Public Sector Contract Job Trends in London

Public Sector
England > London

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Public Sector in contract job vacancies in London. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Public Sector over the 6 months leading up to 27 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
27 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 23 23 18
Rank change year-on-year 0 -5 +14
Contract jobs citing Public Sector 1,510 1,170 1,515
As % of all contract jobs in London 9.51% 8.71% 8.32%
As % of the General category 14.95% 13.28% 13.09%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,112 755 1,047
10th Percentile £382 £350 £385
25th Percentile £432 £450 £456
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £519 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year -1.19% -4.55% -2.44%
75th Percentile £600 £638 £650
90th Percentile £688 £762 £745
England median daily rate £500 £519 £525
% change year-on-year -3.61% -1.19% -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 25 16 12
10th Percentile - £17.53 £15.00
25th Percentile £17.50 £22.00 £15.86
Median hourly rate £25.00 £29.50 £19.25
Median % change year-on-year -15.25% +53.25% -5.73%
75th Percentile £41.25 £39.73 £35.06
90th Percentile £71.24 £65.00 £77.03
England median hourly rate £22.00 £25.50 £21.00
% change year-on-year -13.73% +21.43% +5.00%

All General Skills
London

Public Sector falls under the General Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring general skills in London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 10,100 8,811 11,578
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in London 63.60% 65.60% 63.55%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,593 5,657 8,292
10th Percentile £350 £331 £338
25th Percentile £425 £450 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £535 £575 £575
Median % change year-on-year -6.96% - -4.17%
75th Percentile £663 £700 £688
90th Percentile £775 £825 £800
England median daily rate £500 £525 £538
% change year-on-year -4.76% -2.33% -2.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 168 117 258
10th Percentile £17.50 £20.63 £16.00
25th Percentile £20.72 £26.25 £18.37
Median hourly rate £28.78 £35.50 £28.88
Median % change year-on-year -18.94% +22.94% -3.75%
75th Percentile £50.54 £55.25 £47.31
90th Percentile £73.78 £78.54 £72.58
England median hourly rate £23.83 £30.45 £26.00
% change year-on-year -21.76% +17.12% -15.09%

Public Sector
Job Vacancy Trend in London

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Public Sector relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in London.

Public Sector job vacancy trend in London

Public Sector
Daily Rate Trend in London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in London citing Public Sector.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in London citing Public Sector

Public Sector
Daily Rate Histogram in London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Public Sector in London over the 6 months to 27 February 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Public Sector in London

Public Sector
Hourly Rate Trend in London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in London citing Public Sector.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in London citing Public Sector

Public Sector
Hourly Rate Histogram in London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Public Sector in London over the 6 months to 27 February 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Public Sector in London

Public Sector
Contract Job Locations in London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Public Sector within the London region over the 6 months to 27 February 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
Central London -3 147 £550 +4.76% 37
South London +3 68 £500 +1.78% 8
West London -27 6 £513 +84.68% 13
East London -2 5 £638 +10.87% 9
North London -3 5 £650 +154.90% 7
Public Sector
England

Public Sector
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in London 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 58 (3.84%) Confluence
2 37 (2.45%) SharePoint
3 13 (0.86%) Apache Airflow
4 12 (0.79%) nginx
5 9 (0.60%) Apache
6 8 (0.53%) Microsoft Exchange
7 7 (0.46%) Apache Spark
8 4 (0.26%) CMS
8 4 (0.26%) SAS
8 4 (0.26%) Tomcat
9 3 (0.20%) ArcGIS
10 2 (0.13%) Camunda
10 2 (0.13%) Jupyter
10 2 (0.13%) WebLogic
11 1 (0.066%) Anypoint
11 1 (0.066%) Appian
11 1 (0.066%) GeoServer
11 1 (0.066%) JBoss
11 1 (0.066%) Moodle
11 1 (0.066%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 52 (3.44%) Microsoft Excel
2 19 (1.26%) Microsoft Office
3 18 (1.19%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 8 (0.53%) Microsoft Project
4 8 (0.53%) MS Visio
5 4 (0.26%) Adobe XD
5 4 (0.26%) Sketch
5 4 (0.26%) Trello
6 3 (0.20%) Chatbot
6 3 (0.20%) InVision
7 2 (0.13%) Adobe After Effects
7 2 (0.13%) Mozilla Thunderbird
7 2 (0.13%) Spreadsheet
8 1 (0.066%) Adobe Illustrator
8 1 (0.066%) OmniGraffle
8 1 (0.066%) Photoshop
8 1 (0.066%) Siemens NX
8 1 (0.066%) UXPin
Business Applications
1 20 (1.32%) Dynamics CRM
2 14 (0.93%) Oracle ERP
2 14 (0.93%) SAP S/4HANA
3 9 (0.60%) SAP Payroll
4 6 (0.40%) iTrent
5 5 (0.33%) Salesforce CRM
6 3 (0.20%) Exchequer
6 3 (0.20%) Oracle EBS
6 3 (0.20%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
7 2 (0.13%) Loan IQ
7 2 (0.13%) Oracle Assets
7 2 (0.13%) Oracle General Ledger
7 2 (0.13%) Oracle Receivables
7 2 (0.13%) SAP ERP
7 2 (0.13%) SAP GRC
7 2 (0.13%) SAP HCM
7 2 (0.13%) SAP HR
7 2 (0.13%) Workday HCM
8 1 (0.066%) Oracle Cash Management
8 1 (0.066%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
Cloud Services
1 317 (20.99%) AWS
2 276 (18.28%) Azure
3 95 (6.29%) Power Platform
4 82 (5.43%) Serverless
5 65 (4.30%) GitHub
6 60 (3.97%) Azure DevOps
7 55 (3.64%) GCP
8 51 (3.38%) AWS Lambda
9 49 (3.25%) Microsoft 365
10 43 (2.85%) Amazon S3
11 36 (2.38%) GitHub Actions
12 35 (2.32%) AWS CloudFormation
12 35 (2.32%) Dynamics 365
13 34 (2.25%) OCI
14 32 (2.12%) Amazon EKS
15 30 (1.99%) Amazon ECS
16 29 (1.92%) Entra ID
16 29 (1.92%) Power Automate
17 28 (1.85%) Amazon EC2
18 23 (1.52%) SaaS
Communications & Networking
1 27 (1.79%) Firewall
2 24 (1.59%) Network Security
3 17 (1.13%) DNS
4 16 (1.06%) Wireless
5 14 (0.93%) VPN
5 14 (0.93%) WAN
5 14 (0.93%) Wi-Fi
6 11 (0.73%) TCP/IP
7 10 (0.66%) LAN
8 9 (0.60%) BGP
8 9 (0.60%) OSPF
9 7 (0.46%) SD-WAN
10 6 (0.40%) Internet
11 5 (0.33%) HTTP
11 5 (0.33%) NGFW
12 4 (0.26%) Cisco Wireless
12 4 (0.26%) SSL
12 4 (0.26%) WLAN
13 3 (0.20%) SMTP
13 3 (0.20%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 73 (4.83%) Power BI
2 41 (2.72%) PostgreSQL
3 26 (1.72%) Data Lake
4 24 (1.59%) SQL Server
5 23 (1.52%) Metadata
6 22 (1.46%) Data Warehouse
7 21 (1.39%) Amazon RDS
8 15 (0.99%) Azure SQL Database
8 15 (0.99%) MongoDB
8 15 (0.99%) NoSQL
9 13 (0.86%) Relational Database
10 12 (0.79%) Amazon Redshift
10 12 (0.79%) Tableau
11 10 (0.66%) Amazon Athena
11 10 (0.66%) Delta Lake
12 9 (0.60%) Data Hub
12 9 (0.60%) DynamoDB
13 8 (0.53%) BigQuery
13 8 (0.53%) SQL Server Reporting Services
14 7 (0.46%) Power Query
Development Applications
1 86 (5.70%) JIRA
2 70 (4.64%) Git
3 41 (2.72%) GitLab
4 38 (2.52%) Jenkins
5 26 (1.72%) Postman
6 22 (1.46%) Selenium
7 11 (0.73%) JUnit
8 7 (0.46%) Cypress.io
8 7 (0.46%) JMeter
8 7 (0.46%) Mockito
9 6 (0.40%) MLflow
10 5 (0.33%) Gradle
10 5 (0.33%) Liquibase
11 4 (0.26%) Cucumber
11 4 (0.26%) SonarQube
12 3 (0.20%) Android Studio
12 3 (0.20%) Appium
12 3 (0.20%) Axure RP
12 3 (0.20%) REST Assured
12 3 (0.20%) Snyk
General
1 422 (27.95%) Social Skills
2 231 (15.30%) Finance
3 131 (8.68%) Analytical Skills
4 62 (4.11%) Telecoms
5 60 (3.97%) Marketing
6 58 (3.84%) Local Government
7 53 (3.51%) Manufacturing
8 43 (2.85%) Electronics
9 40 (2.65%) Military
10 34 (2.25%) Legal
11 32 (2.12%) Documentation Skills
11 32 (2.12%) Influencing Skills
12 29 (1.92%) Presentation Skills
13 22 (1.46%) Banking
13 22 (1.46%) Organisational Skills
14 21 (1.39%) Retail
15 19 (1.26%) Law
16 18 (1.19%) Police
17 15 (0.99%) Inclusion and Diversity
18 12 (0.79%) Billing
Job Titles
1 194 (12.85%) Developer
2 187 (12.38%) Architect
3 183 (12.12%) Senior
4 146 (9.67%) Analyst
5 116 (7.68%) Lead
6 89 (5.89%) Business Analyst
7 85 (5.63%) Designer
8 65 (4.30%) DevOps Engineer
9 54 (3.58%) Consultant
9 54 (3.58%) User Researcher
10 45 (2.98%) Data Engineer
11 44 (2.91%) Project Manager
12 43 (2.85%) Service Designer
13 42 (2.78%) Solutions Architect
14 40 (2.65%) Technical Architect
15 38 (2.52%) AWS Engineer
16 35 (2.32%) Senior Developer
17 34 (2.25%) Delivery Manager
18 33 (2.19%) Security Architect
19 30 (1.99%) Azure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 58 (3.84%) REST
2 43 (2.85%) Node.js
3 41 (2.72%) React
3 41 (2.72%) RESTful
4 36 (2.38%) .NET
4 36 (2.38%) Oracle Fusion
5 34 (2.25%) Web Services
6 33 (2.19%) Spring
7 32 (2.12%) AngularJS
8 29 (1.92%) HTML
9 26 (1.72%) CSS
10 25 (1.66%) JSON
10 25 (1.66%) SOAP
10 25 (1.66%) Spring Boot
11 24 (1.59%) Lightning Web Components
12 21 (1.39%) Kafka
13 16 (1.06%) XML
14 15 (0.99%) OAuth
15 14 (0.93%) Middleware
15 14 (0.93%) Pandas
Miscellaneous
1 82 (5.43%) Cloud Native
2 65 (4.30%) Onboarding
3 41 (2.72%) Legacy Systems
4 40 (2.65%) Product Ownership
5 36 (2.38%) Data Centre
6 24 (1.59%) NHS
7 22 (1.46%) AI Agents
8 19 (1.26%) Management Information System
9 16 (1.06%) Enterprise Software
9 16 (1.06%) Public Cloud
9 16 (1.06%) Security Posture
10 14 (0.93%) Distributed Systems
11 13 (0.86%) Hybrid Cloud
12 12 (0.79%) Replication
12 12 (0.79%) Self-Motivation
13 11 (0.73%) Data Structures
13 11 (0.73%) Security Operations Centre
14 10 (0.66%) Data Protection Act
14 10 (0.66%) Greenfield Project
15 8 (0.53%) Algorithms
Operating Systems
1 54 (3.58%) Linux
1 54 (3.58%) Windows
2 19 (1.26%) Mac OS
3 17 (1.13%) Android
4 12 (0.79%) Windows Server
5 9 (0.60%) VMS
6 7 (0.46%) Apple iOS
7 6 (0.40%) Unix
8 5 (0.33%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 4 (0.26%) Solaris
9 4 (0.26%) Windows 10
9 4 (0.26%) Windows Server 2008
9 4 (0.26%) Windows Server 2019
10 3 (0.20%) Amazon Linux
11 2 (0.13%) Ubuntu
11 2 (0.13%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 384 (25.43%) Agile
2 230 (15.23%) CI/CD
3 211 (13.97%) DevOps
4 204 (13.51%) Stakeholder Management
5 168 (11.13%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 158 (10.46%) Problem-Solving
7 137 (9.07%) Roadmaps
8 132 (8.74%) Continuous Improvement
8 132 (8.74%) Decision-Making
9 130 (8.61%) AI
10 127 (8.41%) Migration
11 119 (7.88%) Business Intelligence
12 117 (7.75%) User Research
13 111 (7.35%) Infrastructure as Code
14 104 (6.89%) Containerisation
15 103 (6.82%) Analytics
16 88 (5.83%) Service Design
16 88 (5.83%) Workshop Facilitation
17 86 (5.70%) Data Modelling
17 86 (5.70%) Test Automation
Programming Languages
1 182 (12.05%) Python
2 139 (9.21%) SQL
3 87 (5.76%) Java
4 75 (4.97%) JavaScript
5 43 (2.85%) C#
6 42 (2.78%) TypeScript
7 35 (2.32%) PowerShell
8 33 (2.19%) Ruby
9 28 (1.85%) Bash
10 23 (1.52%) Apex Code
11 14 (0.93%) PL/SQL
12 12 (0.79%) Go
13 11 (0.73%) R
14 8 (0.53%) Bicep
14 8 (0.53%) Data Analysis Expressions
14 8 (0.53%) Kotlin
15 7 (0.46%) C
15 7 (0.46%) Shell Script
16 5 (0.33%) T-SQL
17 4 (0.26%) JSX
Qualifications
1 895 (59.27%) Security Cleared
2 661 (43.77%) SC Cleared
3 64 (4.24%) Degree
4 51 (3.38%) DV Cleared
5 44 (2.91%) BPSS Clearance
6 24 (1.59%) Azure Certification
7 21 (1.39%) CISSP
8 19 (1.26%) AWS Certification
9 15 (0.99%) CISM
9 15 (0.99%) PMP
10 12 (0.79%) Cisco Certification
10 12 (0.79%) Microsoft Certification
11 11 (0.73%) APMP
12 10 (0.66%) CIMA
12 10 (0.66%) OSCP
12 10 (0.66%) PMI Certification
13 9 (0.60%) ACCA
13 9 (0.60%) Computer Science Degree
13 9 (0.60%) ISTQB
14 8 (0.53%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 90 (5.96%) Accessibility
2 59 (3.91%) Data Quality
2 59 (3.91%) QA
3 51 (3.38%) GDPR
4 35 (2.32%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 32 (2.12%) PMO
6 29 (1.92%) NCSC
7 26 (1.72%) NIST
8 25 (1.66%) WCAG
9 13 (0.86%) GRC
10 12 (0.79%) Actionable Recommendations
11 10 (0.66%) HIPAA
11 10 (0.66%) SLA
12 7 (0.46%) Government Security Classifications
13 5 (0.33%) NIST 800
14 4 (0.26%) Cyber Essentials
14 4 (0.26%) IFRS
14 4 (0.26%) PCI DSS
15 3 (0.20%) IFRS 9
15 3 (0.20%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 111 (7.35%) Docker
2 27 (1.79%) Active Directory
3 9 (0.60%) VMware Infrastructure
4 7 (0.46%) Virtual Machines
5 6 (0.40%) VMware ESXi
6 5 (0.33%) Hyper-V
7 3 (0.20%) Postfix
7 3 (0.20%) Squid
7 3 (0.20%) vSphere
8 2 (0.13%) DFS Replication
8 2 (0.13%) Dovecot
8 2 (0.13%) Oracle RAC
8 2 (0.13%) Virtual Desktop
8 2 (0.13%) VMware NSX
9 1 (0.066%) IAG
9 1 (0.066%) NLBS
9 1 (0.066%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 137 (9.07%) Terraform
2 119 (7.88%) Kubernetes
3 25 (1.66%) Grafana
4 23 (1.52%) Ansible
5 20 (1.32%) Prometheus
6 10 (0.66%) Jamf Pro
7 9 (0.60%) Microsoft Intune
8 8 (0.53%) Argo
9 6 (0.40%) Packer
9 6 (0.40%) Single Sign-On
10 5 (0.33%) Consul
10 5 (0.33%) SCCM
11 4 (0.26%) FortiGate
12 3 (0.20%) Nessus
12 3 (0.20%) Puppet
12 3 (0.20%) vCenter Server
13 2 (0.13%) Microsoft Clustering
13 2 (0.13%) Oracle RMAN
13 2 (0.13%) Proxmox
13 2 (0.13%) vRealize
Vendors
1 149 (9.87%) Microsoft
2 81 (5.36%) Oracle
2 81 (5.36%) SAP
3 69 (4.57%) Salesforce
4 45 (2.98%) ServiceNow
5 38 (2.52%) Databricks
6 31 (2.05%) Cisco
7 24 (1.59%) Google
8 23 (1.52%) VMware
9 17 (1.13%) Virgin Media
10 15 (0.99%) Apple
10 15 (0.99%) MuleSoft
10 15 (0.99%) Red Hat
10 15 (0.99%) Splunk
11 14 (0.93%) Palo Alto
12 13 (0.86%) Atlassian
13 12 (0.79%) Dell
13 12 (0.79%) IBM
14 11 (0.73%) HP
15 10 (0.66%) Juniper