Public Sector Contract Job Trends in Northern Ireland

Public Sector
UK > Northern Ireland

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Public Sector in contract job vacancies in Northern Ireland. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Public Sector over the 6 months leading up to 28 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
28 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 13 14 10
Rank change year-on-year +1 -4 +24
Contract jobs citing Public Sector 24 16 20
As % of all contract jobs in Northern Ireland 9.92% 9.14% 12.42%
As % of the General category 17.52% 12.31% 16.39%
Number of daily rates quoted 8 0 8
10th Percentile £113 - £414
25th Percentile £300 - £527
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 - £536
Median % change year-on-year - - +78.62%
75th Percentile £561 - £613
90th Percentile £609 - £650
UK median daily rate £500 £513 £525
% change year-on-year -2.44% -2.38% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 16 9 3
10th Percentile - - £13.02
25th Percentile £12.31 - £14.19
Median hourly rate £13.60 £15.48 £16.12
Median % change year-on-year -12.14% -3.97% -
75th Percentile £15.62 - -
90th Percentile £19.10 £23.50 -
UK median hourly rate £21.00 £22.00 £21.00
% change year-on-year -4.55% +4.76% +10.53%

All General Skills
Northern Ireland

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 Northern Ireland.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 137 130 122
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Northern Ireland 56.61% 74.29% 75.78%
Number of daily rates quoted 70 56 74
10th Percentile £173 £144 £171
25th Percentile £313 £198 £265
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £463 £375 £445
Median % change year-on-year +23.33% -15.73% -1.11%
75th Percentile £572 £514 £536
90th Percentile £638 £583 £638
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £545
% change year-on-year -4.76% -3.67% -0.91%
Number of hourly rates quoted 24 22 14
10th Percentile £12.31 - £11.43
25th Percentile £13.57 £15.48 £13.23
Median hourly rate £15.67 £24.18 £14.97
Median % change year-on-year -35.22% +61.52% -3.42%
75th Percentile £25.00 £28.17 £16.12
90th Percentile £26.80 £75.85 £18.53
UK median hourly rate £23.54 £27.39 £32.50
% change year-on-year -14.05% -15.74% +30.00%

Public Sector
Job Vacancy Trend in Northern Ireland

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

Public Sector job vacancy trend in Northern Ireland

Public Sector
Daily Rate Trend in Northern Ireland

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Northern Ireland citing Public Sector.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Northern Ireland citing Public Sector

Public Sector
Daily Rate Histogram in Northern Ireland

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Public Sector in Northern Ireland over the 6 months to 28 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Public Sector in Northern Ireland

Public Sector
Hourly Rate Trend in Northern Ireland

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Northern Ireland citing Public Sector.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Northern Ireland citing Public Sector

Public Sector
Hourly Rate Histogram in Northern Ireland

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Public Sector in Northern Ireland over the 6 months to 28 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Public Sector in Northern Ireland

Public Sector
Contract Job Locations in Northern Ireland

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 Northern Ireland region over the 6 months to 28 December 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
County Antrim +10 23 £500 - 23
County Down - 1 £115 -
Public Sector
UK

Public Sector
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Northern Ireland 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 1 (4.17%) SharePoint
Applications
1 9 (37.50%) Microsoft Office
2 7 (29.17%) Microsoft Excel
3 2 (8.33%) Spreadsheet
Cloud Services
1 1 (4.17%) Amazon S3
1 1 (4.17%) AWS
Communications & Networking
1 2 (8.33%) Firewall
1 2 (8.33%) Internet
1 2 (8.33%) Intranet
2 1 (4.17%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (4.17%) Amazon QuickSight
1 1 (4.17%) Data Hub
1 1 (4.17%) Parquet
1 1 (4.17%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 1 (4.17%) JIRA
1 1 (4.17%) Postman
1 1 (4.17%) TestRail
General
1 14 (58.33%) Social Skills
2 8 (33.33%) Finance
3 5 (20.83%) Organisational Skills
3 5 (20.83%) Telecoms
4 3 (12.50%) Electronics
4 3 (12.50%) Manufacturing
4 3 (12.50%) Marketing
5 2 (8.33%) Analytical Skills
6 1 (4.17%) Legal
6 1 (4.17%) Retail
Job Titles
1 6 (25.00%) Information Governance Officer
1 6 (25.00%) Information Officer
2 4 (16.67%) Project Manager
2 4 (16.67%) Support Officer
3 3 (12.50%) Compliance Officer
3 3 (12.50%) Installation Technician
4 2 (8.33%) Project Assistant
4 2 (8.33%) Project Support Assistant
4 2 (8.33%) Senior
4 2 (8.33%) Support Assistant
4 2 (8.33%) Test Manager
5 1 (4.17%) Data Migration Analyst
5 1 (4.17%) Network Consultant
5 1 (4.17%) Python Developer
5 1 (4.17%) Senior Analyst
5 1 (4.17%) Senior Developer
5 1 (4.17%) Senior Python Developer
5 1 (4.17%) Senior Software Developer
5 1 (4.17%) Senior Test Analyst
5 1 (4.17%) Test Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (4.17%) Apache Avro
1 1 (4.17%) JSON
Miscellaneous
1 5 (20.83%) Driving Licence
2 3 (12.50%) Freedom of Information
3 2 (8.33%) Management Information System
4 1 (4.17%) Operational Technology
4 1 (4.17%) SCADA
4 1 (4.17%) Smartphone
Operating Systems
1 2 (8.33%) Windows
2 1 (4.17%) Windows Server
2 1 (4.17%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 10 (41.67%) Mathematics
2 7 (29.17%) Continuous Improvement
3 6 (25.00%) Data Protection
3 6 (25.00%) Data Security
3 6 (25.00%) Informatics
3 6 (25.00%) Information Governance
4 4 (16.67%) Collaborative Working
4 4 (16.67%) Problem-Solving
4 4 (16.67%) Programme Management
4 4 (16.67%) Test Automation
5 3 (12.50%) Business Intelligence
5 3 (12.50%) Collaborative Culture
5 3 (12.50%) Data Analysis
5 3 (12.50%) Digital Marketing
5 3 (12.50%) Project Management
5 3 (12.50%) Records Management
5 3 (12.50%) Service Delivery
5 3 (12.50%) Validation
6 2 (8.33%) Data Collection
6 2 (8.33%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 1 (4.17%) PowerShell
1 1 (4.17%) Python
1 1 (4.17%) SQL
Qualifications
1 9 (37.50%) HND
2 6 (25.00%) Security Cleared
3 5 (20.83%) Degree
3 5 (20.83%) HNC
4 3 (12.50%) SC Cleared
5 2 (8.33%) ISTQB
6 1 (4.17%) CCNP
6 1 (4.17%) Cisco Certification
6 1 (4.17%) DV Cleared
6 1 (4.17%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
6 1 (4.17%) PMI Certification
6 1 (4.17%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 6 (25.00%) GDPR
2 2 (8.33%) SLA
3 1 (4.17%) NIST
3 1 (4.17%) QA
System Software
1 1 (4.17%) Active Directory
1 1 (4.17%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 1 (4.17%) AirWatch
1 1 (4.17%) FortiGate
1 1 (4.17%) HP ALM
Vendors
1 14 (58.33%) Microsoft
2 3 (12.50%) SAP
3 1 (4.17%) Avaya
3 1 (4.17%) Cisco
3 1 (4.17%) Citrix
3 1 (4.17%) HP