Developer Contract Job Trends in the South East

Developer
England > South East

The median Developer daily rate in the South East is £500, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 25 September 2026.

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

6 months to
25 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 28 20 15
Rank change year-on-year -8 -5 +3
Contract jobs requiring a Developer 433 268 400
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 6.55% 7.64% 8.79%
As % of the Job Titles category 7.19% 8.49% 9.52%
Number of daily rates quoted 281 188 273
10th Percentile £310 £313 £335
25th Percentile £413 £373 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £600 £550 £619
90th Percentile £675 £608 £650
England median daily rate £520 £508 £525
% change year-on-year +2.46% -3.33% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 54 30 6
10th Percentile £32.06 £32.94 £43.13
25th Percentile £39.63 £50.63 -
Median hourly rate £55.00 £55.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year - -15.38% +9.62%
75th Percentile £60.00 £57.50 -
90th Percentile £70.00 - £76.25
England median hourly rate £55.00 £55.00 £65.00
% change year-on-year - -15.38% +8.33%

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 6,026 3,157 4,201
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.19% 89.94% 92.33%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,439 2,046 2,500
10th Percentile £300 £204 £245
25th Percentile £425 £363 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £508
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -1.48% +1.50%
75th Percentile £625 £589 £625
90th Percentile £721 £650 £688
England median daily rate £525 £510 £525
% change year-on-year +2.94% -2.86% -4.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 791 278 295
10th Percentile £15.05 £13.21 £16.00
25th Percentile £21.13 £15.50 £30.00
Median hourly rate £50.00 £25.15 £57.50
Median % change year-on-year +98.81% -56.26% +11.30%
75th Percentile £70.00 £57.50 £75.00
90th Percentile £86.61 £71.50 £80.00
England median hourly rate £42.50 £25.15 £46.18
% change year-on-year +68.99% -45.54% +2.62%

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 25 September 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 25 September 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 25 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
Hampshire +14 158 £525 +10.53% 52
Thames Valley -33 128 £475 -5.00% 120
Surrey +1 77 £580 +5.45% 42
Berkshire -34 74 £440 -16.19% 77
Buckinghamshire -11 48 £525 +23.53% 21
West Sussex +2 39 £422 +46.35% 23
East Sussex +2 12 £525 +42.86% 19
Sussex - 7 £600 - 4
Oxfordshire -26 6 £525 +27.27% 22
Kent -8 4 £450 +33.33% 34
Middlesex -19 1 - - 3
Developer
England

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

For the 6 months to 25 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 South East region featuring Developer in the job title.

1 170 (39.26%) Security Cleared
2 135 (31.18%) SC Cleared
3 90 (20.79%) Agile
4 81 (18.71%) SQL
5 75 (17.32%) Azure
6 73 (16.86%) Oracle
7 63 (14.55%) CI/CD
8 61 (14.09%) .NET
9 60 (13.86%) Software Engineering
10 58 (13.39%) DevOps
10 58 (13.39%) DV Cleared
11 56 (12.93%) Java
12 54 (12.47%) Microsoft
13 51 (11.78%) JavaScript
13 51 (11.78%) REST
14 50 (11.55%) C#
15 49 (11.32%) Python
16 46 (10.62%) Data Warehouse
16 46 (10.62%) Full-Stack Development
17 43 (9.93%) Problem-Solving
17 43 (9.93%) RESTful
17 43 (9.93%) ServiceNow
18 42 (9.70%) Git
19 40 (9.24%) Analytics
19 40 (9.24%) ETL
20 38 (8.78%) Data Modelling
20 38 (8.78%) Scrum
21 37 (8.55%) Power Platform
21 37 (8.55%) Test Automation
22 36 (8.31%) Azure DevOps

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 18 (4.16%) Oracle Application Server
2 9 (2.08%) Confluence
3 6 (1.39%) Oracle Workflow
4 5 (1.15%) Apache Spark
4 5 (1.15%) CMS
4 5 (1.15%) Documentum
5 4 (0.92%) SharePoint
5 4 (0.92%) Umbraco
6 2 (0.46%) SAS
7 1 (0.23%) Apache
7 1 (0.23%) Kentico
7 1 (0.23%) WordPress
Applications
1 6 (1.39%) CPLEX
2 4 (0.92%) Adobe After Effects
3 2 (0.46%) Adobe Illustrator
3 2 (0.46%) Adobe Premiere
3 2 (0.46%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.23%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.23%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 15 (3.46%) Siebel CRM
2 3 (0.69%) Oracle ERP
3 2 (0.46%) ProductWriter
3 2 (0.46%) Workday HCM
4 1 (0.23%) Oracle 11i
4 1 (0.23%) Oracle EBS R12
4 1 (0.23%) SAP HR
4 1 (0.23%) SAP PSCD
Cloud Services
1 75 (17.32%) Azure
2 37 (8.55%) Power Platform
3 36 (8.31%) Azure DevOps
4 32 (7.39%) AWS
5 23 (5.31%) Power Automate
6 19 (4.39%) Dynamics 365
6 19 (4.39%) PowerApps
7 18 (4.16%) GCP
7 18 (4.16%) Serverless
8 17 (3.93%) GitHub
9 15 (3.46%) OpenShift
10 13 (3.00%) OCI
11 12 (2.77%) Azure Functions
12 11 (2.54%) Azure Logic Apps
13 10 (2.31%) GitHub Actions
14 9 (2.08%) SaaS
15 8 (1.85%) Azure Monitor
16 6 (1.39%) Amazon S3
16 6 (1.39%) AWS Lambda
16 6 (1.39%) Oracle CX
Communications & Networking
1 12 (2.77%) BGP
1 12 (2.77%) IPsec
1 12 (2.77%) LAN
1 12 (2.77%) MPLS
1 12 (2.77%) WAN
2 6 (1.39%) HTTPS
3 2 (0.46%) Firewall
3 2 (0.46%) X.509
4 1 (0.23%) Broadband
4 1 (0.23%) Network Security
4 1 (0.23%) Software-Defined Radio
4 1 (0.23%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 46 (10.62%) Data Warehouse
2 23 (5.31%) Oracle ODI
2 23 (5.31%) Power BI
3 22 (5.08%) PostgreSQL
4 21 (4.85%) NoSQL
4 21 (4.85%) Oracle Reports
4 21 (4.85%) SQL Server
5 11 (2.54%) Relational Database
5 11 (2.54%) Siebel EIM
6 8 (1.85%) MongoDB
7 6 (1.39%) DataStage
7 6 (1.39%) DynamoDB
7 6 (1.39%) MySQL
7 6 (1.39%) Oracle Database
8 5 (1.15%) Azure SQL Database
8 5 (1.15%) Big Data
9 4 (0.92%) BusinessObjects
9 4 (0.92%) Couchbase
9 4 (0.92%) GIS
10 3 (0.69%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
Development Applications
1 42 (9.70%) Git
2 19 (4.39%) JIRA
3 10 (2.31%) SonarQube
4 9 (2.08%) Jenkins
5 7 (1.62%) GitLab
6 4 (0.92%) Bitbucket
6 4 (0.92%) JUnit
7 3 (0.69%) Gradle
7 3 (0.69%) Maven
7 3 (0.69%) NUnit
8 2 (0.46%) SpecFlow
8 2 (0.46%) Team Foundation Server
9 1 (0.23%) Artifactory
9 1 (0.23%) Atlassian Bamboo
9 1 (0.23%) Claude Code
9 1 (0.23%) Cucumber
9 1 (0.23%) Mockito
9 1 (0.23%) Postman
9 1 (0.23%) Subversion
9 1 (0.23%) Visual Studio
General
1 42 (9.70%) Finance
2 29 (6.70%) Social Skills
3 28 (6.47%) Aerospace
4 22 (5.08%) Public Sector
5 19 (4.39%) Manufacturing
6 13 (3.00%) Analytical Skills
7 9 (2.08%) Law
7 9 (2.08%) Local Government
7 9 (2.08%) Telecoms
8 7 (1.62%) Billing
9 5 (1.15%) Automotive
9 5 (1.15%) Legal
10 4 (0.92%) Banking
10 4 (0.92%) Police
11 3 (0.69%) Aviation
11 3 (0.69%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 3 (0.69%) Publishing
12 2 (0.46%) Retail
13 1 (0.23%) Advertising
13 1 (0.23%) Multimedia
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 61 (14.09%) .NET
2 51 (11.78%) REST
3 43 (9.93%) RESTful
4 29 (6.70%) React
5 28 (6.47%) AngularJS
6 25 (5.77%) JSON
7 23 (5.31%) Kafka
8 21 (4.85%) .NET Core
9 19 (4.39%) .NET Framework
9 19 (4.39%) Terraform
10 18 (4.16%) SOAP
11 17 (3.93%) OAuth
11 17 (3.93%) Spring
12 16 (3.70%) Web Services
13 15 (3.46%) CSS
13 15 (3.46%) HTML
13 15 (3.46%) Spring Boot
14 14 (3.23%) Entity Framework
15 11 (2.54%) ASP.NET
15 11 (2.54%) Middleware
Miscellaneous
1 16 (3.70%) Product Ownership
2 15 (3.46%) Cloud Native
2 15 (3.46%) Data Structures
2 15 (3.46%) Distributed Systems
2 15 (3.46%) Enterprise Software
3 13 (3.00%) Algorithms
4 6 (1.39%) Onboarding
5 5 (1.15%) Mobile App
6 4 (0.92%) AI Agents
6 4 (0.92%) Legacy Systems
6 4 (0.92%) Motion Graphics
7 3 (0.69%) Data Protection Act
7 3 (0.69%) FMCG
8 2 (0.46%) Animation
8 2 (0.46%) CMDB
8 2 (0.46%) Virtual Team
9 1 (0.23%) Analytical Mindset
9 1 (0.23%) Legacy Applications
9 1 (0.23%) Legacy Code
9 1 (0.23%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 17 (3.93%) Linux
2 12 (2.77%) Unix
3 7 (1.62%) Windows
4 5 (1.15%) Android
5 2 (0.46%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.23%) Embedded Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 90 (20.79%) Agile
2 63 (14.55%) CI/CD
3 60 (13.86%) Software Engineering
4 58 (13.39%) DevOps
5 46 (10.62%) Full-Stack Development
6 43 (9.93%) Problem-Solving
7 40 (9.24%) Analytics
7 40 (9.24%) ETL
8 38 (8.78%) Data Modelling
8 38 (8.78%) Scrum
9 37 (8.55%) Test Automation
10 33 (7.62%) Business Intelligence
10 33 (7.62%) Microservices
11 30 (6.93%) Performance Tuning
12 28 (6.47%) Workflow
13 26 (6.00%) Unit Testing
14 25 (5.77%) CRM
15 21 (4.85%) Front End Development
15 21 (4.85%) SDLC
16 19 (4.39%) Containerisation
Programming Languages
1 81 (18.71%) SQL
2 56 (12.93%) Java
3 51 (11.78%) JavaScript
4 50 (11.55%) C#
5 49 (11.32%) Python
6 23 (5.31%) TypeScript
7 12 (2.77%) PL/SQL
8 10 (2.31%) Go
9 9 (2.08%) C
9 9 (2.08%) X++
10 8 (1.85%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 7 (1.62%) PowerShell
12 5 (1.15%) Apex Code
12 5 (1.15%) Bash
13 3 (0.69%) Bicep
13 3 (0.69%) C++
13 3 (0.69%) Shell Script
14 2 (0.46%) PHP
14 2 (0.46%) VB
14 2 (0.46%) XPath
Qualifications
1 170 (39.26%) Security Cleared
2 135 (31.18%) SC Cleared
3 58 (13.39%) DV Cleared
4 11 (2.54%) Degree
5 6 (1.39%) Computer Science Degree
5 6 (1.39%) Microsoft Certification
6 4 (0.92%) Azure Certification
7 2 (0.46%) Master's Degree
8 1 (0.23%) AWS Certification
8 1 (0.23%) BPSS Clearance
8 1 (0.23%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (7.39%) QA
2 13 (3.00%) Data Quality
3 4 (0.92%) GDPR
4 2 (0.46%) Accessibility
4 2 (0.46%) WCAG
5 1 (0.23%) GRC
System Software
1 24 (5.54%) Docker
2 12 (2.77%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.46%) Virtual Machines
4 1 (0.23%) Embedded Firmware
4 1 (0.23%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 36 (8.31%) Kubernetes
2 10 (2.31%) Argo
3 1 (0.23%) Ansible
3 1 (0.23%) Grafana
3 1 (0.23%) Podman
3 1 (0.23%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 73 (16.86%) Oracle
2 54 (12.47%) Microsoft
3 43 (9.93%) ServiceNow
4 26 (6.00%) Siebel
5 15 (3.46%) Salesforce
6 9 (2.08%) Red Hat
7 8 (1.85%) Google
7 8 (1.85%) SAP
8 7 (1.62%) MuleSoft
9 6 (1.39%) IBM
10 5 (1.15%) Adobe
11 4 (0.92%) ESRI
12 3 (0.69%) Splunk
13 2 (0.46%) Ab Initio
13 2 (0.46%) Talend
13 2 (0.46%) Teradata
13 2 (0.46%) Virgin Media
13 2 (0.46%) Workday
14 1 (0.23%) Databricks
14 1 (0.23%) Snow