COBOL Contract Job Trends in the North of England
COBOL
England > North of England
The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the North of England citing COBOL skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 29 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 29 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 249 | 169 | 160 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -80 | -9 | +14 |
| Contract jobs citing COBOL | 14 | 29 | 7 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the North of England | 0.18% | 0.66% | 0.18% |
| As % of the Programming Languages category | 0.72% | 2.25% | 0.72% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 7 | 22 | 3 |
| 10th Percentile | £500 | £315 | £350 |
| 25th Percentile | £506 | £340 | £364 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £402 | £400 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +30.60% | +0.50% | -13.51% |
| 75th Percentile | £556 | £440 | £406 |
| 90th Percentile | £577 | £500 | £410 |
| England median daily rate | £550 | £402 | £458 |
| % change year-on-year | +36.82% | -12.13% | -1.08% |
All Programming Languages
North of England
COBOL falls under the Programming Languages category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies citing coding skills in the North of England.
| 6 months to 29 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract vacancies citing coding skills | 1,958 | 1,291 | 977 |
| As % of all contract jobs advertised in the North of England | 25.66% | 29.43% | 24.61% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 1,248 | 900 | 627 |
| 10th Percentile | £350 | £315 | £327 |
| 25th Percentile | £413 | £375 | £400 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £482 | £450 | £475 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +7.11% | -5.26% | -5.00% |
| 75th Percentile | £569 | £538 | £566 |
| 90th Percentile | £638 | £627 | £627 |
| England median daily rate | £525 | £513 | £540 |
| % change year-on-year | +2.44% | -5.09% | -1.82% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 104 | 20 | 30 |
| 10th Percentile | £28.50 | £35.40 | £35.20 |
| 25th Percentile | £57.50 | £48.06 | £37.55 |
| Median hourly rate | £70.00 | £66.50 | £46.18 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.26% | +44.00% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £75.00 | £74.26 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £77.00 | £86.90 | £80.00 |
| England median hourly rate | £65.00 | £62.50 | £65.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +4.00% | -3.85% | +4.00% |
COBOL Job Vacancy Trend in the North of England
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing COBOL relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the North of England.
COBOL Daily Rate Trend in the North of England
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North of England citing COBOL.
COBOL Hourly Rate Trend in the North of England
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North of England citing COBOL.
COBOL Contract Job Locations in the North of England
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing COBOL within the North of England region over the 6 months to 29 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yorkshire | -40 | 12 | £525 | +35.92% | 1 |
| North West | -56 | 2 | £500 | +24.38% | |
| COBOL England |
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COBOL Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North of England by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Programming Languages
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JCL | 35.7% | 5 |
| 2 | Java | 14.3% | 2 |
| 2 | REXX | 14.3% | 2 |
| 4 | C | 7.1% | 1 |
| 4 | PowerShell | 7.1% | 1 |
| 4 | Shell Script | 7.1% | 1 |
| 4 | SQL | 7.1% | 1 |