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 5 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
5 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 378 280 198
Rank change year-on-year -98 -82 +81
Contract jobs citing C 205 323 547
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.56% 0.89% 1.22%
As % of the Programming Languages category 1.78% 2.76% 3.94%
Number of daily rates quoted 67 125 241
10th Percentile £68 £400 £325
25th Percentile £390 £454 £431
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £523 £550
Median % change year-on-year -4.31% -5.00% -8.33%
75th Percentile £600 £638 £638
90th Percentile £657 £810 £785
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £500 £525
% change year-on-year - -4.76% -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 58 47 146
10th Percentile £52.00 £51.15 £51.75
25th Percentile £65.00 £60.13 £57.50
Median hourly rate £67.50 £65.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year +3.85% - +12.07%
75th Percentile £73.44 £85.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £75.38 £95.00 £90.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £67.50 £67.50 £65.00
% change year-on-year - +3.85% -

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 11,501 11,708 13,887
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 31.51% 32.41% 30.87%
Number of daily rates quoted 7,590 7,500 9,878
10th Percentile £345 £350 £363
25th Percentile £413 £425 £433
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £503 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year -4.24% -4.55% -2.65%
75th Percentile £619 £650 £650
90th Percentile £725 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £495 £500
% change year-on-year -4.04% -1.00% -3.85%
Number of hourly rates quoted 346 286 430
10th Percentile £30.13 £22.00 £31.48
25th Percentile £48.75 £40.19 £47.50
Median hourly rate £63.75 £63.00 £60.50
Median % change year-on-year +1.19% +4.13% -3.20%
75th Percentile £68.00 £69.45 £70.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £76.25 £78.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £65.00

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 5 December 2025.

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 5 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for C in the UK

C
Top 14 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 5 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
England -115 183 £500 -4.31% 436
UK excluding London -71 152 £500 - 445
East of England -6 63 £475 -11.63% 124
Work from Home -36 46 £475 -5.00% 192
South West -26 45 £500 -0.20% 79
London -55 41 £559 -1.32% 37
Scotland +19 17 £438 - 27
North of England -46 13 £475 +5.67% 57
South East -43 11 £500 +6.95% 136
North West -23 8 £463 +4.17% 28
Yorkshire -31 5 £500 -28.57% 21
Midlands -33 3 - - 49
East Midlands - 2 - - 19
West Midlands -33 1 - - 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 16 (7.80%) WebLogic
2 15 (7.32%) WebSphere
3 4 (1.95%) Confluence
4 2 (0.98%) OpenStack
5 1 (0.49%) Apache
5 1 (0.49%) Microsoft Exchange
5 1 (0.49%) nginx
5 1 (0.49%) SharePoint
5 1 (0.49%) Tuxedo
Applications
1 16 (7.80%) Simulink
2 9 (4.39%) Microsoft Office
3 6 (2.93%) Stateflow
4 5 (2.44%) Microsoft Excel
4 5 (2.44%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 2 (0.98%) Teamcenter
2 1 (0.49%) Actimize
2 1 (0.49%) Dynamics NAV
Cloud Services
1 23 (11.22%) AWS
2 20 (9.76%) Azure
3 16 (7.80%) GitHub
4 12 (5.85%) GCP
5 5 (2.44%) OpenShift
6 4 (1.95%) Amazon S3
7 3 (1.46%) Amazon ECS
7 3 (1.46%) Amazon EKS
7 3 (1.46%) AWS CloudFormation
7 3 (1.46%) AWS Lambda
7 3 (1.46%) IaaS
7 3 (1.46%) Serverless
8 2 (0.98%) Cloud Computing
8 2 (0.98%) Dynamics 365
8 2 (0.98%) npm
8 2 (0.98%) PaaS
8 2 (0.98%) SaaS
9 1 (0.49%) Amazon CloudWatch
9 1 (0.49%) Amazon EC2
9 1 (0.49%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 9 (4.39%) Ethernet
2 7 (3.41%) RS-232
3 5 (2.44%) SpaceWire
4 4 (1.95%) TCP/IP
5 3 (1.46%) 3GPP
5 3 (1.46%) Firewall
5 3 (1.46%) HTTP
5 3 (1.46%) Wi-Fi
6 2 (0.98%) AMQP
6 2 (0.98%) Anycast
6 2 (0.98%) BGP
6 2 (0.98%) Bluetooth
6 2 (0.98%) DNS
6 2 (0.98%) Modbus
6 2 (0.98%) Network Security
6 2 (0.98%) Radio Access Network
6 2 (0.98%) RS-485
6 2 (0.98%) Software-Defined Networking
6 2 (0.98%) VXLAN
6 2 (0.98%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 9 (4.39%) Oracle Database
2 3 (1.46%) Elasticsearch
3 2 (0.98%) Amazon RDS
3 2 (0.98%) Big Data
3 2 (0.98%) Data Lake
3 2 (0.98%) HPCC
3 2 (0.98%) InfluxDB
3 2 (0.98%) MongoDB
3 2 (0.98%) PostgreSQL
3 2 (0.98%) RDBMS
3 2 (0.98%) Relational Database
4 1 (0.49%) Metadata
4 1 (0.49%) MySQL
4 1 (0.49%) NonStop SQL
4 1 (0.49%) SQL Server
Development Applications
1 19 (9.27%) Rational DOORS
2 18 (8.78%) Git
3 12 (5.85%) Jenkins
4 10 (4.88%) JIRA
5 9 (4.39%) ClearCase
6 8 (3.90%) GitLab
7 6 (2.93%) Gradle
7 6 (2.93%) Rational Team Concert
8 5 (2.44%) Rational Rhapsody
9 4 (1.95%) Artifactory
9 4 (1.95%) Clang
9 4 (1.95%) GCC
9 4 (1.95%) Maven
9 4 (1.95%) PVCS
9 4 (1.95%) Visual Studio
10 3 (1.46%) Bitbucket
10 3 (1.46%) KGDB
10 3 (1.46%) Xcode
11 2 (0.98%) CMake
12 1 (0.49%) Polyspace
General
1 34 (16.59%) Social Skills
2 30 (14.63%) Electronics
3 22 (10.73%) Finance
4 20 (9.76%) Aerospace
5 18 (8.78%) Analytical Skills
6 16 (7.80%) Public Sector
7 12 (5.85%) Law
8 10 (4.88%) Telecoms
9 7 (3.41%) Documentation Skills
9 7 (3.41%) Manufacturing
9 7 (3.41%) Military
10 6 (2.93%) Banking
10 6 (2.93%) Marketing
11 5 (2.44%) Aviation
12 4 (1.95%) Financial Institution
13 2 (0.98%) Automotive
13 2 (0.98%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 1 (0.49%) Health Technology
14 1 (0.49%) Investment Banking
14 1 (0.49%) Organisational Skills
Job Titles
1 60 (29.27%) Software Engineer
2 28 (13.66%) Developer
2 28 (13.66%) Embedded Engineer
3 25 (12.20%) Embedded Software Engineer
4 16 (7.80%) Support Engineer
5 15 (7.32%) Consultant
6 14 (6.83%) C Software Engineer
7 13 (6.34%) Architect
8 12 (5.85%) Design Engineer
8 12 (5.85%) Product Engineer
8 12 (5.85%) Products Support Engineer
8 12 (5.85%) Senior
8 12 (5.85%) Software Support Engineer
9 11 (5.37%) C++ Software Engineer
9 11 (5.37%) Systems Engineer
10 10 (4.88%) Digital Design Engineer
10 10 (4.88%) Embedded C Engineer
10 10 (4.88%) Embedded C Software Engineer
11 8 (3.90%) C/C++ Software Engineer
12 7 (3.41%) Linux Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 29 (14.15%) Middleware
2 28 (13.66%) HTML
3 21 (10.24%) Node.js
4 17 (8.29%) .NET
5 10 (4.88%) Flash
6 8 (3.90%) CSS
7 7 (3.41%) REST
8 6 (2.93%) React
9 5 (2.44%) JSON
9 5 (2.44%) PyTorch
10 4 (1.95%) AngularJS
10 4 (1.95%) Google JAX
10 4 (1.95%) JAX
10 4 (1.95%) RESTful
10 4 (1.95%) TensorFlow
10 4 (1.95%) XML
10 4 (1.95%) Yocto
11 3 (1.46%) JNI
11 3 (1.46%) scikit-learn
11 3 (1.46%) Spring
Miscellaneous
1 22 (10.73%) Embedded Systems
1 22 (10.73%) FPGA
2 16 (7.80%) VHDL
3 7 (3.41%) Analogue Electronics
3 7 (3.41%) CUDA
3 7 (3.41%) Self-Motivation
4 6 (2.93%) Verilog
5 5 (2.44%) Distributed Systems
5 5 (2.44%) PCIe
6 4 (1.95%) Algorithms
6 4 (1.95%) CAN bus
6 4 (1.95%) Cloud Native
6 4 (1.95%) Data Centre
6 4 (1.95%) Device Driver
6 4 (1.95%) Hedge funds
7 3 (1.46%) Mobile App
7 3 (1.46%) Mobile Banking
7 3 (1.46%) Security Posture
8 2 (0.98%) CBDC
8 2 (0.98%) Linux Command Line
Operating Systems
1 63 (30.73%) Linux
2 25 (12.20%) Windows
3 13 (6.34%) Ubuntu
4 9 (4.39%) FreeRTOS
5 7 (3.41%) Unix
6 5 (2.44%) CentOS
7 4 (1.95%) Android
8 3 (1.46%) Apple iOS
8 3 (1.46%) Mac OS
9 2 (0.98%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 1 (0.49%) Debian
10 1 (0.49%) OpenVMS
10 1 (0.49%) Robot Operating System
10 1 (0.49%) VMS
10 1 (0.49%) VxWorks
10 1 (0.49%) Windows Embedded Compact
Processes & Methodologies
1 90 (43.90%) Software Engineering
2 29 (14.15%) CI/CD
3 26 (12.68%) Problem-Solving
4 21 (10.24%) Agile
4 21 (10.24%) Validation
5 19 (9.27%) AI
6 18 (8.78%) DevOps
7 17 (8.29%) Mathematics
7 17 (8.29%) Signal Processing
7 17 (8.29%) Software Testing
8 15 (7.32%) Requirements Gathering
9 13 (6.34%) Containerisation
9 13 (6.34%) Systems Engineering
9 13 (6.34%) UML
10 12 (5.85%) Unit Testing
11 11 (5.37%) Data Pipeline
12 10 (4.88%) Computer Science
12 10 (4.88%) Integration Testing
12 10 (4.88%) Machine Learning
12 10 (4.88%) SDLC
Programming Languages
1 133 (64.88%) C++
2 71 (34.63%) Python
3 65 (31.71%) Java
4 28 (13.66%) JavaScript
5 24 (11.71%) Shell Script
6 20 (9.76%) Ada
7 19 (9.27%) SQL
8 17 (8.29%) Embedded C
9 16 (7.80%) MATLAB
10 15 (7.32%) Bash
10 15 (7.32%) PHP
11 12 (5.85%) C#
12 9 (4.39%) Embedded C++
12 9 (4.39%) Fortran
12 9 (4.39%) Perl
13 8 (3.90%) PowerShell
14 7 (3.41%) PL/SQL
15 6 (2.93%) Go
15 6 (2.93%) Tcl
16 5 (2.44%) Rust
Qualifications
1 73 (35.61%) Security Cleared
2 55 (26.83%) SC Cleared
3 19 (9.27%) Degree
4 11 (5.37%) DV Cleared
5 3 (1.46%) Cisco Certification
5 3 (1.46%) Computer Science Degree
6 2 (0.98%) CCIE
6 2 (0.98%) CISSP
6 2 (0.98%) JNCIE
6 2 (0.98%) Master's Degree
6 2 (0.98%) PhD
6 2 (0.98%) Postgraduate
7 1 (0.49%) CCNA
7 1 (0.49%) GPEN
7 1 (0.49%) GWAPT
7 1 (0.49%) GXPN
7 1 (0.49%) ISTQB
7 1 (0.49%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
7 1 (0.49%) OSCE
7 1 (0.49%) OSCP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 13 (6.34%) QA
2 11 (5.37%) MISRA
3 10 (4.88%) Def Stans
4 9 (4.39%) DO-178B
5 6 (2.93%) IEC 61508
6 5 (2.44%) ISO 26262
6 5 (2.44%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 3 (1.46%) EU AI Act
7 3 (1.46%) GDPR
7 3 (1.46%) IEC 62304
7 3 (1.46%) MISRA C
7 3 (1.46%) NIST
8 2 (0.98%) AUTOSAR
8 2 (0.98%) Software Quality Assurance
9 1 (0.49%) Actionable Recommendations
9 1 (0.49%) Data Quality
9 1 (0.49%) DO-254
9 1 (0.49%) HMG Security Policy Framework
9 1 (0.49%) MiFID
System Software
1 26 (12.68%) Firmware
2 21 (10.24%) Docker
3 6 (2.93%) Embedded Firmware
3 6 (2.93%) VMware Infrastructure
4 5 (2.44%) Virtual Machines
5 1 (0.49%) Active Directory
5 1 (0.49%) KVM
Systems Management
1 18 (8.78%) Kubernetes
2 11 (5.37%) Terraform
3 8 (3.90%) Ansible
4 4 (1.95%) Grafana
5 2 (0.98%) Podman
5 2 (0.98%) Prometheus
6 1 (0.49%) Functional Safety
6 1 (0.49%) Istio
6 1 (0.49%) Rsyslog
6 1 (0.49%) SCOM
Vendors
1 18 (8.78%) Oracle
1 18 (8.78%) Red Hat
2 15 (7.32%) Dynatrace
3 9 (4.39%) NetApp
4 7 (3.41%) Microsoft
4 7 (3.41%) SAP
5 6 (2.93%) IBM
5 6 (2.93%) MathWorks
5 6 (2.93%) VMware
6 5 (2.44%) Intel
7 4 (1.95%) ANSYS
7 4 (1.95%) Cisco
8 3 (1.46%) Atlassian
8 3 (1.46%) Microsemi
8 3 (1.46%) Xilinx
9 2 (0.98%) Arista
9 2 (0.98%) HP
9 2 (0.98%) ServiceNow
9 2 (0.98%) Siemens
9 2 (0.98%) Wind River