Network Security Contract Job Trends in the North West
Network Security
England > North West
The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the North West requiring Network Security skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 16 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 16 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 81 | 78 | 75 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -3 | -3 | -16 |
| Contract jobs citing Network Security | 112 | 61 | 45 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the North West | 2.77% | 2.72% | 1.86% |
| As % of the Communications & Networking category | 23.24% | 20.89% | 14.47% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 74 | 31 | 32 |
| 10th Percentile | £423 | £363 | £414 |
| 25th Percentile | £478 | £414 | £461 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £545 | £475 | £550 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +14.74% | -13.64% | +2.33% |
| 75th Percentile | £604 | £645 | £678 |
| 90th Percentile | £650 | £750 | £749 |
| England median daily rate | £550 | £529 | £538 |
| % change year-on-year | +4.02% | -1.63% | -2.27% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 10th Percentile | - | £66.19 | - |
| 25th Percentile | £16.50 | £66.85 | - |
| Median hourly rate | £17.00 | £68.33 | - |
| Median % change year-on-year | -75.12% | - | - |
| 75th Percentile | £17.50 | £69.43 | - |
| 90th Percentile | - | £69.87 | - |
| England median hourly rate | £70.63 | £70.16 | £50.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +0.66% | +40.32% | -31.03% |
All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
North West
Network Security falls under the Communications and Computer Networking category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring communications or computer networking skills in the North West.
| 6 months to 16 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills | 482 | 292 | 311 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West | 11.91% | 13.04% | 12.89% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 309 | 172 | 154 |
| 10th Percentile | £200 | £147 | £254 |
| 25th Percentile | £325 | £325 | £413 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £474 | £438 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +8.34% | -12.50% | +1.42% |
| 75th Percentile | £575 | £538 | £581 |
| 90th Percentile | £627 | £680 | £688 |
| England median daily rate | £500 | £485 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | +3.09% | -3.00% | - |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 16 | 15 | 9 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.49 | - | £24.61 |
| 25th Percentile | £17.06 | £15.50 | £35.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £17.50 | £19.00 | £48.56 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -7.89% | -60.87% | +191.13% |
| 75th Percentile | £34.50 | £34.97 | £51.91 |
| 90th Percentile | £66.26 | £67.25 | £52.02 |
| England median hourly rate | £38.72 | £34.00 | £57.38 |
| % change year-on-year | +13.88% | -40.74% | +1.57% |
Network Security Job Vacancy Trend in the North West
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Network Security relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West.
Network Security Daily Rate Trend in the North West
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Network Security.
Network Security Daily Rate Histogram in the North West
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Network Security in the North West over the 6 months to 16 October 2026.
Network Security Hourly Rate Trend in the North West
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Network Security.
Network Security 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 Network Security within the North West region over the 6 months to 16 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 |
Matching Contract IT Job Ads |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | +6 | 35 | £560 | +17.79% | 1 |
| Manchester | -19 | 35 | £550 | -7.33% | 23 |
| Cumbria | - | 25 | £520 | - | |
| Merseyside | -15 | 11 | £600 | +71.43% | 5 |
| Lancashire | -22 | 6 | £438 | +16.67% | 7 |
| Network Security England |
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Network Security Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North West 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.
Communications & Networking
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Firewall | 62.5% | 70 |
| 2 | VPN | 33.0% | 37 |
| 3 | Wireless | 27.7% | 31 |
| 4 | WAN | 24.1% | 27 |
| 5 | LAN | 19.6% | 22 |
| 6 | DNS | 17.9% | 20 |
| 7 | F5 BIG-IP LTM | 12.5% | 14 |
| 8 | Broadband | 11.6% | 13 |
| 8 | Converged Networks | 11.6% | 13 |
| 8 | F5 BIG-IP GTM | 11.6% | 13 |
| 11 | BGP | 8.9% | 10 |
| 11 | DMZ | 8.9% | 10 |
| 13 | BIG-IP | 8.0% | 9 |
| 13 | OSPF | 8.0% | 9 |
| 15 | Cisco ASA | 5.4% | 6 |
| 15 | TCP/IP | 5.4% | 6 |
| 15 | Wi-Fi | 5.4% | 6 |
| 18 | Internet | 3.6% | 4 |
| 18 | MPLS | 3.6% | 4 |
| 18 | SD-WAN | 3.6% | 4 |