25.00% 36
East of England +8 28 £315 +17.06% 34
South East -3 18 £488 -6.02% 123
North West -20 15 £456 +14.06% 41
Midlands -53 11 £388 -36.73% 58
West Midlands -46 6 £400 -15.34% 18
North East -6 5 £400 - 11
East Midlands -16 5 £375 -48.28% 38
South West +8 3 £411 +2.75% 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 11 (4.74%) Confluence
2 2 (0.86%) Apache
2 2 (0.86%) Apache Spark
2 2 (0.86%) Microsoft Exchange
3 1 (0.43%) Apache Airflow
3 1 (0.43%) SharePoint
Applications
1 10 (4.31%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (1.72%) Spreadsheet
3 3 (1.29%) MS Visio
3 3 (1.29%) Trello
4 2 (0.86%) Microsoft Excel
4 2 (0.86%) Microsoft Project
4 2 (0.86%) Sketch
5 1 (0.43%) Adobe XD
Business Applications
1 3 (1.29%) Cerner Millennium
2 2 (0.86%) SystmOne
3 1 (0.43%) Academy Housing
3 1 (0.43%) NEC Housing
3 1 (0.43%) Oracle ERP
3 1 (0.43%) Primavera
Cloud Services
1 40 (17.24%) AWS
2 39 (16.81%) Azure
3 17 (7.33%) Power Platform
4 14 (6.03%) GCP
5 11 (4.74%) Microsoft 365
6 10 (4.31%) GitHub
7 9 (3.88%) Serverless
8 8 (3.45%) Azure DevOps
8 8 (3.45%) GitHub Actions
9 7 (3.02%) Amazon S3
9 7 (3.02%) Entra ID
10 6 (2.59%) AWS Lambda
10 6 (2.59%) Miro
11 5 (2.16%) Amazon EC2
12 4 (1.72%) AWS CloudFormation
12 4 (1.72%) Figma
13 3 (1.29%) Amazon ECS
13 3 (1.29%) Virtual Private Cloud
14 2 (0.86%) Amazon CloudWatch
14 2 (0.86%) Lucidchart
Communications & Networking
1 15 (6.47%) LAN
2 13 (5.60%) TCP/IP
3 8 (3.45%) WAN
4 7 (3.02%) Wireless
5 6 (2.59%) DNS
5 6 (2.59%) Structured Cabling
5 6 (2.59%) VPN
6 5 (2.16%) Firewall
7 4 (1.72%) DHCP
8 3 (1.29%) Network Security
9 2 (0.86%) Intranet
9 2 (0.86%) VLAN
9 2 (0.86%) VoIP
10 1 (0.43%) BGP
10 1 (0.43%) Junos
10 1 (0.43%) OSPF
10 1 (0.43%) Remote Desktop
10 1 (0.43%) RS-232
10 1 (0.43%) Wi-Fi
10 1 (0.43%) X.400
Database & Business Intelligence
1 33 (14.22%) Electronic Patient Records
2 15 (6.47%) Power BI
3 11 (4.74%) SQL Server
4 8 (3.45%) Oracle Database
5 5 (2.16%) Data Warehouse
5 5 (2.16%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 4 (1.72%) Data Lake
6 4 (1.72%) Metadata
6 4 (1.72%) NoSQL
6 4 (1.72%) Tableau
7 3 (1.29%) Amazon Redshift
7 3 (1.29%) MongoDB
7 3 (1.29%) PostgreSQL
8 2 (0.86%) Amazon RDS
8 2 (0.86%) EDMS
8 2 (0.86%) Relational Database
8 2 (0.86%) Riak
8 2 (0.86%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 1 (0.43%) Azure SQL Database
9 1 (0.43%) Big Data
Development Applications
1 12 (5.17%) JIRA
2 7 (3.02%) ERwin
3 6 (2.59%) Jenkins
4 5 (2.16%) CircleCI
5 2 (0.86%) MSI
5 2 (0.86%) Rational Rhapsody
5 2 (0.86%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.43%) Android Studio
6 1 (0.43%) Git
6 1 (0.43%) Gradle
6 1 (0.43%) Postman
6 1 (0.43%) Selenium
6 1 (0.43%) Team Foundation Server
6 1 (0.43%) tSQLt
6 1 (0.43%) Xcode
General
1 95 (40.95%) Social Skills
2 87 (37.50%) Public Sector
3 30 (12.93%) Analytical Skills
4 20 (8.62%) Finance
5 14 (6.03%) Digital Health
6 12 (5.17%) Health Technology
6 12 (5.17%) Telecoms
7 11 (4.74%) Legal
8 10 (4.31%) Local Government
9 9 (3.88%) Documentation Skills
9 9 (3.88%) Marketing
10 8 (3.45%) Electronics
10 8 (3.45%) Manufacturing
11 7 (3.02%) Organisational Skills
12 5 (2.16%) Digital Healthcare
12 5 (2.16%) Pharmaceutical
13 4 (1.72%) Influencing Skills
14 1 (0.43%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 44 (18.97%) Analyst
2 29 (12.50%) Architect
3 21 (9.05%) Lead
4 17 (7.33%) Senior
4 17 (7.33%) Support Analyst
5 15 (6.47%) Technical Analyst
5 15 (6.47%) Technical Support
5 15 (6.47%) Technical Support Analyst
6 13 (5.60%) AWS Engineer
6 13 (5.60%) Developer
7 12 (5.17%) Project Manager
8 10 (4.31%) 2nd Line Support
9 9 (3.88%) Consultant
9 9 (3.88%) Solutions Architect
10 8 (3.45%) Data Architect
11 7 (3.02%) DevOps Engineer
11 7 (3.02%) Service Analyst
11 7 (3.02%) Service Desk Analyst
11 7 (3.02%) Support Engineer
11 7 (3.02%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (9.05%) FHIR
2 10 (4.31%) .NET
3 6 (2.59%) React
4 5 (2.16%) RESTful
5 4 (1.72%) .NET Core
5 4 (1.72%) Kafka
6 3 (1.29%) Middleware
6 3 (1.29%) REST
7 2 (0.86%) ADO
7 2 (0.86%) Apache NiFi
7 2 (0.86%) Node.js
7 2 (0.86%) React Native
7 2 (0.86%) Web Services
7 2 (0.86%) XML
8 1 (0.43%) Android Jetpack
8 1 (0.43%) Jetpack Compose
8 1 (0.43%) Lambda Expressions
8 1 (0.43%) Next.js
8 1 (0.43%) PySpark
8 1 (0.43%) SwiftUI
Miscellaneous
1 14 (6.03%) LIMS
2 13 (5.60%) Management Information System
3 10 (4.31%) Cloud Native
4 7 (3.02%) Onboarding
4 7 (3.02%) PACS
5 6 (2.59%) CMDB
5 6 (2.59%) Driving Licence
6 5 (2.16%) Legacy Systems
6 5 (2.16%) Product Ownership
6 5 (2.16%) Reference Data
7 4 (1.72%) Security Posture
8 3 (1.29%) Mobile App
8 3 (1.29%) Smartcard
9 2 (0.86%) Client/Server
9 2 (0.86%) Data Protection Act
9 2 (0.86%) Data Structures
9 2 (0.86%) Enterprise Software
9 2 (0.86%) Freedom of Information
9 2 (0.86%) IoT
9 2 (0.86%) Robotics
Operating Systems
1 34 (14.66%) Windows
2 20 (8.62%) Windows Server
3 8 (3.45%) Linux
4 7 (3.02%) Windows Server 2012
5 6 (2.59%) Windows 10
6 5 (2.16%) Windows Server 2003
7 1 (0.43%) Amazon Linux
7 1 (0.43%) Android
7 1 (0.43%) Apple iOS
7 1 (0.43%) Mac OS
7 1 (0.43%) VMS
7 1 (0.43%) Windows Server 2016
7 1 (0.43%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 47 (20.26%) Problem-Solving
2 44 (18.97%) Agile
3 40 (17.24%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 28 (12.07%) DevOps
5 27 (11.64%) Stakeholder Management
6 25 (10.78%) Business Intelligence
7 24 (10.34%) Infrastructure as Code
8 22 (9.48%) Digital Transformation Programme
9 20 (8.62%) Data Governance
10 19 (8.19%) CI/CD
10 19 (8.19%) ITIL
10 19 (8.19%) Migration
11 18 (7.76%) Data Modelling
12 17 (7.33%) Analytics
12 17 (7.33%) Continuous Improvement
13 15 (6.47%) Mentoring
13 15 (6.47%) Service Design
14 14 (6.03%) Information Governance
15 13 (5.60%) Cybersecurity
15 13 (5.60%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 31 (13.36%) Python
2 25 (10.78%) SQL
3 9 (3.88%) C#
4 7 (3.02%) Bash
4 7 (3.02%) TypeScript
5 6 (2.59%) PL/SQL
6 5 (2.16%) JavaScript
7 4 (1.72%) C++
8 3 (1.29%) PowerShell
8 3 (1.29%) R
8 3 (1.29%) T-SQL
9 2 (0.86%) Java
9 2 (0.86%) Ruby
10 1 (0.43%) Bicep
10 1 (0.43%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 1 (0.43%) Kotlin
10 1 (0.43%) Swift
10 1 (0.43%) Tcl
Qualifications
1 22 (9.48%) Degree
2 20 (8.62%) SC Cleared
2 20 (8.62%) Security Cleared
3 11 (4.74%) Microsoft Certification
4 10 (4.31%) HNC
4 10 (4.31%) HND
4 10 (4.31%) MCP
4 10 (4.31%) MCSE
5 8 (3.45%) BPSS Clearance
6 6 (2.59%) ECDL
6 6 (2.59%) ITIL Certification
7 4 (1.72%) CISSP
7 4 (1.72%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
8 3 (1.29%) CISM
9 2 (0.86%) AWS Certification
9 2 (0.86%) Computer Science Degree
9 2 (0.86%) ISEB
9 2 (0.86%) ISEB Practitioner
9 2 (0.86%) PRINCE2 Certification
10 1 (0.43%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 18 (7.76%) HL7
2 14 (6.03%) GDPR
3 11 (4.74%) Accessibility
3 11 (4.74%) Data Quality
4 10 (4.31%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 5 (2.16%) NCSC
5 5 (2.16%) NIST
6 4 (1.72%) QA
7 3 (1.29%) Cyber Essentials
7 3 (1.29%) PMO
7 3 (1.29%) WCAG
8 2 (0.86%) DICOM
8 2 (0.86%) HIPAA
8 2 (0.86%) Section 508
8 2 (0.86%) SNOMED CT
9 1 (0.43%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 1 (0.43%) SLA
System Software
1 26 (11.21%) Active Directory
2 8 (3.45%) Docker
3 6 (2.59%) VMware Infrastructure
4 5 (2.16%) Hyper-V
5 1 (0.43%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 34 (14.66%) Terraform
2 8 (3.45%) Kubernetes
3 7 (3.02%) Grafana
4 5 (2.16%) Prometheus
4 5 (2.16%) SCCM
5 2 (0.86%) Microsoft Intune
5 2 (0.86%) Single Sign-On
6 1 (0.43%) Cisco CUCM
6 1 (0.43%) Packer
Vendors
1 32 (13.79%) Microsoft
2 12 (5.17%) Oracle
3 11 (4.74%) Brio
4 9 (3.88%) SAP
5 8 (3.45%) Google
6 7 (3.02%) VMware
7 6 (2.59%) Cerner
7 6 (2.59%) Databricks
8 5 (2.16%) Cisco
8 5 (2.16%) Citrix
9 4 (1.72%) MuleSoft
9 4 (1.72%) Splunk
10 3 (1.29%) OneLogin
11 2 (0.86%) Cribl.io
11 2 (0.86%) NEC
11 2 (0.86%) Palantir
12 1 (0.43%) Apple
12 1 (0.43%) BT
12 1 (0.43%) InterSystems
12 1 (0.43%) Juniper