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 12 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
12 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 453 357 211
Rank change year-on-year -96 -146 +11
Contract jobs citing C 221 192 451
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.41% 0.58% 1.16%
As % of the Programming Languages category 1.57% 1.78% 3.70%
Number of daily rates quoted 75 78 220
10th Percentile £344 £300 £391
25th Percentile £406 £385 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £536
Median % change year-on-year - -6.63% -2.64%
75th Percentile £619 £628 £600
90th Percentile £683 £675 £676
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £469 £545
% change year-on-year +1.33% -13.99% +6.34%
Number of hourly rates quoted 58 37 106
10th Percentile £51.78 £52.00 £46.75
25th Percentile £65.00 £55.00 £60.31
Median hourly rate £67.50 £68.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -0.74% +4.62% -
75th Percentile £70.00 £73.75 £70.00
90th Percentile £72.25 £81.50 £85.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £68.00 £68.00 £65.00
% change year-on-year - +4.62% -

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 14,097 10,814 12,180
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 26.41% 32.80% 31.28%
Number of daily rates quoted 9,179 7,253 8,533
10th Percentile £363 £340 £350
25th Percentile £425 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £505 £530
Median % change year-on-year +1.49% -4.72% -3.64%
75th Percentile £615 £625 £650
90th Percentile £725 £750 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £495 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +4.21% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 523 269 408
10th Percentile £30.10 £28.18 £27.00
25th Percentile £50.00 £35.00 £45.80
Median hourly rate £65.00 £56.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year +16.07% -13.85% +8.33%
75th Percentile £70.00 £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £78.95 £84.60 £77.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £64.00 £65.00
% change year-on-year +1.56% -1.54% +8.33%

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 12 August 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 12 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for C in the UK

C
Top 16 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 12 August 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 -61 210 £500 -5.88% 844
UK excluding London -50 173 £475 +1.33% 634
Work from Home -36 64 £513 -2.38% 267
South East -17 58 £500 -2.44% 164
East of England -6 56 £626 +47.18% 194
London -86 40 £525 -10.41% 244
South West -43 27 £450 -18.18% 115
Midlands -34 21 £462 +559.29% 43
West Midlands -27 20 £450 - 24
North of England -79 6 £400 +6.67% 83
Scotland -19 5 - - 31
Yorkshire -44 3 £400 -20.00% 20
North West -52 2 - - 39
East Midlands -9 1 £525 +650.00% 19
North East -42 1 - - 25
Wales - 1 £460 - 11

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 5 (2.26%) Tuxedo
2 2 (0.90%) Oracle SOA Suite
2 2 (0.90%) Oracle Workflow
2 2 (0.90%) WebSphere
3 1 (0.45%) Apache Spark
3 1 (0.45%) ColdFusion
3 1 (0.45%) Confluence
Applications
1 10 (4.52%) Simulink
2 3 (1.36%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 3 (1.36%) Teamcenter
2 2 (0.90%) BASE24
2 2 (0.90%) Oracle Retail
3 1 (0.45%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.45%) Loan IQ
Cloud Services
1 15 (6.79%) AWS
2 14 (6.33%) Azure
3 10 (4.52%) GitHub
4 7 (3.17%) Azure DevOps
4 7 (3.17%) GitHub Copilot
4 7 (3.17%) IaaS
5 4 (1.81%) GCP
5 4 (1.81%) Power Platform
5 4 (1.81%) SaaS
6 3 (1.36%) Amazon S3
6 3 (1.36%) GitHub Actions
7 2 (0.90%) Amazon CloudWatch
7 2 (0.90%) AWS CloudFormation
7 2 (0.90%) AWS IoT
7 2 (0.90%) AWS Lambda
7 2 (0.90%) Entra ID
7 2 (0.90%) OCI
7 2 (0.90%) Serverless
8 1 (0.45%) AWS CloudTrail
8 1 (0.45%) Google Drive
Communications & Networking
1 18 (8.14%) Software-Defined Radio
1 18 (8.14%) Wireless
2 14 (6.33%) Ethernet
3 6 (2.71%) RS-232
3 6 (2.71%) RS-485
3 6 (2.71%) Wireshark
4 4 (1.81%) Bluetooth
4 4 (1.81%) TCP/IP
5 3 (1.36%) 4G
5 3 (1.36%) 5G
5 3 (1.36%) DNS
5 3 (1.36%) Internet
5 3 (1.36%) LTE
5 3 (1.36%) Modbus
5 3 (1.36%) MQTT
5 3 (1.36%) RS-422
5 3 (1.36%) VXLAN
6 2 (0.90%) 5G NR
6 2 (0.90%) Microwave Backhaul
6 2 (0.90%) Network Security
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (4.52%) Ingres
2 7 (3.17%) SQL Server
3 6 (2.71%) Relational Database
4 4 (1.81%) Power BI
4 4 (1.81%) RDBMS
5 3 (1.36%) MongoDB
5 3 (1.36%) NoSQL
5 3 (1.36%) PostgreSQL
5 3 (1.36%) Tableau
6 2 (0.90%) Data Warehouse
6 2 (0.90%) NonStop SQL
6 2 (0.90%) Oracle Database
6 2 (0.90%) SQLPlus
7 1 (0.45%) Apache Cassandra
7 1 (0.45%) Big Data
7 1 (0.45%) Data Lake
7 1 (0.45%) Elasticsearch
7 1 (0.45%) KDB
7 1 (0.45%) Redis
7 1 (0.45%) Snowflake Schema
Development Applications
1 27 (12.22%) Git
2 23 (10.41%) Rational DOORS
3 10 (4.52%) Jenkins
4 8 (3.62%) Rational Rhapsody
5 7 (3.17%) Team Foundation Server
6 6 (2.71%) JIRA
7 5 (2.26%) Oracle Forms
7 5 (2.26%) Visual Studio
8 4 (1.81%) GitLab
9 2 (0.90%) CMake
9 2 (0.90%) CppUnit
9 2 (0.90%) PetaLinux
9 2 (0.90%) PVCS
9 2 (0.90%) Subversion
10 1 (0.45%) Atlassian Bamboo
10 1 (0.45%) ERwin
10 1 (0.45%) GoogleTest
10 1 (0.45%) JMeter
10 1 (0.45%) LoadRunner
10 1 (0.45%) PowerDesigner
General
1 54 (24.43%) Social Skills
2 28 (12.67%) Aerospace
3 22 (9.95%) Electronics
4 20 (9.05%) Analytical Skills
5 14 (6.33%) Law
6 11 (4.98%) Manufacturing
7 10 (4.52%) Finance
8 9 (4.07%) Documentation Skills
8 9 (4.07%) Public Sector
9 7 (3.17%) Banking
10 4 (1.81%) Automotive
10 4 (1.81%) Military
11 3 (1.36%) Front Office
11 3 (1.36%) Investment Banking
12 2 (0.90%) Avionics
12 2 (0.90%) Games
12 2 (0.90%) Japanese Language
12 2 (0.90%) Retail
12 2 (0.90%) Telecoms
13 1 (0.45%) Korean Language
Job Titles
1 81 (36.65%) Software Engineer
2 49 (22.17%) Embedded Engineer
3 36 (16.29%) Embedded Software Engineer
4 28 (12.67%) Developer
5 24 (10.86%) Senior
6 18 (8.14%) C Software Engineer
6 18 (8.14%) C++ Software Engineer
7 13 (5.88%) C/C++ Software Engineer
7 13 (5.88%) Software Developer
8 12 (5.43%) Lead
9 10 (4.52%) Linux Engineer
10 9 (4.07%) Test Leader
11 8 (3.62%) DSP Engineer
11 8 (3.62%) DSP Software Engineer
11 8 (3.62%) Senior Developer
12 6 (2.71%) Analyst
12 6 (2.71%) Architect
12 6 (2.71%) Embedded C Software Engineer
12 6 (2.71%) Systems Engineer
12 6 (2.71%) Test Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 13 (5.88%) Yocto
2 10 (4.52%) .NET
3 5 (2.26%) REST
3 5 (2.26%) WinForms
4 4 (1.81%) JSON
4 4 (1.81%) LDAP
4 4 (1.81%) Middleware
4 4 (1.81%) XML
5 3 (1.36%) ADO
5 3 (1.36%) COM
5 3 (1.36%) Itk
5 3 (1.36%) ODBC
5 3 (1.36%) Web Services
6 2 (0.90%) FastAPI
6 2 (0.90%) HTML
6 2 (0.90%) HTML5
6 2 (0.90%) Kafka
6 2 (0.90%) QML
6 2 (0.90%) Qt
6 2 (0.90%) WebSphere MQ
Miscellaneous
1 36 (16.29%) Embedded Systems
2 21 (9.50%) FPGA
3 15 (6.79%) Device Driver
4 14 (6.33%) RISC-V
5 11 (4.98%) Legacy Systems
6 10 (4.52%) Verilog
6 10 (4.52%) VHDL
7 9 (4.07%) PCIe
8 7 (3.17%) MicroBlaze
8 7 (3.17%) Private Cloud
9 5 (2.26%) Cloud Native
9 5 (2.26%) Distributed Systems
9 5 (2.26%) IoT
9 5 (2.26%) Virtual Team
10 4 (1.81%) Algorithms
10 4 (1.81%) ARM Cortex
10 4 (1.81%) Cyber Threat
10 4 (1.81%) Data Protection Act
10 4 (1.81%) Fixed Income
11 3 (1.36%) Low-Code
Operating Systems
1 79 (35.75%) Linux
2 23 (10.41%) Embedded Linux
3 16 (7.24%) Windows
4 15 (6.79%) Unix
5 13 (5.88%) FreeRTOS
6 11 (4.98%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 2 (0.90%) Android
8 1 (0.45%) Apple iOS
8 1 (0.45%) Mac OS
8 1 (0.45%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 118 (53.39%) Software Engineering
2 40 (18.10%) Agile
3 37 (16.74%) Test Automation
4 35 (15.84%) Problem-Solving
5 27 (12.22%) CI/CD
5 27 (12.22%) DevOps
6 26 (11.76%) Validation
7 25 (11.31%) Signal Processing
8 20 (9.05%) Digital Signal Processing
9 19 (8.60%) Data Management
9 19 (8.60%) Software Testing
10 16 (7.24%) Migration
10 16 (7.24%) Technical Leadership
10 16 (7.24%) Workflow
11 14 (6.33%) Embedded Software Development
11 14 (6.33%) Systems Engineering
12 13 (5.88%) Integration Testing
12 13 (5.88%) TDD
12 13 (5.88%) UML
12 13 (5.88%) Unit Testing
Programming Languages
1 125 (56.56%) C++
2 59 (26.70%) Python
3 31 (14.03%) Embedded C
4 30 (13.57%) SQL
5 25 (11.31%) Ada
6 19 (8.60%) Java
7 17 (7.69%) PL/SQL
8 16 (7.24%) MATLAB
9 13 (5.88%) ProC
10 12 (5.43%) C#
11 9 (4.07%) Embedded C++
12 8 (3.62%) Perl
13 7 (3.17%) Bash
13 7 (3.17%) SystemVerilog
14 6 (2.71%) Shell Script
15 5 (2.26%) PowerShell
15 5 (2.26%) VB
15 5 (2.26%) VB6
16 4 (1.81%) JavaScript
16 4 (1.81%) Rust
Qualifications
1 68 (30.77%) Security Cleared
2 51 (23.08%) SC Cleared
3 22 (9.95%) Degree
4 11 (4.98%) DV Cleared
5 7 (3.17%) BPSS Clearance
6 4 (1.81%) Master's Degree
7 1 (0.45%) Azure Certification
7 1 (0.45%) CCNA
7 1 (0.45%) Cisco Certification
7 1 (0.45%) CompTIA CySA+
7 1 (0.45%) Computer Science Degree
7 1 (0.45%) GCIA
7 1 (0.45%) GCIH
7 1 (0.45%) GIAC
7 1 (0.45%) PhD
7 1 (0.45%) Six Sigma Black Belt
7 1 (0.45%) Six Sigma Green Belt
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (7.69%) QA
2 14 (6.33%) Def Stans
3 9 (4.07%) MISRA
4 8 (3.62%) DO-178B
5 2 (0.90%) Data Quality
5 2 (0.90%) ISO 15022
5 2 (0.90%) ISO 20022
5 2 (0.90%) ISO 26262
6 1 (0.45%) Disclosure Scotland
6 1 (0.45%) IFRS
6 1 (0.45%) IFRS 9
6 1 (0.45%) ISO 14001
6 1 (0.45%) ISO 8583
6 1 (0.45%) ISO 9001
6 1 (0.45%) MIL-STD-1553
6 1 (0.45%) NCSC
6 1 (0.45%) NIST
6 1 (0.45%) NIST 800
6 1 (0.45%) PCI DSS
6 1 (0.45%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 28 (12.67%) Firmware
2 14 (6.33%) Docker
2 14 (6.33%) Embedded Firmware
3 7 (3.17%) VMware Infrastructure
4 6 (2.71%) Active Directory
4 6 (2.71%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (0.90%) Oracle RAC
6 1 (0.45%) FreeRADIUS
6 1 (0.45%) KVM
6 1 (0.45%) Slurm Workload Manager
6 1 (0.45%) Squid
Systems Management
1 11 (4.98%) Kubernetes
2 9 (4.07%) Terraform
3 8 (3.62%) Puppet
4 7 (3.17%) Progress Chef
5 3 (1.36%) Ansible
6 2 (0.90%) Salt
7 1 (0.45%) Grafana
7 1 (0.45%) Nagios
7 1 (0.45%) Packer
7 1 (0.45%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 23 (10.41%) Oracle
2 10 (4.52%) IBM
2 10 (4.52%) Xilinx
3 8 (3.62%) Intel
4 7 (3.17%) Red Hat
4 7 (3.17%) SaltStack
4 7 (3.17%) VMware
5 5 (2.26%) Microsemi
6 4 (1.81%) Cisco
6 4 (1.81%) Lauterbach
6 4 (1.81%) MathWorks
6 4 (1.81%) Microsoft
7 3 (1.36%) Actian
7 3 (1.36%) Google
7 3 (1.36%) SAP
8 2 (0.90%) HP
8 2 (0.90%) Perforce
8 2 (0.90%) QNX
8 2 (0.90%) Sitecore
9 1 (0.45%) EMC