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 22 September 2026.

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

6 months to
22 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 26 21 15
Rank change year-on-year -5 -6 +1
Contract jobs requiring a Developer 438 256 394
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 6.64% 7.45% 8.72%
As % of the Job Titles category 7.27% 8.28% 9.44%
Number of daily rates quoted 284 177 273
10th Percentile £310 £313 £326
25th Percentile £413 £380 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £480 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.17% -4.00% -
75th Percentile £600 £550 £619
90th Percentile £675 £625 £650
England median daily rate £520 £507 £525
% change year-on-year +2.56% -3.43% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 57 30 6
10th Percentile £32.06 £32.94 £43.13
25th Percentile £38.25 £50.63 -
Median hourly rate £55.00 £55.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year - -15.38% +10.94%
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% +8.62%

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 6,028 3,091 4,174
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.39% 89.96% 92.37%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,453 1,996 2,492
10th Percentile £303 £204 £245
25th Percentile £431 £363 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £510
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -1.96% +2.00%
75th Percentile £625 £600 £625
90th Percentile £725 £650 £688
England median daily rate £525 £510 £525
% change year-on-year +2.94% -2.86% -3.98%
Number of hourly rates quoted 785 277 299
10th Percentile £15.05 £13.20 £16.00
25th Percentile £21.25 £15.50 £30.00
Median hourly rate £50.00 £25.15 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +98.81% -56.15% +11.01%
75th Percentile £70.00 £57.50 £75.00
90th Percentile £86.37 £72.10 £80.00
England median hourly rate £43.61 £25.15 £46.18
% change year-on-year +73.38% -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 22 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 22 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 22 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 +15 162 £525 +10.53% 41
Thames Valley -34 127 £475 -5.00% 103
Surrey 0 79 £513 -6.82% 35
Berkshire -33 73 £450 -14.29% 70
Buckinghamshire -13 48 £525 +20.00% 19
West Sussex +1 38 £425 +47.57% 21
East Sussex +4 12 £525 +40.00% 12
Sussex - 7 £600 - 3
Oxfordshire -25 6 £525 +27.27% 14
Kent -6 5 £450 +35.85% 26
Middlesex -17 1 - - 6
Developer
England

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

For the 6 months to 22 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.

1 178 (40.64%) Security Cleared
2 141 (32.19%) SC Cleared
3 90 (20.55%) Agile
4 83 (18.95%) SQL
5 79 (18.04%) Oracle
6 73 (16.67%) Azure
7 62 (14.16%) CI/CD
8 60 (13.70%) .NET
8 60 (13.70%) Software Engineering
9 58 (13.24%) DevOps
9 58 (13.24%) DV Cleared
9 58 (13.24%) Java
10 52 (11.87%) Microsoft
11 50 (11.42%) Data Warehouse
12 49 (11.19%) C#
12 49 (11.19%) JavaScript
12 49 (11.19%) Python
12 49 (11.19%) REST
13 45 (10.27%) ETL
13 45 (10.27%) Full-Stack Development
14 44 (10.05%) Analytics
15 43 (9.82%) Problem-Solving
15 43 (9.82%) ServiceNow
16 41 (9.36%) Data Modelling
16 41 (9.36%) Git
16 41 (9.36%) RESTful
17 39 (8.90%) Scrum
18 38 (8.68%) Kubernetes
19 37 (8.45%) Power Platform
19 37 (8.45%) Test Automation

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 22 (5.02%) Oracle Application Server
2 9 (2.05%) Confluence
3 6 (1.37%) Oracle Workflow
4 5 (1.14%) Apache Spark
4 5 (1.14%) CMS
4 5 (1.14%) Documentum
5 4 (0.91%) SharePoint
5 4 (0.91%) Umbraco
6 2 (0.46%) SAS
7 1 (0.23%) Apache
7 1 (0.23%) Kentico
7 1 (0.23%) WordPress
Applications
1 6 (1.37%) CPLEX
2 3 (0.68%) 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 (3.42%) Siebel CRM
2 4 (0.91%) Oracle ERP
3 2 (0.46%) Oracle 11i
3 2 (0.46%) Oracle EBS R12
3 2 (0.46%) ProductWriter
4 1 (0.23%) SAP HR
4 1 (0.23%) SAP PSCD
4 1 (0.23%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 73 (16.67%) Azure
2 37 (8.45%) Power Platform
3 36 (8.22%) Azure DevOps
4 32 (7.31%) AWS
5 23 (5.25%) Power Automate
6 19 (4.34%) Dynamics 365
6 19 (4.34%) PowerApps
7 18 (4.11%) GCP
8 17 (3.88%) GitHub
8 17 (3.88%) OpenShift
8 17 (3.88%) Serverless
9 13 (2.97%) OCI
10 11 (2.51%) Azure Functions
10 11 (2.51%) Azure Logic Apps
11 10 (2.28%) GitHub Actions
12 9 (2.05%) SaaS
13 8 (1.83%) Azure Monitor
14 6 (1.37%) AWS Lambda
14 6 (1.37%) Azure API Management
14 6 (1.37%) Oracle CX
Communications & Networking
1 12 (2.74%) BGP
1 12 (2.74%) IPsec
1 12 (2.74%) LAN
1 12 (2.74%) MPLS
1 12 (2.74%) WAN
2 6 (1.37%) HTTPS
3 2 (0.46%) Firewall
3 2 (0.46%) Software-Defined Radio
3 2 (0.46%) Wireless
4 1 (0.23%) Broadband
4 1 (0.23%) Network Security
4 1 (0.23%) X.509
Database & Business Intelligence
1 50 (11.42%) Data Warehouse
2 28 (6.39%) Oracle ODI
3 26 (5.94%) Oracle Reports
4 23 (5.25%) Power BI
5 22 (5.02%) PostgreSQL
6 21 (4.79%) NoSQL
7 20 (4.57%) SQL Server
8 11 (2.51%) Siebel EIM
9 10 (2.28%) Relational Database
10 8 (1.83%) MongoDB
11 6 (1.37%) DataStage
11 6 (1.37%) DynamoDB
11 6 (1.37%) MySQL
11 6 (1.37%) Oracle Database
12 5 (1.14%) Azure SQL Database
12 5 (1.14%) Big Data
13 4 (0.91%) Couchbase
13 4 (0.91%) GIS
14 3 (0.68%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
14 3 (0.68%) Power Query
Development Applications
1 41 (9.36%) Git
2 19 (4.34%) JIRA
3 12 (2.74%) SonarQube
4 9 (2.05%) Jenkins
5 7 (1.60%) GitLab
6 4 (0.91%) Bitbucket
6 4 (0.91%) JUnit
7 3 (0.68%) Gradle
7 3 (0.68%) Maven
7 3 (0.68%) 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 40 (9.13%) Finance
2 30 (6.85%) Social Skills
3 28 (6.39%) Aerospace
4 21 (4.79%) Public Sector
5 19 (4.34%) Manufacturing
6 13 (2.97%) Analytical Skills
7 9 (2.05%) Law
7 9 (2.05%) Local Government
7 9 (2.05%) Telecoms
8 7 (1.60%) Billing
9 5 (1.14%) Automotive
9 5 (1.14%) Legal
10 4 (0.91%) Banking
10 4 (0.91%) Police
11 3 (0.68%) Aviation
11 3 (0.68%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 3 (0.68%) Publishing
12 2 (0.46%) Retail
13 1 (0.23%) Advertising
13 1 (0.23%) Multimedia
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 60 (13.70%) .NET
2 49 (11.19%) REST
3 41 (9.36%) RESTful
4 30 (6.85%) AngularJS
5 28 (6.39%) React
6 23 (5.25%) JSON
6 23 (5.25%) Kafka
7 20 (4.57%) .NET Core
8 19 (4.34%) .NET Framework
8 19 (4.34%) Terraform
9 17 (3.88%) SOAP
9 17 (3.88%) Spring
10 16 (3.65%) OAuth
11 15 (3.42%) Spring Boot
12 14 (3.20%) CSS
12 14 (3.20%) Entity Framework
12 14 (3.20%) HTML
12 14 (3.20%) Web Services
13 12 (2.74%) Quarkus
14 11 (2.51%) ASP.NET
Miscellaneous
1 15 (3.42%) Cloud Native
1 15 (3.42%) Data Structures
1 15 (3.42%) Distributed Systems
1 15 (3.42%) Product Ownership
2 14 (3.20%) Enterprise Software
3 13 (2.97%) Algorithms
4 6 (1.37%) Onboarding
5 5 (1.14%) Mobile App
6 4 (0.91%) AI Agents
6 4 (0.91%) Legacy Systems
7 3 (0.68%) Data Protection Act
7 3 (0.68%) FMCG
7 3 (0.68%) Motion Graphics
8 2 (0.46%) Animation
8 2 (0.46%) CMDB
8 2 (0.46%) Device Driver
8 2 (0.46%) Embedded Systems
8 2 (0.46%) MicroBlaze
8 2 (0.46%) RISC-V
8 2 (0.46%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 18 (4.11%) Linux
2 13 (2.97%) Unix
3 7 (1.60%) Windows
4 5 (1.14%) Android
5 2 (0.46%) Apple iOS
5 2 (0.46%) Embedded Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 90 (20.55%) Agile
2 62 (14.16%) CI/CD
3 60 (13.70%) Software Engineering
4 58 (13.24%) DevOps
5 45 (10.27%) ETL
5 45 (10.27%) Full-Stack Development
6 44 (10.05%) Analytics
7 43 (9.82%) Problem-Solving
8 41 (9.36%) Data Modelling
9 39 (8.90%) Scrum
10 37 (8.45%) Test Automation
11 35 (7.99%) Performance Tuning
12 34 (7.76%) Business Intelligence
13 32 (7.31%) Microservices
14 28 (6.39%) Unit Testing
14 28 (6.39%) Workflow
15 25 (5.71%) CRM
16 23 (5.25%) SDLC
17 22 (5.02%) Front End Development
18 20 (4.57%) Sprint Planning
Programming Languages
1 83 (18.95%) SQL
2 58 (13.24%) Java
3 49 (11.19%) C#
3 49 (11.19%) JavaScript
3 49 (11.19%) Python
4 22 (5.02%) TypeScript
5 14 (3.20%) PL/SQL
6 10 (2.28%) C
6 10 (2.28%) Go
7 9 (2.05%) X++
8 8 (1.83%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 7 (1.60%) PowerShell
10 5 (1.14%) Apex Code
10 5 (1.14%) Bash
11 4 (0.91%) C++
11 4 (0.91%) Shell Script
12 3 (0.68%) Bicep
13 2 (0.46%) PHP
13 2 (0.46%) VB
14 1 (0.23%) Groovy
Qualifications
1 178 (40.64%) Security Cleared
2 141 (32.19%) SC Cleared
3 58 (13.24%) DV Cleared
4 11 (2.51%) Degree
5 6 (1.37%) Computer Science Degree
5 6 (1.37%) Microsoft Certification
6 4 (0.91%) 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 33 (7.53%) QA
2 13 (2.97%) Data Quality
3 4 (0.91%) GDPR
4 2 (0.46%) Accessibility
4 2 (0.46%) WCAG
5 1 (0.23%) GRC
System Software
1 24 (5.48%) Docker
2 12 (2.74%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.46%) Embedded Firmware
3 2 (0.46%) Firmware
3 2 (0.46%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 38 (8.68%) Kubernetes
2 12 (2.74%) Argo
3 1 (0.23%) Ansible
3 1 (0.23%) Grafana
3 1 (0.23%) Podman
3 1 (0.23%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 79 (18.04%) Oracle
2 52 (11.87%) Microsoft
3 43 (9.82%) ServiceNow
4 26 (5.94%) Siebel
5 15 (3.42%) Salesforce
6 11 (2.51%) Red Hat
7 8 (1.83%) Google
7 8 (1.83%) SAP
8 6 (1.37%) IBM
8 6 (1.37%) MuleSoft
9 4 (0.91%) Adobe
9 4 (0.91%) ESRI
10 3 (0.68%) Splunk
11 2 (0.46%) Ab Initio
11 2 (0.46%) Talend
11 2 (0.46%) Teradata
11 2 (0.46%) Virgin Media
12 1 (0.23%) Databricks
12 1 (0.23%) Snow
12 1 (0.23%) Workday