C Contract Job Trends

C
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring C skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 20 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 408 346 186
Rank change year-on-year -62 -160 +68
Contract jobs citing C 217 178 552
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.47% 0.60% 1.26%
As % of the Programming Languages category 1.69% 1.77% 4.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 64 76 232
10th Percentile £360 £272 £325
25th Percentile £413 £366 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £481 £499 £535
Median % change year-on-year -3.51% -6.78% -6.30%
75th Percentile £550 £625 £588
90th Percentile £626 £675 £706
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £425 £538
% change year-on-year +17.65% -21.00% +7.60%
Number of hourly rates quoted 89 39 192
10th Percentile £60.00 £54.40 £46.25
25th Percentile £65.00 £61.00 £60.00
Median hourly rate £67.50 £72.50 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -6.90% +11.54% +13.04%
75th Percentile £70.00 £85.00 £70.00
90th Percentile - £91.00 £85.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £67.50 £72.50 £65.00
% change year-on-year -6.90% +11.54% -

All Programming Languages
UK

C falls under the Programming Languages category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring coding skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for coding skills 12,866 10,035 12,774
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 27.81% 34.08% 29.26%
Number of daily rates quoted 8,550 6,803 9,074
10th Percentile £355 £358 £350
25th Percentile £413 £415 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £600 £638 £650
90th Percentile £713 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £488
% change year-on-year - -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 550 241 481
10th Percentile £42.44 £22.48 £31.25
25th Percentile £55.00 £35.00 £46.25
Median hourly rate £65.00 £62.50 £60.00
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% +4.17% -1.92%
75th Percentile £70.00 £68.00 £68.75
90th Percentile £77.50 £85.00 £78.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £63.87 £62.50
% change year-on-year +1.77% +2.20% -

C
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing C relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

C job vacancy trend in the UK

C
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing C.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing C

C
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing C over the 6 months to 20 April 2026.

Daily rate histogram for C in the UK

C
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing C.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing C

C
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing C over the 6 months to 20 April 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for C in the UK

C
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing C within the UK over the 6 months to 20 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
England -73 207 £500 - 400
UK excluding London -24 166 £500 +17.65% 395
Work from Home -14 73 £460 -8.00% 122
East of England -5 68 £525 +27.27% 81
South West +3 49 £475 -20.83% 58
London -72 46 £447 -15.26% 44
South East -35 30 £500 - 122
North of England -59 7 £613 - 53
Midlands -68 5 £525 +213.43% 50
Northern Ireland - 5 £425 - 1
West Midlands - 4 £488 - 21
North West - 3 £450 - 24
Scotland -10 2 - - 26
North East -16 2 £625 - 6
Yorkshire -57 2 £613 - 23
Wales -9 1 £460 -12.38% 13
East Midlands -34 1 £525 +213.43% 29

C
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 4 (1.84%) Confluence
2 2 (0.92%) Oracle SOA Suite
2 2 (0.92%) Oracle Workflow
3 1 (0.46%) Apache
3 1 (0.46%) Microsoft Exchange
3 1 (0.46%) SharePoint
Applications
1 9 (4.15%) Simulink
2 4 (1.84%) Microsoft Office
3 1 (0.46%) Microsoft Excel
Business Applications
1 5 (2.30%) BASE24
1 5 (2.30%) Payment Gateway
2 3 (1.38%) Teamcenter
3 1 (0.46%) Actimize
3 1 (0.46%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.46%) Dynamics NAV
3 1 (0.46%) Loan IQ
3 1 (0.46%) Oracle Applications
3 1 (0.46%) Oracle EBS
Cloud Services
1 13 (5.99%) AWS
2 12 (5.53%) Azure
3 8 (3.69%) GitHub
4 5 (2.30%) Azure DevOps
4 5 (2.30%) Power Platform
5 4 (1.84%) GCP
6 3 (1.38%) Amazon S3
6 3 (1.38%) AWS CloudFormation
7 2 (0.92%) Amazon CloudWatch
7 2 (0.92%) Amazon EKS
7 2 (0.92%) AWS IoT
7 2 (0.92%) Azure Monitor
7 2 (0.92%) Dynamics 365
7 2 (0.92%) GitHub Actions
7 2 (0.92%) GitHub Copilot
7 2 (0.92%) IaaS
8 1 (0.46%) Azure AKS
8 1 (0.46%) ChatGPT
8 1 (0.46%) Copilot Studio
8 1 (0.46%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 22 (10.14%) Ethernet
2 13 (5.99%) Wireless
3 11 (5.07%) Software-Defined Radio
4 7 (3.23%) TCP/IP
5 6 (2.76%) 3GPP
5 6 (2.76%) Modbus
5 6 (2.76%) RS-232
5 6 (2.76%) RS-485
6 4 (1.84%) Network Security
7 3 (1.38%) 5G
7 3 (1.38%) 5G NR
7 3 (1.38%) Bluetooth
7 3 (1.38%) DNS
7 3 (1.38%) LTE
7 3 (1.38%) MVNO
7 3 (1.38%) RS-422
7 3 (1.38%) SMPP
7 3 (1.38%) SMS
7 3 (1.38%) SpaceWire
7 3 (1.38%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 6 (2.76%) NonStop SQL
2 5 (2.30%) OLTP
2 5 (2.30%) Power BI
3 4 (1.84%) SQL Server
4 3 (1.38%) PostgreSQL
4 3 (1.38%) Tableau
5 2 (0.92%) Data Warehouse
5 2 (0.92%) Metadata
5 2 (0.92%) MongoDB
5 2 (0.92%) NoSQL
5 2 (0.92%) Oracle Database
6 1 (0.46%) Amazon Athena
6 1 (0.46%) Amazon Redshift
6 1 (0.46%) Apache Cassandra
6 1 (0.46%) Apache Hudi
6 1 (0.46%) Apache Iceberg
6 1 (0.46%) Azure SQL Database
6 1 (0.46%) Data Lake
6 1 (0.46%) MySQL
6 1 (0.46%) Oracle Exadata
Development Applications
1 27 (12.44%) Rational DOORS
2 22 (10.14%) Git
3 17 (7.83%) JIRA
4 16 (7.37%) Rational Rhapsody
5 8 (3.69%) GitLab
5 8 (3.69%) PVCS
6 6 (2.76%) Visual Studio
7 3 (1.38%) Subversion
8 2 (0.92%) Jenkins
9 1 (0.46%) Appium
9 1 (0.46%) Atlassian Bamboo
9 1 (0.46%) CMake
9 1 (0.46%) Crashlytics
9 1 (0.46%) Cucumber
9 1 (0.46%) ER Studio
9 1 (0.46%) fastlane
9 1 (0.46%) GoogleTest
9 1 (0.46%) Robot Framework
9 1 (0.46%) Selenium
9 1 (0.46%) SonarQube
General
1 43 (19.82%) Social Skills
2 30 (13.82%) Electronics
3 25 (11.52%) Aerospace
4 19 (8.76%) Analytical Skills
5 17 (7.83%) Finance
6 13 (5.99%) Documentation Skills
7 12 (5.53%) Law
8 10 (4.61%) Manufacturing
9 7 (3.23%) Banking
10 6 (2.76%) Public Sector
11 4 (1.84%) Automotive
11 4 (1.84%) Avionics
11 4 (1.84%) Games
12 3 (1.38%) Telecoms
13 2 (0.92%) Japanese Language
13 2 (0.92%) Military
13 2 (0.92%) Publishing
14 1 (0.46%) Korean Language
14 1 (0.46%) Local Government
14 1 (0.46%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 87 (40.09%) Software Engineer
2 72 (33.18%) Embedded Engineer
3 49 (22.58%) Embedded Software Engineer
4 34 (15.67%) Developer
5 26 (11.98%) C Software Engineer
6 23 (10.60%) C++ Software Engineer
7 22 (10.14%) C/C++ Software Engineer
8 17 (7.83%) Embedded C Engineer
8 17 (7.83%) Embedded C Software Engineer
9 13 (5.99%) C/C++ Embedded Software Engineer
9 13 (5.99%) Embedded C/C++ Engineer
9 13 (5.99%) Embedded C/C++ Software Engineer
9 13 (5.99%) Embedded C++ Engineer
9 13 (5.99%) Embedded C++ Software Engineer
10 12 (5.53%) Lead
10 12 (5.53%) Senior
11 10 (4.61%) Software Developer
11 10 (4.61%) Validation Engineer
12 9 (4.15%) FPGA Engineer
12 9 (4.15%) Test Leader
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (5.07%) Yocto
2 7 (3.23%) .NET
2 7 (3.23%) Middleware
3 6 (2.76%) WinForms
4 4 (1.84%) HTML
5 3 (1.38%) ARM Templates
5 3 (1.38%) Itk
5 3 (1.38%) Kafka
5 3 (1.38%) REST
6 2 (0.92%) Flash
6 2 (0.92%) HTML5
6 2 (0.92%) JSON
6 2 (0.92%) Qt
7 1 (0.46%) GStreamer
7 1 (0.46%) J2EE
7 1 (0.46%) NumPy
7 1 (0.46%) SciPy
7 1 (0.46%) WCF
7 1 (0.46%) Web Services
7 1 (0.46%) WPF
Miscellaneous
1 39 (17.97%) Embedded Systems
2 37 (17.05%) FPGA
3 18 (8.29%) PCIe
4 14 (6.45%) VHDL
5 9 (4.15%) Algorithms
6 8 (3.69%) Verilog
7 7 (3.23%) IoT
8 6 (2.76%) Device Driver
8 6 (2.76%) Tandem
9 5 (2.30%) Data Centre
9 5 (2.30%) EMV
10 4 (1.84%) Cloud Native
10 4 (1.84%) MicroBlaze
10 4 (1.84%) RISC-V
11 3 (1.38%) Cyber Threat
11 3 (1.38%) Java Card
11 3 (1.38%) Legacy Systems
12 2 (0.92%) Data Structures
12 2 (0.92%) Legacy Code
12 2 (0.92%) Video\Live Streaming
Operating Systems
1 51 (23.50%) Linux
2 17 (7.83%) Embedded Linux
3 11 (5.07%) FreeRTOS
3 11 (5.07%) Windows
4 3 (1.38%) Unix
5 1 (0.46%) Apple iOS
5 1 (0.46%) Debian
5 1 (0.46%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 118 (54.38%) Software Engineering
2 43 (19.82%) Validation
3 38 (17.51%) Problem-Solving
4 32 (14.75%) Test Automation
5 29 (13.36%) CI/CD
5 29 (13.36%) Workflow
6 21 (9.68%) Signal Processing
7 18 (8.29%) DevOps
8 17 (7.83%) Embedded Software Development
8 17 (7.83%) Workflow Management
9 16 (7.37%) Digital Signal Processing
9 16 (7.37%) Requirements Analysis
9 16 (7.37%) Unit Testing
9 16 (7.37%) Verification and Validation
10 14 (6.45%) Agile
11 13 (5.99%) Technical Leadership
12 12 (5.53%) Software Testing
13 11 (5.07%) TDD
13 11 (5.07%) Test Strategy
13 11 (5.07%) UML
Programming Languages
1 117 (53.92%) C++
2 52 (23.96%) Python
3 39 (17.97%) Embedded C
4 28 (12.90%) Ada
5 23 (10.60%) SQL
6 21 (9.68%) Embedded C++
7 19 (8.76%) MATLAB
8 18 (8.29%) Java
9 10 (4.61%) Bash
10 7 (3.23%) C#
10 7 (3.23%) PL/SQL
10 7 (3.23%) SystemVerilog
11 6 (2.76%) Rust
12 5 (2.30%) COBOL
12 5 (2.30%) Shell Script
13 4 (1.84%) JavaScript
13 4 (1.84%) ProC
14 2 (0.92%) Perl
14 2 (0.92%) PowerShell
14 2 (0.92%) VB
Qualifications
1 57 (26.27%) Security Cleared
2 43 (19.82%) SC Cleared
3 15 (6.91%) Degree
4 8 (3.69%) BPSS Clearance
4 8 (3.69%) DV Cleared
5 2 (0.92%) CCNA
5 2 (0.92%) Cisco Certification
5 2 (0.92%) Computer Science Degree
5 2 (0.92%) ISTQB
6 1 (0.46%) Azure Certification
6 1 (0.46%) ISTQB Advanced Certification
6 1 (0.46%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
6 1 (0.46%) Six Sigma Black Belt
6 1 (0.46%) Six Sigma Green Belt
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 22 (10.14%) Def Stans
2 11 (5.07%) QA
3 7 (3.23%) DO-178B
3 7 (3.23%) MISRA
4 6 (2.76%) IEC 61508
5 5 (2.30%) ISO 8583
6 4 (1.84%) PCI DSS
7 3 (1.38%) Data Quality
7 3 (1.38%) MIL-STD-1553
8 1 (0.46%) Accessibility
8 1 (0.46%) DICOM
8 1 (0.46%) DO-254
8 1 (0.46%) HL7
8 1 (0.46%) IFRS
8 1 (0.46%) IFRS 9
8 1 (0.46%) ISO 9001
8 1 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 1 (0.46%) MiFID
8 1 (0.46%) MISRA C
8 1 (0.46%) NIST
System Software
1 20 (9.22%) Firmware
2 12 (5.53%) Docker
3 11 (5.07%) VMware Infrastructure
4 10 (4.61%) Virtual Machines
5 6 (2.76%) Embedded Firmware
6 2 (0.92%) Oracle RAC
6 2 (0.92%) vCloud
6 2 (0.92%) VMware NSX
6 2 (0.92%) vSphere
7 1 (0.46%) FreeRADIUS
Systems Management
1 9 (4.15%) Kubernetes
2 8 (3.69%) Terraform
3 3 (1.38%) Ansible
4 2 (0.92%) Prometheus
5 1 (0.46%) Grafana
5 1 (0.46%) HP ALM
5 1 (0.46%) Nagios
Vendors
1 16 (7.37%) IBM
2 11 (5.07%) VMware
3 9 (4.15%) Xilinx
4 8 (3.69%) ANSYS
4 8 (3.69%) Cisco
4 8 (3.69%) Intel
4 8 (3.69%) Oracle
5 7 (3.23%) HP
5 7 (3.23%) MathWorks
5 7 (3.23%) Microsoft
6 5 (2.30%) Microsemi
7 4 (1.84%) Lauterbach
7 4 (1.84%) SAP
8 3 (1.38%) Google
8 3 (1.38%) Thales
9 2 (0.92%) Dell
9 2 (0.92%) Perforce
10 1 (0.46%) Citrix
10 1 (0.46%) EMC
10 1 (0.46%) Veritas