Public Sector Contract Job Trends in the North West

Public Sector
England > North West

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Public Sector in contract job vacancies in the North West. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Public Sector over the 6 months leading up to 16 April 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 13 12 9
Rank change year-on-year -1 -3 -3
Contract jobs citing Public Sector 315 206 314
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 9.95% 10.68% 11.40%
As % of the General category 17.60% 18.53% 21.39%
Number of daily rates quoted 222 129 207
10th Percentile £335 £335 £350
25th Percentile £400 £413 £430
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £460 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year -8.00% -4.76% +2.44%
75th Percentile £550 £600 £667
90th Percentile £625 £678 £725
England median daily rate £500 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.76% - -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 16 4 33
10th Percentile - £12.88 £12.00
25th Percentile - £14.82 £14.50
Median hourly rate £25.38 £16.01 £16.00
Median % change year-on-year +58.50% +0.08% -20.00%
75th Percentile £25.49 £16.20 £21.00
90th Percentile £44.94 £16.23 £32.77
England median hourly rate £22.50 £22.90 £22.50
% change year-on-year -1.75% +1.78% +12.22%

All General Skills
North West

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 the North West.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 1,790 1,112 1,468
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 56.54% 57.68% 53.28%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,081 675 908
10th Percentile £200 £267 £296
25th Percentile £358 £379 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £489 £500
Median % change year-on-year -7.98% -2.20% -
75th Percentile £563 £586 £588
90th Percentile £638 £683 £698
England median daily rate £500 £525 £538
% change year-on-year -4.76% -2.33% -2.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 163 108 191
10th Percentile £18.00 £13.49 £12.24
25th Percentile £22.68 £19.00 £14.50
Median hourly rate £35.50 £28.75 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year +23.48% +62.25% -31.85%
75th Percentile £59.38 £49.06 £36.72
90th Percentile £77.20 £76.63 £49.00
England median hourly rate £29.00 £28.75 £28.00
% change year-on-year +0.87% +2.68% -20.00%

Public Sector
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

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

Public Sector job vacancy trend in the North West

Public Sector
Daily Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Public Sector.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Public Sector

Public Sector
Daily Rate Histogram in the North West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Public Sector in the North West over the 6 months to 16 April 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Public Sector in the North West

Public Sector
Hourly Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Public Sector.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Public Sector

Public Sector
Hourly Rate Histogram in the North West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Public Sector in the North West over the 6 months to 16 April 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Public Sector in the North West

Public Sector
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 Public Sector within the North West region over the 6 months to 16 April 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 +2 205 £460 -8.00% 84
Cheshire +6 46 £434 +3.64% 9
Merseyside 0 32 £510 -7.27% 7
Cumbria -8 13 £485 -7.62% 4
Lancashire -16 7 £525 -12.50% 26
Public Sector
England

Public Sector
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 (4.44%) SharePoint
2 12 (3.81%) Confluence
2 12 (3.81%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.95%) CMS
4 2 (0.63%) Adobe Experience Manager
4 2 (0.63%) CICS
4 2 (0.63%) OpenStack
4 2 (0.63%) Skype for Business
5 1 (0.32%) Apache
5 1 (0.32%) Jupyter
5 1 (0.32%) SAS
Applications
1 13 (4.13%) Microsoft Office
2 5 (1.59%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (1.27%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 2 (0.63%) Chatbot
4 2 (0.63%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.32%) Adobe Premiere
5 1 (0.32%) Microsoft Project
5 1 (0.32%) Quicktime
Business Applications
1 6 (1.90%) SAP S/4HANA
2 5 (1.59%) Dynamics CRM
3 3 (0.95%) iTrent
4 2 (0.63%) SAP ERP
5 1 (0.32%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.32%) Payment Gateway
5 1 (0.32%) SAP FI
5 1 (0.32%) SAP HR
5 1 (0.32%) SAP PSCD
Cloud Services
1 80 (25.40%) Azure
2 63 (20.00%) AWS
3 30 (9.52%) Microsoft 365
4 23 (7.30%) GitHub
5 21 (6.67%) Serverless
6 20 (6.35%) Power Platform
7 18 (5.71%) GCP
8 17 (5.40%) Dynamics 365
9 14 (4.44%) Entra ID
9 14 (4.44%) Microsoft Copilot
10 13 (4.13%) GitHub Actions
11 12 (3.81%) AWS Lambda
11 12 (3.81%) Azure DevOps
12 9 (2.86%) Amazon S3
12 9 (2.86%) OneDrive
12 9 (2.86%) Power Automate
12 9 (2.86%) PowerApps
13 8 (2.54%) Amazon EKS
13 8 (2.54%) Amazon SQS
14 7 (2.22%) OCI
Communications & Networking
1 18 (5.71%) Firewall
2 9 (2.86%) DNS
3 8 (2.54%) VPN
3 8 (2.54%) WAN
4 7 (2.22%) Wi-Fi
5 6 (1.90%) LAN
6 4 (1.27%) DHCP
6 4 (1.27%) MPLS
6 4 (1.27%) VLAN
7 3 (0.95%) BGP
7 3 (0.95%) Network Security
7 3 (0.95%) OSPF
7 3 (0.95%) SNMP
7 3 (0.95%) TCP/IP
7 3 (0.95%) Wireless
8 2 (0.63%) BIG-IP
8 2 (0.63%) Cisco ASA
8 2 (0.63%) Internet
8 2 (0.63%) TACACS
8 2 (0.63%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 14 (4.44%) MongoDB
2 11 (3.49%) PostgreSQL
3 8 (2.54%) DocumentDB
4 7 (2.22%) MySQL
4 7 (2.22%) Power BI
5 6 (1.90%) NoSQL
5 6 (1.90%) Relational Database
6 5 (1.59%) Looker
6 5 (1.59%) Metadata
6 5 (1.59%) SQL Server
7 4 (1.27%) BigQuery
7 4 (1.27%) Redis
7 4 (1.27%) Tableau
8 3 (0.95%) Data Warehouse
8 3 (0.95%) RDBMS
8 3 (0.95%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 2 (0.63%) Data Mining
9 2 (0.63%) DataStage
9 2 (0.63%) DynamoDB
9 2 (0.63%) Oracle Database
Development Applications
1 30 (9.52%) GitLab
2 22 (6.98%) Git
3 19 (6.03%) JIRA
4 9 (2.86%) Jenkins
5 8 (2.54%) JUnit
5 8 (2.54%) Mocha
5 8 (2.54%) Mockito
5 8 (2.54%) Postman
6 7 (2.22%) CircleCI
6 7 (2.22%) Cypress.io
6 7 (2.22%) SonarQube
7 6 (1.90%) Cucumber
8 3 (0.95%) Selenium
9 2 (0.63%) Jasmine
10 1 (0.32%) Axure RP
10 1 (0.32%) InstallShield
10 1 (0.32%) JMeter
10 1 (0.32%) MSI
10 1 (0.32%) REST Assured
General
1 71 (22.54%) Social Skills
2 34 (10.79%) Finance
3 27 (8.57%) Analytical Skills
4 17 (5.40%) Local Government
5 16 (5.08%) Military
6 11 (3.49%) Banking
7 7 (2.22%) Documentation Skills
8 6 (1.90%) Legal
9 4 (1.27%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 4 (1.27%) Influencing Skills
9 4 (1.27%) Manufacturing
9 4 (1.27%) Organisational Skills
10 3 (0.95%) Marketing
10 3 (0.95%) Presentation Skills
10 3 (0.95%) Telecoms
11 2 (0.63%) Corporate Banking
11 2 (0.63%) Digital Economy
11 2 (0.63%) Electronics
12 1 (0.32%) Digital Health
12 1 (0.32%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 85 (26.98%) Developer
2 38 (12.06%) Java Developer
3 37 (11.75%) Senior
4 34 (10.79%) Lead
5 31 (9.84%) Architect
6 30 (9.52%) Analyst
7 17 (5.40%) Tester
8 16 (5.08%) Full-Stack Developer
9 14 (4.44%) Senior Developer
10 13 (4.13%) DevOps Engineer
10 13 (4.13%) Lead Developer
11 12 (3.81%) Business Analyst
11 12 (3.81%) Designer
11 12 (3.81%) Software Developer
12 11 (3.49%) Technical Architect
13 10 (3.17%) Senior Java Developer
14 9 (2.86%) Administrator
14 9 (2.86%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 8 (2.54%) Security Engineer
15 8 (2.54%) Test Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 37 (11.75%) Spring
2 36 (11.43%) Spring Boot
3 31 (9.84%) Node.js
4 18 (5.71%) React
5 16 (5.08%) REST
6 13 (4.13%) RESTful
7 12 (3.81%) Kafka
8 11 (3.49%) Jest
9 10 (3.17%) Playwright
10 9 (2.86%) AngularJS
10 9 (2.86%) HTML
11 8 (2.54%) CSS
11 8 (2.54%) JAX-RS
11 8 (2.54%) OAuth
11 8 (2.54%) Spring MVC
12 7 (2.22%) ActiveMQ
12 7 (2.22%) Hibernate
13 6 (1.90%) JSON
14 4 (1.27%) OAuth2
14 4 (1.27%) Oracle Fusion
Miscellaneous
1 21 (6.67%) Onboarding
2 18 (5.71%) Product Ownership
3 14 (4.44%) Cloud Native
4 8 (2.54%) Legacy Systems
5 7 (2.22%) Data Centre
5 7 (2.22%) Operational Technology
6 6 (1.90%) Enterprise Software
6 6 (1.90%) NHS
6 6 (1.90%) Public Cloud
7 4 (1.27%) Distributed Systems
7 4 (1.27%) Mobile App
8 3 (0.95%) Housing Association
8 3 (0.95%) Management Information System
8 3 (0.95%) Replication
9 2 (0.63%) Clustering
9 2 (0.63%) e-Learning
9 2 (0.63%) Freedom of Information
9 2 (0.63%) Graphic Design
9 2 (0.63%) Mainframe
9 2 (0.63%) VSAM
Operating Systems
1 23 (7.30%) Linux
2 17 (5.40%) Windows
3 13 (4.13%) Unix
4 7 (2.22%) Mac OS X
4 7 (2.22%) Windows 10
5 5 (1.59%) Mac OS
6 3 (0.95%) AIX
6 3 (0.95%) Android
6 3 (0.95%) Apple iOS
6 3 (0.95%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 2 (0.63%) Solaris
7 2 (0.63%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 98 (31.11%) Agile
2 60 (19.05%) DevOps
3 59 (18.73%) CI/CD
4 53 (16.83%) Microservices
5 47 (14.92%) Test Automation
6 45 (14.29%) Continuous Improvement
7 40 (12.70%) Problem-Solving
8 33 (10.48%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 31 (9.84%) User Experience
10 29 (9.21%) Stakeholder Management
11 28 (8.89%) Migration
12 26 (8.25%) Containerisation
13 25 (7.94%) Change Management
13 25 (7.94%) TDD
14 24 (7.62%) Validation
15 22 (6.98%) Digital Transformation Programme
16 19 (6.03%) Analytics
16 19 (6.03%) Full-Stack Development
16 19 (6.03%) User Research
17 18 (5.71%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 65 (20.63%) Java
2 33 (10.48%) JavaScript
3 21 (6.67%) Python
4 19 (6.03%) TypeScript
5 15 (4.76%) SQL
6 14 (4.44%) PowerShell
7 4 (1.27%) C#
8 3 (0.95%) Go
8 3 (0.95%) Ruby
9 2 (0.63%) Bash
9 2 (0.63%) COBOL
9 2 (0.63%) Kotlin
9 2 (0.63%) Kusto Query Language
9 2 (0.63%) VB
9 2 (0.63%) VBScript
10 1 (0.32%) ABAP
10 1 (0.32%) Bicep
10 1 (0.32%) Perl
10 1 (0.32%) PL/SQL
10 1 (0.32%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 153 (48.57%) Security Cleared
2 68 (21.59%) SC Cleared
3 22 (6.98%) Degree
4 13 (4.13%) BPSS Clearance
5 7 (2.22%) Microsoft Certification
6 6 (1.90%) Computer Science Degree
7 5 (1.59%) Azure Certification
7 5 (1.59%) DV Cleared
8 3 (0.95%) Cisco Certification
8 3 (0.95%) ISTQB
8 3 (0.95%) ITIL Certification
8 3 (0.95%) Master's Degree
9 2 (0.63%) AWS Certification
9 2 (0.63%) CCNA
9 2 (0.63%) CCNP
9 2 (0.63%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 2 (0.63%) MBA
9 2 (0.63%) PMI Certification
9 2 (0.63%) PMP
10 1 (0.32%) CISM
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (10.79%) Accessibility
2 15 (4.76%) Data Quality
3 13 (4.13%) WCAG
4 12 (3.81%) QA
5 8 (2.54%) NIST
6 7 (2.22%) GDPR
7 4 (1.27%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 4 (1.27%) PMO
7 4 (1.27%) SLA
8 3 (0.95%) IFRS
9 2 (0.63%) GRC
9 2 (0.63%) IFRS 17
9 2 (0.63%) PSD2
10 1 (0.32%) CRD IV
10 1 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials
10 1 (0.32%) FINREP
10 1 (0.32%) ISO 20022
10 1 (0.32%) NIST 800
10 1 (0.32%) SEPA
10 1 (0.32%) SOC 2
System Software
1 33 (10.48%) Docker
2 17 (5.40%) Active Directory
3 4 (1.27%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (0.63%) BitLocker
4 2 (0.63%) Hyper-V
4 2 (0.63%) ISA Server
4 2 (0.63%) Virtual Desktop
4 2 (0.63%) vSphere
5 1 (0.32%) GPFS
5 1 (0.32%) NFS
5 1 (0.32%) Oracle RAC
5 1 (0.32%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 33 (10.48%) Kubernetes
1 33 (10.48%) Terraform
2 6 (1.90%) Grafana
3 5 (1.59%) Ansible
4 4 (1.27%) Active Directory Federation Services
4 4 (1.27%) Microsoft Intune
4 4 (1.27%) Prometheus
5 3 (0.95%) SCCM
6 2 (0.63%) Single Sign-On
7 1 (0.32%) Cisco CUCM
7 1 (0.32%) Cisco Prime
7 1 (0.32%) Data Guard
7 1 (0.32%) Failover Clustering
7 1 (0.32%) FortiGate
7 1 (0.32%) Microsoft Clustering
7 1 (0.32%) Nagios
7 1 (0.32%) Norton AntiVirus
7 1 (0.32%) Oracle RMAN
7 1 (0.32%) vRealize
7 1 (0.32%) VxRail
Vendors
1 56 (17.78%) Microsoft
2 22 (6.98%) Oracle
3 14 (4.44%) SAP
4 12 (3.81%) Virgin Media
5 10 (3.17%) ServiceNow
6 9 (2.86%) Cisco
6 9 (2.86%) Google
7 7 (2.22%) Palo Alto
8 6 (1.90%) VMware
9 5 (1.59%) PeopleSoft
10 4 (1.27%) Adobe
10 4 (1.27%) IBM
10 4 (1.27%) Splunk
11 3 (0.95%) Aruba
11 3 (0.95%) F5
11 3 (0.95%) Meraki
11 3 (0.95%) Workday
12 2 (0.63%) Arista
12 2 (0.63%) BeyondTrust
12 2 (0.63%) Thycotic