Developer Contract Job Trends in the North West

Developer
England > North West

The median Developer daily rate in the North West is £425, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 13 November 2025.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
13 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 15 9 9
Rank change year-on-year -6 0 -4
Contract jobs requiring a Developer 241 252 329
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 9.88% 10.66% 12.09%
As % of the Job Titles category 10.83% 11.42% 13.12%
Number of daily rates quoted 198 165 278
10th Percentile £313 £308 £325
25th Percentile £363 £375 £408
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £425 £438 £475
Median % change year-on-year -2.86% -7.89% -5.00%
75th Percentile £500 £500 £582
90th Percentile £558 £575 £682
England median daily rate £500 £525 £550
% change year-on-year -4.76% -4.55% -6.38%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2 3 4
10th Percentile £49.83 £41.80 £56.38
25th Percentile £53.91 £50.50 £65.94
Median hourly rate £60.69 £65.00 £75.00
Median % change year-on-year -6.63% -13.33% +93.55%
75th Percentile £67.48 - £79.69
90th Percentile £71.55 - £81.38
England median hourly rate £55.00 £65.00 £60.00
% change year-on-year -15.38% +8.33% +0.54%

All Contract IT Job Vacancies
North West

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in the North West. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in the North West with a recognized job title 2,226 2,206 2,508
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.23% 93.32% 92.14%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,468 1,173 1,749
10th Percentile £214 £266 £275
25th Percentile £363 £390 £405
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% -5.00% +5.26%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £594
90th Percentile £678 £650 £674
England median daily rate £510 £525 £535
% change year-on-year -2.86% -1.87% -2.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 218 159 172
10th Percentile £15.18 £15.60 £15.78
25th Percentile £19.07 £18.00 £17.75
Median hourly rate £29.60 £32.50 £31.50
Median % change year-on-year -8.92% +3.17% +57.50%
75th Percentile £49.28 £51.44 £46.18
90th Percentile £70.55 £70.90 £63.75
England median hourly rate £25.15 £40.00 £45.00
% change year-on-year -37.13% -11.11% +50.00%

Developer
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Developer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West.

Developer job vacancy trend in the North West

Developer
Daily Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in the North West.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in the North West

Developer
Daily Rate Histogram in the North West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Developer in the North West over the 6 months to 13 November 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Developer in the North West

Developer
Hourly Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in the North West.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in the North West

Developer
Hourly Rate Histogram in the North West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Developer in the North West over the 6 months to 13 November 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Developer in the North West

Developer
Contract Job Locations in the North West

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Developer within the North West region over the 6 months to 13 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
Manchester -6 126 £425 -5.56% 217
Cheshire -3 71 £370 -1.07% 41
Merseyside -5 22 £500 +29.03% 13
Lancashire -4 19 £528 +29.45% 99
Cumbria +7 1 £470 -6.00%
Developer
England

Developer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North West

For the 6 months to 13 November 2025, Developer contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads across the North West region featuring Developer in the job title.

1 78 (32.37%) Java
2 74 (30.71%) Agile
3 64 (26.56%) SQL
4 56 (23.24%) CI/CD
5 53 (21.99%) JavaScript
6 52 (21.58%) Problem-Solving
7 51 (21.16%) DevOps
7 51 (21.16%) Git
8 50 (20.75%) Azure
9 49 (20.33%) AWS
10 44 (18.26%) Microsoft
10 44 (18.26%) Spring Boot
11 43 (17.84%) Microservices
12 42 (17.43%) HTML
12 42 (17.43%) Spring
13 39 (16.18%) React
13 39 (16.18%) Security Cleared
14 37 (15.35%) REST
15 34 (14.11%) TDD
16 33 (13.69%) Accessibility
16 33 (13.69%) CSS
17 32 (13.28%) Docker
17 32 (13.28%) Test Automation
18 30 (12.45%) JIRA
19 29 (12.03%) Full-Stack Development
20 27 (11.20%) Jenkins
20 27 (11.20%) Kubernetes
20 27 (11.20%) Python
21 26 (10.79%) Business Intelligence
21 26 (10.79%) Power Platform

Developer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North West 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 10 (4.15%) Confluence
2 9 (3.73%) Tomcat
3 6 (2.49%) JBoss
3 6 (2.49%) SharePoint
4 4 (1.66%) Apache
4 4 (1.66%) nginx
5 3 (1.24%) SAS
6 2 (0.83%) Apache Airflow
6 2 (0.83%) SharePoint Server
7 1 (0.41%) Apache Spark
7 1 (0.41%) CMS
Applications
1 4 (1.66%) Microsoft Excel
2 2 (0.83%) Spreadsheet
3 1 (0.41%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 8 (3.32%) Advent Geneva
2 3 (1.24%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.41%) Dynamics NAV
3 1 (0.41%) IBM Planning Analytics
3 1 (0.41%) SAP HR
3 1 (0.41%) SAP PSCD
3 1 (0.41%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 50 (20.75%) Azure
2 49 (20.33%) AWS
3 26 (10.79%) Power Platform
4 22 (9.13%) GitHub
5 18 (7.47%) Azure DevOps
6 14 (5.81%) Power Automate
7 13 (5.39%) PowerApps
8 10 (4.15%) npm
9 8 (3.32%) Serverless
10 7 (2.90%) Figma
11 6 (2.49%) AWS Lambda
11 6 (2.49%) GCP
11 6 (2.49%) OpenShift
11 6 (2.49%) SaaS
12 5 (2.07%) Azure AKS
12 5 (2.07%) Dynamics 365
13 4 (1.66%) Amazon SQS
13 4 (1.66%) Azure Service Bus
14 3 (1.24%) Microsoft 365
14 3 (1.24%) ShareGate
Communications & Networking
1 7 (2.90%) HTTPS
2 2 (0.83%) HTTP
2 2 (0.83%) Intranet
2 2 (0.83%) SSL
3 1 (0.41%) Internet
3 1 (0.41%) PABX
3 1 (0.41%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (8.30%) SQL Server
2 19 (7.88%) MySQL
2 19 (7.88%) Power BI
3 12 (4.98%) PostgreSQL
3 12 (4.98%) Relational Database
4 10 (4.15%) DB2
5 9 (3.73%) NoSQL
5 9 (3.73%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 7 (2.90%) Data Warehouse
7 6 (2.49%) MongoDB
7 6 (2.49%) Redis
8 4 (1.66%) Apache Cassandra
9 3 (1.24%) Amazon RDS
9 3 (1.24%) Cognos Framework Manager
9 3 (1.24%) Cognos Report Studio
9 3 (1.24%) Metadata
9 3 (1.24%) Snowflake Schema
9 3 (1.24%) WebFOCUS
10 2 (0.83%) Data Vault
10 2 (0.83%) Oracle Database
Development Applications
1 51 (21.16%) Git
2 30 (12.45%) JIRA
3 27 (11.20%) Jenkins
4 24 (9.96%) JUnit
5 23 (9.54%) GitLab
6 21 (8.71%) Gradle
7 14 (5.81%) Xcode
8 13 (5.39%) Cypress.io
9 11 (4.56%) SonarQube
10 9 (3.73%) Cucumber
10 9 (3.73%) Maven
10 9 (3.73%) Sonatype Nexus
11 7 (2.90%) Mockito
11 7 (2.90%) Postman
12 6 (2.49%) Grunt
12 6 (2.49%) gulp
12 6 (2.49%) Storybook
13 5 (2.07%) Bitbucket
14 3 (1.24%) Android Studio
14 3 (1.24%) Gerrit
General
1 39 (16.18%) Public Sector
2 38 (15.77%) Social Skills
3 37 (15.35%) Finance
4 35 (14.52%) Banking
5 20 (8.30%) Analytical Skills
6 7 (2.90%) Documentation Skills
7 5 (2.07%) Organisational Skills
8 3 (1.24%) Publishing
8 3 (1.24%) Retail
9 2 (0.83%) Military
9 2 (0.83%) Presentation Skills
9 2 (0.83%) Private Banking
10 1 (0.41%) Digital Healthcare
10 1 (0.41%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 1 (0.41%) Law
10 1 (0.41%) Local Government
10 1 (0.41%) Manufacturing
10 1 (0.41%) Marketing
10 1 (0.41%) Telecoms
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 44 (18.26%) Spring Boot
2 42 (17.43%) HTML
2 42 (17.43%) Spring
3 39 (16.18%) React
4 37 (15.35%) REST
5 33 (13.69%) CSS
6 25 (10.37%) JSON
6 25 (10.37%) Node.js
7 24 (9.96%) RESTful
8 20 (8.30%) .NET
9 18 (7.47%) Jest
10 17 (7.05%) React Native
10 17 (7.05%) SOAP
11 15 (6.22%) Kafka
12 13 (5.39%) AngularJS
12 13 (5.39%) JMS
12 13 (5.39%) OAuth
13 12 (4.98%) Redux
14 11 (4.56%) jQuery
14 11 (4.56%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 23 (9.54%) Mobile App
2 10 (4.15%) Data Protection Act
3 9 (3.73%) Cloud Native
3 9 (3.73%) Low-Code
3 9 (3.73%) Virtual Team
4 8 (3.32%) Mobile Banking
5 7 (2.90%) SWIFT Messaging Network
6 6 (2.49%) Distributed Systems
6 6 (2.49%) Enterprise Software
6 6 (2.49%) Legacy Systems
7 4 (1.66%) Data Structures
7 4 (1.66%) Greenfield Project
7 4 (1.66%) Product Ownership
8 3 (1.24%) Onboarding
8 3 (1.24%) Shadow IT
9 2 (0.83%) Algorithms
9 2 (0.83%) Blog
9 2 (0.83%) IVR
9 2 (0.83%) Mainframe
10 1 (0.41%) IBM Mainframe
Operating Systems
1 20 (8.30%) Android
2 18 (7.47%) Apple iOS
3 16 (6.64%) Linux
4 9 (3.73%) Unix
5 2 (0.83%) Mac OS X
5 2 (0.83%) MVS
5 2 (0.83%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.41%) VME
6 1 (0.41%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 74 (30.71%) Agile
2 56 (23.24%) CI/CD
3 52 (21.58%) Problem-Solving
4 51 (21.16%) DevOps
5 43 (17.84%) Microservices
6 34 (14.11%) TDD
7 32 (13.28%) Test Automation
8 29 (12.03%) Full-Stack Development
9 26 (10.79%) Business Intelligence
10 25 (10.37%) Unit Testing
11 24 (9.96%) Migration
11 24 (9.96%) Performance Optimisation
12 23 (9.54%) Scrum
13 22 (9.13%) Containerisation
14 20 (8.30%) User Experience
15 18 (7.47%) Data Modelling
16 17 (7.05%) Front End Development
17 16 (6.64%) User Acceptance Testing
18 15 (6.22%) API Development
19 14 (5.81%) SDLC
Programming Languages
1 78 (32.37%) Java
2 64 (26.56%) SQL
3 53 (21.99%) JavaScript
4 27 (11.20%) Python
5 24 (9.96%) TypeScript
6 17 (7.05%) C#
7 10 (4.15%) Kotlin
8 8 (3.32%) C
8 8 (3.32%) C++
8 8 (3.32%) Ruby
8 8 (3.32%) T-SQL
9 7 (2.90%) Objective-C
9 7 (2.90%) Scala
9 7 (2.90%) Swift
10 6 (2.49%) PHP
10 6 (2.49%) Shell Script
11 4 (1.66%) ABAP
11 4 (1.66%) Apex Code
11 4 (1.66%) Bash
12 3 (1.24%) PL/SQL
Qualifications
1 39 (16.18%) Security Cleared
2 23 (9.54%) BPSS Clearance
3 21 (8.71%) SC Cleared
4 12 (4.98%) Degree
5 9 (3.73%) Computer Science Degree
6 5 (2.07%) CTC Cleared
7 2 (0.83%) Microsoft Certification
8 1 (0.41%) DBS Check
8 1 (0.41%) Master's Degree
8 1 (0.41%) MCSA
8 1 (0.41%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 33 (13.69%) Accessibility
2 16 (6.64%) QA
3 8 (3.32%) WCAG
4 7 (2.90%) Data Quality
4 7 (2.90%) ISO 20022
4 7 (2.90%) PSD2
4 7 (2.90%) SEPA
System Software
1 32 (13.28%) Docker
2 2 (0.83%) Time Sharing Option
Systems Management
1 27 (11.20%) Kubernetes
2 7 (2.90%) Terraform
3 3 (1.24%) Ansible
4 2 (0.83%) CA Endevor
4 2 (0.83%) Grafana
5 1 (0.41%) Argo
5 1 (0.41%) Progress Chef
5 1 (0.41%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 44 (18.26%) Microsoft
2 18 (7.47%) Oracle
3 9 (3.73%) Salesforce
3 9 (3.73%) ServiceNow
4 8 (3.32%) Advent
5 7 (2.90%) SAP
6 6 (2.49%) IBM
6 6 (2.49%) Perforce
7 4 (1.66%) Cognos
7 4 (1.66%) webMethods
8 3 (1.24%) Google
8 3 (1.24%) Nintex
8 3 (1.24%) Siebel
8 3 (1.24%) Software AG
8 3 (1.24%) Veracode
8 3 (1.24%) Virgin Media
8 3 (1.24%) Xamarin
9 2 (0.83%) Axway
9 2 (0.83%) Splunk
9 2 (0.83%) Syncsort