Developer Contract Job Trends in the South East

Developer
England > South East

The median Developer daily rate in the South East is £513, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 13 July 2026.

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

6 months to
13 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 18 12
Rank change year-on-year -4 -6 -1
Contract jobs requiring a Developer 464 270 522
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 7.15% 7.97% 9.33%
As % of the Job Titles category 7.78% 8.78% 10.10%
Number of daily rates quoted 320 196 382
10th Percentile £321 £321 £350
25th Percentile £413 £407 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% - -
75th Percentile £600 £575 £600
90th Percentile £654 £625 £660
England median daily rate £516 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -1.67% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 29 16 19
10th Percentile £25.00 - £35.00
25th Percentile £34.01 £32.94 £46.25
Median hourly rate £50.00 £37.24 £58.91
Median % change year-on-year +34.27% -36.78% -12.73%
75th Percentile £67.50 £55.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £71.75 £66.10 £78.89
England median hourly rate £48.40 £47.12 £62.50
% change year-on-year +2.72% -24.61% +4.17%

All Contract IT Job Roles
South East

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in the South East. 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 South East with a recognized job title 5,961 3,075 5,169
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.89% 90.79% 92.40%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,572 1,990 3,052
10th Percentile £303 £213 £250
25th Percentile £425 £375 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £513
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -2.44% +2.50%
75th Percentile £619 £600 £628
90th Percentile £706 £661 £692
England median daily rate £525 £513 £525
% change year-on-year +2.44% -2.38% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 639 235 503
10th Percentile £16.33 £14.20 £13.00
25th Percentile £25.89 £15.50 £19.00
Median hourly rate £52.43 £28.00 £54.88
Median % change year-on-year +87.23% -48.97% +11.99%
75th Percentile £78.75 £62.24 £70.00
90th Percentile £88.00 £75.30 £80.00
England median hourly rate £45.56 £28.50 £40.00
% change year-on-year +59.84% -28.75% -6.98%

Developer
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

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 South East.

Developer job vacancy trend in the South East

Developer
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in the South East.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in the South East

Developer
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Developer in the South East over the 6 months to 13 July 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Developer in the South East

Developer
Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in the South East.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Developer job vacancies in the South East

Developer
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Developer in the South East over the 6 months to 13 July 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Developer in the South East

Developer
Contract Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Developer within the South East region over the 6 months to 13 July 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
Thames Valley -19 173 £525 - 50
Hampshire +5 144 £525 +8.25% 43
Berkshire -26 90 £473 -14.09% 29
Buckinghamshire -2 78 £525 +10.53% 9
Surrey +6 66 £513 -0.29% 35
West Sussex +9 45 £425 +38.66% 17
Sussex - 15 £475 - 10
Kent +4 9 £450 -5.26% 24
East Sussex -4 8 £525 +16.67% 11
Oxfordshire -30 5 £625 +51.52% 12
Home Counties - 1 - -
Developer
England

Developer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East

For the 6 months to 13 July 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 South East region featuring Developer in the job title.

1 214 (46.12%) Security Cleared
2 174 (37.50%) SC Cleared
3 94 (20.26%) Azure
4 93 (20.04%) SQL
5 92 (19.83%) Agile
6 82 (17.67%) Oracle
7 79 (17.03%) CI/CD
8 77 (16.59%) Java
9 75 (16.16%) DevOps
10 71 (15.30%) .NET
11 63 (13.58%) Python
12 58 (12.50%) JavaScript
13 57 (12.28%) Git
14 55 (11.85%) Software Engineering
15 54 (11.64%) C#
16 53 (11.42%) DV Cleared
17 52 (11.21%) Microservices
18 51 (10.99%) REST
19 49 (10.56%) Problem-Solving
20 48 (10.34%) RESTful
21 47 (10.13%) Full-Stack Development
22 45 (9.70%) AWS
23 43 (9.27%) Data Modelling
24 42 (9.05%) Analytics
24 42 (9.05%) ETL
24 42 (9.05%) React
24 42 (9.05%) ServiceNow
25 41 (8.84%) Azure DevOps
25 41 (8.84%) Kubernetes
26 40 (8.62%) Scrum

Developer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 17 (3.66%) Oracle Application Server
2 7 (1.51%) Apache Spark
3 6 (1.29%) CMS
3 6 (1.29%) Confluence
3 6 (1.29%) Oracle Workflow
4 5 (1.08%) Documentum
4 5 (1.08%) Umbraco
5 4 (0.86%) IIS
6 2 (0.43%) Apache
6 2 (0.43%) SAS
6 2 (0.43%) SharePoint
7 1 (0.22%) Appian
7 1 (0.22%) BizTalk Server
7 1 (0.22%) JBoss
7 1 (0.22%) Kentico
7 1 (0.22%) OpenStack
7 1 (0.22%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.22%) Tomcat
7 1 (0.22%) WebLogic
7 1 (0.22%) WordPress
Applications
1 9 (1.94%) CPLEX
2 2 (0.43%) Microsoft Excel
2 2 (0.43%) Oracle Smart View
2 2 (0.43%) Spreadsheet
3 1 (0.22%) Chatbot
Business Applications
1 15 (3.23%) Siebel CRM
2 10 (2.16%) Oracle ERP
3 5 (1.08%) Oracle 11i
3 5 (1.08%) Oracle EBS R12
4 2 (0.43%) ProductWriter
4 2 (0.43%) SAP HR
4 2 (0.43%) SAP PSCD
5 1 (0.22%) Oracle EBS
Cloud Services
1 94 (20.26%) Azure
2 45 (9.70%) AWS
3 41 (8.84%) Azure DevOps
4 24 (5.17%) Power Platform
5 23 (4.96%) GCP
6 17 (3.66%) Dynamics 365
6 17 (3.66%) OpenShift
6 17 (3.66%) Serverless
7 16 (3.45%) GitHub
8 15 (3.23%) OCI
9 12 (2.59%) Power Automate
10 11 (2.37%) Amazon S3
10 11 (2.37%) GitHub Actions
11 9 (1.94%) Azure Functions
12 8 (1.72%) Azure Logic Apps
13 7 (1.51%) AWS Lambda
13 7 (1.51%) PowerApps
13 7 (1.51%) SaaS
14 6 (1.29%) Google App Engine
14 6 (1.29%) Oracle CX
Communications & Networking
1 10 (2.16%) BGP
1 10 (2.16%) IPsec
1 10 (2.16%) LAN
1 10 (2.16%) MPLS
1 10 (2.16%) WAN
2 4 (0.86%) HTTPS
3 2 (0.43%) Firewall
3 2 (0.43%) Software-Defined Radio
3 2 (0.43%) Wireless
4 1 (0.22%) HTTP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 35 (7.54%) Data Warehouse
2 34 (7.33%) Oracle Reports
2 34 (7.33%) PostgreSQL
3 23 (4.96%) SQL Server
4 22 (4.74%) NoSQL
4 22 (4.74%) Oracle ODI
5 17 (3.66%) Relational Database
6 16 (3.45%) Power BI
7 15 (3.23%) Oracle BI Publisher
8 13 (2.80%) MongoDB
9 11 (2.37%) Siebel EIM
10 8 (1.72%) Big Data
10 8 (1.72%) DynamoDB
11 7 (1.51%) Oracle Database
12 6 (1.29%) MySQL
13 5 (1.08%) DataStage
13 5 (1.08%) SQL Server Integration Services
14 4 (0.86%) GIS
15 3 (0.65%) Azure SQL Database
15 3 (0.65%) Power Query
Development Applications
1 57 (12.28%) Git
2 17 (3.66%) JIRA
3 14 (3.02%) Jenkins
4 10 (2.16%) GitLab
4 10 (2.16%) Maven
4 10 (2.16%) Visual Studio
5 9 (1.94%) SonarQube
6 8 (1.72%) JUnit
7 6 (1.29%) Bitbucket
7 6 (1.29%) Gradle
8 4 (0.86%) Eclipse
8 4 (0.86%) NUnit
8 4 (0.86%) Postman
8 4 (0.86%) Subversion
9 3 (0.65%) Mockito
10 2 (0.43%) fastlane
10 2 (0.43%) Selenium
10 2 (0.43%) SpecFlow
10 2 (0.43%) Team Foundation Server
11 1 (0.22%) Storybook
General
1 41 (8.84%) Social Skills
2 40 (8.62%) Finance
3 30 (6.47%) Public Sector
4 20 (4.31%) Analytical Skills
5 14 (3.02%) Aerospace
6 11 (2.37%) Manufacturing
7 10 (2.16%) Telecoms
8 9 (1.94%) Law
9 7 (1.51%) Automotive
9 7 (1.51%) Billing
10 5 (1.08%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 5 (1.08%) Legal
10 5 (1.08%) Local Government
11 3 (0.65%) Police
12 2 (0.43%) Presentation Skills
12 2 (0.43%) Publishing
12 2 (0.43%) Retail
13 1 (0.22%) Advertising
13 1 (0.22%) Banking
13 1 (0.22%) Organisational Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 71 (15.30%) .NET
2 51 (10.99%) REST
3 48 (10.34%) RESTful
4 42 (9.05%) React
5 30 (6.47%) Kafka
6 29 (6.25%) AngularJS
7 27 (5.82%) JSON
8 26 (5.60%) Spring
9 23 (4.96%) CSS
10 22 (4.74%) Spring Boot
11 21 (4.53%) .NET Framework
12 20 (4.31%) SOAP
13 18 (3.88%) HTML
14 15 (3.23%) .NET Core
14 15 (3.23%) Entity Framework
15 14 (3.02%) OAuth
16 13 (2.80%) Swagger
17 12 (2.59%) ASP.NET
18 11 (2.37%) OpenAPI
18 11 (2.37%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 23 (4.96%) Data Structures
2 20 (4.31%) Distributed Systems
3 18 (3.88%) Algorithms
3 18 (3.88%) Cloud Native
4 17 (3.66%) Product Ownership
5 15 (3.23%) Enterprise Software
6 8 (1.72%) Data Centre
6 8 (1.72%) Mobile App
7 6 (1.29%) Legacy Systems
8 5 (1.08%) Distributed Architecture
9 3 (0.65%) CMDB
9 3 (0.65%) FMCG
9 3 (0.65%) Onboarding
9 3 (0.65%) Virtual Team
10 2 (0.43%) AI Agents
10 2 (0.43%) Device Driver
10 2 (0.43%) Embedded Systems
10 2 (0.43%) MicroBlaze
10 2 (0.43%) RISC-V
11 1 (0.22%) Legacy Code
Operating Systems
1 22 (4.74%) Linux
2 14 (3.02%) Windows
3 13 (2.80%) Unix
4 8 (1.72%) Android
5 5 (1.08%) Apple iOS
6 2 (0.43%) Embedded Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 92 (19.83%) Agile
2 79 (17.03%) CI/CD
3 75 (16.16%) DevOps
4 55 (11.85%) Software Engineering
5 52 (11.21%) Microservices
6 49 (10.56%) Problem-Solving
7 47 (10.13%) Full-Stack Development
8 43 (9.27%) Data Modelling
9 42 (9.05%) Analytics
9 42 (9.05%) ETL
10 40 (8.62%) Scrum
11 38 (8.19%) Performance Tuning
12 36 (7.76%) Unit Testing
13 35 (7.54%) Business Intelligence
14 32 (6.90%) Containerisation
14 32 (6.90%) Test Automation
15 28 (6.03%) Workflow
16 25 (5.39%) TDD
17 24 (5.17%) CRM
17 24 (5.17%) Front End Development
Programming Languages
1 93 (20.04%) SQL
2 77 (16.59%) Java
3 63 (13.58%) Python
4 58 (12.50%) JavaScript
5 54 (11.64%) C#
6 27 (5.82%) TypeScript
7 21 (4.53%) Go
8 13 (2.80%) PL/SQL
9 11 (2.37%) C
10 9 (1.94%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 9 (1.94%) Kotlin
11 8 (1.72%) C++
11 8 (1.72%) X++
12 4 (0.86%) Apex Code
12 4 (0.86%) Bash
12 4 (0.86%) PHP
12 4 (0.86%) PowerShell
13 3 (0.65%) Shell Script
13 3 (0.65%) Swift
14 2 (0.43%) Objective-C
Qualifications
1 214 (46.12%) Security Cleared
2 174 (37.50%) SC Cleared
3 53 (11.42%) DV Cleared
4 11 (2.37%) Degree
5 8 (1.72%) Computer Science Degree
6 3 (0.65%) Microsoft Certification
7 2 (0.43%) Azure Certification
7 2 (0.43%) BPSS Clearance
8 1 (0.22%) AWS Certification
8 1 (0.22%) AWS Certified Developer
8 1 (0.22%) DBS Check
8 1 (0.22%) Master's Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 28 (6.03%) QA
2 6 (1.29%) Data Quality
3 5 (1.08%) GDPR
3 5 (1.08%) WCAG
4 4 (0.86%) Accessibility
5 2 (0.43%) COBIT
5 2 (0.43%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 2 (0.43%) NIST
6 1 (0.22%) GRC
System Software
1 33 (7.11%) Docker
2 9 (1.94%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.43%) Embedded Firmware
3 2 (0.43%) Firmware
3 2 (0.43%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 41 (8.84%) Kubernetes
2 13 (2.80%) Terraform
3 9 (1.94%) Argo
4 3 (0.65%) Single Sign-On
5 2 (0.43%) Grafana
5 2 (0.43%) Prometheus
6 1 (0.22%) Ansible
6 1 (0.22%) Podman
Vendors
1 82 (17.67%) Oracle
2 42 (9.05%) ServiceNow
3 35 (7.54%) Microsoft
4 28 (6.03%) Siebel
5 11 (2.37%) Salesforce
6 9 (1.94%) SAP
7 8 (1.72%) Red Hat
8 6 (1.29%) Google
8 6 (1.29%) Splunk
9 5 (1.08%) Atlassian
9 5 (1.08%) Blue Prism
9 5 (1.08%) IBM
10 4 (0.86%) Ab Initio
10 4 (0.86%) ESRI
10 4 (0.86%) Teradata
11 3 (0.65%) Databricks
11 3 (0.65%) Informatica
12 2 (0.43%) Adobe
12 2 (0.43%) Cognos
12 2 (0.43%) HP