Developer Contract Job Trends in the North West

Developer
England > North West

The median Developer daily rate in the North West is £494, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 15 September 2026.

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

6 months to
15 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 23 13 12
Rank change year-on-year -10 -1 -2
Contract jobs requiring a Developer 273 229 240
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 6.95% 10.69% 10.13%
As % of the Job Titles category 7.68% 11.57% 10.77%
Number of daily rates quoted 170 189 172
10th Percentile £363 £313 £308
25th Percentile £425 £360 £370
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £494 £425 £438
Median % change year-on-year +16.15% -2.86% -10.26%
75th Percentile £600 £510 £509
90th Percentile £675 £556 £575
England median daily rate £520 £505 £525
% change year-on-year +2.97% -3.81% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 21 1 2
10th Percentile £25.49 - £38.90
25th Percentile £37.25 - £43.25
Median hourly rate £41.06 £47.12 £50.50
Median % change year-on-year -12.87% -6.69% -30.34%
75th Percentile £46.18 - £57.75
90th Percentile £66.66 - £62.10
England median hourly rate £55.00 £55.00 £65.00
% change year-on-year - -15.38% +8.91%

All Contract IT Job Roles
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 3,556 1,979 2,229
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 90.58% 92.39% 94.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,031 1,294 1,278
10th Percentile £300 £268 £275
25th Percentile £403 £363 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £450 £493
Median % change year-on-year +11.11% -8.72% -1.40%
75th Percentile £600 £550 £588
90th Percentile £675 £652 £675
England median daily rate £525 £505 £525
% change year-on-year +3.96% -3.81% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 408 157 163
10th Percentile £15.93 £13.00 £15.53
25th Percentile £25.46 £17.30 £18.00
Median hourly rate £46.18 £24.62 £37.00
Median % change year-on-year +87.56% -33.46% +8.82%
75th Percentile £73.25 £47.12 £54.63
90th Percentile £85.00 £70.68 £71.38
England median hourly rate £43.50 £25.15 £47.50
% change year-on-year +72.96% -47.05% +5.56%

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 15 September 2026.

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 15 September 2026.

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 15 September 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
Manchester -3 197 £500 +21.21% 221
Cheshire -22 38 £475 +26.67% 41
Merseyside -27 14 £435 -13.00% 21
Lancashire -19 11 - - 54
Cumbria -14 8 £875 +86.17% 1
Developer
England

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

For the 6 months to 15 September 2026, 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 74 (27.11%) Agile
1 74 (27.11%) Java
2 65 (23.81%) CI/CD
3 44 (16.12%) Microservices
3 44 (16.12%) SQL
4 42 (15.38%) AWS
5 41 (15.02%) DevOps
6 39 (14.29%) Azure
7 36 (13.19%) Power Platform
8 34 (12.45%) Microsoft
9 33 (12.09%) JavaScript
10 32 (11.72%) AI
10 32 (11.72%) Security Cleared
11 31 (11.36%) React
12 30 (10.99%) Git
12 30 (10.99%) Problem-Solving
12 30 (10.99%) TDD
13 29 (10.62%) REST
13 29 (10.62%) Software Engineering
13 29 (10.62%) Spring
13 29 (10.62%) Test Automation
14 28 (10.26%) Business Intelligence
14 28 (10.26%) Spring Boot
15 26 (9.52%) C#
15 26 (9.52%) Data Modelling
15 26 (9.52%) SC Cleared
16 25 (9.16%) Salesforce
17 24 (8.79%) Mentoring
17 24 (8.79%) SQL Server
18 23 (8.42%) Kafka

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 14 (5.13%) Confluence
2 12 (4.40%) SharePoint
3 7 (2.56%) Microsoft Exchange
3 7 (2.56%) SharePoint Server
4 4 (1.47%) Camunda
5 3 (1.10%) WordPress
6 2 (0.73%) CMS
6 2 (0.73%) SAS
6 2 (0.73%) SharePoint 2013
7 1 (0.37%) Adobe Experience Manager
7 1 (0.37%) Drupal
7 1 (0.37%) JBoss
7 1 (0.37%) Mule
7 1 (0.37%) Mule ESB
7 1 (0.37%) Umbraco
7 1 (0.37%) WebLogic
Applications
1 1 (0.37%) Microsoft Excel
Business Applications
1 4 (1.47%) MIS ActiveH
2 1 (0.37%) Sage 200
2 1 (0.37%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 42 (15.38%) AWS
2 39 (14.29%) Azure
3 36 (13.19%) Power Platform
4 16 (5.86%) Power Automate
5 15 (5.49%) Microsoft Copilot
6 13 (4.76%) PowerApps
7 11 (4.03%) GitHub
7 11 (4.03%) Microsoft 365
8 10 (3.66%) Azure DevOps
9 8 (2.93%) Copilot Studio
9 8 (2.93%) GitHub Actions
9 8 (2.93%) Serverless
10 7 (2.56%) Azure AI
10 7 (2.56%) OneDrive
11 6 (2.20%) GitHub Copilot
11 6 (2.20%) Google Gemini
12 5 (1.83%) Anthropic Claude
12 5 (1.83%) Dynamics 365
12 5 (1.83%) OpenShift
12 5 (1.83%) SaaS
Communications & Networking
1 7 (2.56%) SD-WAN
1 7 (2.56%) WAN
1 7 (2.56%) Wireless
2 2 (0.73%) Network Security
2 2 (0.73%) SNMP
2 2 (0.73%) TCP/IP
3 1 (0.37%) Firewall
3 1 (0.37%) IPsec
3 1 (0.37%) SSL
3 1 (0.37%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 24 (8.79%) SQL Server
2 23 (8.42%) Power BI
3 20 (7.33%) MongoDB
4 14 (5.13%) Power Query
5 13 (4.76%) Relational Database
6 12 (4.40%) Data Warehouse
7 9 (3.30%) NoSQL
8 8 (2.93%) PostgreSQL
9 5 (1.83%) DataStage
9 5 (1.83%) Db2
10 4 (1.47%) MySQL
11 3 (1.10%) Oracle Database
11 3 (1.10%) SQL Server Integration Services
12 2 (0.73%) Amazon QuickSight
12 2 (0.73%) DocumentDB
12 2 (0.73%) RDBMS
12 2 (0.73%) SAS Visual Analytics
12 2 (0.73%) Star Schema
13 1 (0.37%) SAP BW
13 1 (0.37%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 30 (10.99%) Git
2 14 (5.13%) JIRA
3 13 (4.76%) GitLab
3 13 (4.76%) Jenkins
4 11 (4.03%) Mockito
5 9 (3.30%) Claude Code
6 7 (2.56%) JUnit
7 6 (2.20%) Maven
8 5 (1.83%) SonarQube
9 4 (1.47%) Gradle
10 3 (1.10%) Bitbucket Server
10 3 (1.10%) ClearCase
10 3 (1.10%) Cucumber
10 3 (1.10%) REST Assured
10 3 (1.10%) Sonatype Nexus
11 1 (0.37%) Eclipse
11 1 (0.37%) IntelliJ
11 1 (0.37%) NUnit
11 1 (0.37%) Rational Robot
11 1 (0.37%) Visual Studio
General
1 57 (20.88%) Social Skills
2 35 (12.82%) Public Sector
3 26 (9.52%) Finance
4 22 (8.06%) Banking
5 19 (6.96%) Analytical Skills
6 11 (4.03%) Military
7 5 (1.83%) Manufacturing
8 4 (1.47%) Aerospace
8 4 (1.47%) Legal
8 4 (1.47%) Legal Technology
8 4 (1.47%) Retail
9 2 (0.73%) Front Office
9 2 (0.73%) Investment Banking
10 1 (0.37%) Automotive
10 1 (0.37%) Documentation Skills
10 1 (0.37%) Influencing Skills
10 1 (0.37%) Law
10 1 (0.37%) Local Government
10 1 (0.37%) Marketing
10 1 (0.37%) Organisational Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 31 (11.36%) React
2 29 (10.62%) REST
2 29 (10.62%) Spring
3 28 (10.26%) Spring Boot
4 23 (8.42%) Kafka
5 22 (8.06%) Node.js
6 18 (6.59%) .NET
7 15 (5.49%) HTML
8 14 (5.13%) RESTful
9 13 (4.76%) JSON
10 12 (4.40%) AngularJS
10 12 (4.40%) CSS
11 10 (3.66%) Terraform
12 7 (2.56%) Django
12 7 (2.56%) XML
13 6 (2.20%) ActiveMQ
13 6 (2.20%) JAX-RS
13 6 (2.20%) Lightning Web Components
13 6 (2.20%) Nunjucks
14 5 (1.83%) Redux
Miscellaneous
1 12 (4.40%) Data Structures
2 11 (4.03%) Cloud Native
3 9 (3.30%) Enterprise Software
4 8 (2.93%) AI Agents
4 8 (2.93%) NHS
4 8 (2.93%) Product Ownership
5 6 (2.20%) Algorithms
5 6 (2.20%) Distributed Systems
5 6 (2.20%) Onboarding
6 5 (1.83%) Legacy Systems
6 5 (1.83%) Self-Motivation
7 4 (1.47%) Mobile App
8 3 (1.10%) IoT
9 2 (0.73%) Cyber Threat
9 2 (0.73%) Data Protection Act
9 2 (0.73%) Equities
9 2 (0.73%) Fixed Income
9 2 (0.73%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
9 2 (0.73%) Greenfield Project
10 1 (0.37%) PKI
Operating Systems
1 17 (6.23%) Linux
2 14 (5.13%) Unix
3 4 (1.47%) Apple iOS
4 3 (1.10%) Android
5 2 (0.73%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 2 (0.73%) VMS
5 2 (0.73%) Windows
6 1 (0.37%) Mac OS
6 1 (0.37%) Mac OS X
6 1 (0.37%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 74 (27.11%) Agile
2 65 (23.81%) CI/CD
3 44 (16.12%) Microservices
4 41 (15.02%) DevOps
5 32 (11.72%) AI
6 30 (10.99%) Problem-Solving
6 30 (10.99%) TDD
7 29 (10.62%) Software Engineering
7 29 (10.62%) Test Automation
8 28 (10.26%) Business Intelligence
9 26 (9.52%) Data Modelling
10 24 (8.79%) Mentoring
11 23 (8.42%) SDLC
12 22 (8.06%) Full-Stack Development
13 21 (7.69%) Continuous Improvement
14 19 (6.96%) Code Quality
14 19 (6.96%) Observability
15 18 (6.59%) Analytics
16 16 (5.86%) ETL
16 16 (5.86%) Scrum
Programming Languages
1 74 (27.11%) Java
2 44 (16.12%) SQL
3 33 (12.09%) JavaScript
4 26 (9.52%) C#
5 22 (8.06%) TypeScript
6 17 (6.23%) Python
7 16 (5.86%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 9 (3.30%) Go
9 7 (2.56%) Shell Script
10 6 (2.20%) Apex Code
10 6 (2.20%) PL/SQL
10 6 (2.20%) PowerShell
11 5 (1.83%) Kotlin
12 4 (1.47%) Swift
12 4 (1.47%) T-SQL
13 3 (1.10%) PHP
13 3 (1.10%) VB
13 3 (1.10%) VB6
14 2 (0.73%) Search Processing Language
15 1 (0.37%) Objective-C
Qualifications
1 32 (11.72%) Security Cleared
2 26 (9.52%) SC Cleared
3 19 (6.96%) Degree
4 16 (5.86%) BPSS Clearance
5 7 (2.56%) Computer Science Degree
6 1 (0.37%) Azure Certification
6 1 (0.37%) CTC Cleared
6 1 (0.37%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 13 (4.76%) Data Quality
2 11 (4.03%) QA
3 8 (2.93%) Accessibility
4 4 (1.47%) GRC
5 1 (0.37%) NCSC
5 1 (0.37%) NIST
5 1 (0.37%) WCAG
System Software
1 22 (8.06%) Docker
2 3 (1.10%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 17 (6.23%) Kubernetes
2 9 (3.30%) Ansible
3 1 (0.37%) Grafana
3 1 (0.37%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 34 (12.45%) Microsoft
2 25 (9.16%) Salesforce
3 14 (5.13%) ServiceNow
4 11 (4.03%) Oracle
5 8 (2.93%) IBM
6 5 (1.83%) Splunk
6 5 (1.83%) Teradata
7 4 (1.47%) Atlassian
7 4 (1.47%) OpenAI
7 4 (1.47%) Pega
8 3 (1.10%) Google
8 3 (1.10%) SAP
8 3 (1.10%) Veracode
9 2 (0.73%) Adobe
9 2 (0.73%) Blue Prism
9 2 (0.73%) Cisco
10 1 (0.37%) MuleSoft
10 1 (0.37%) Sage
10 1 (0.37%) Salesforce Marketing Cloud