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 27 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
27 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 411 370 182
Rank change year-on-year -41 -188 +70
Contract jobs citing C 223 152 570
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.46% 0.53% 1.34%
As % of the Programming Languages category 1.70% 1.56% 4.45%
Number of daily rates quoted 59 64 254
10th Percentile £374 £269 £396
25th Percentile £413 £313 £461
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £496 £536
Median % change year-on-year -4.23% -7.46% -4.29%
75th Percentile £544 £628 £600
90th Percentile £628 £679 £696
UK excluding London median daily rate £488 £400 £545
% change year-on-year +21.88% -26.61% +9.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 79 35 191
10th Percentile £59.69 £53.20 £46.25
25th Percentile £65.00 £59.50 £56.65
Median hourly rate £67.50 £68.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -0.74% +4.62% +9.33%
75th Percentile £70.00 £81.25 £70.00
90th Percentile £76.40 £85.00 £85.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £67.50 £68.00 £65.00
% change year-on-year -0.74% +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 13,083 9,730 12,802
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 26.84% 34.05% 30.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 8,548 6,631 9,124
10th Percentile £357 £357 £350
25th Percentile £415 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £518 £525
Median % change year-on-year -3.38% -1.43% -4.55%
75th Percentile £600 £630 £650
90th Percentile £713 £763 £763
UK excluding London median daily rate £482 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +1.47% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 565 212 503
10th Percentile £36.25 £27.04 £32.25
25th Percentile £53.53 £34.94 £46.25
Median hourly rate £65.00 £57.50 £62.50
Median % change year-on-year +13.04% -8.00% -
75th Percentile £70.00 £68.75 £70.00
90th Percentile £77.50 £85.00 £77.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £62.75 £62.50
% change year-on-year +3.59% +0.40% -

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 27 May 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 27 May 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 27 May 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 -41 211 £488 -2.50% 365
UK excluding London -26 171 £488 +21.88% 317
Work from Home -22 69 £488 -2.50% 147
East of England +1 61 £525 +31.25% 75
South East -21 46 £500 - 112
South West -3 45 £463 -22.92% 64
London -74 45 £461 -26.24% 61
Midlands -68 7 £525 +213.43% 22
West Midlands - 6 £488 - 14
North of England -72 5 £625 +66.67% 30
Northern Ireland - 5 £425 - 4
Scotland -11 2 - - 13
North East -23 2 £625 - 8
North West -41 2 - - 14
Wales -17 1 £460 -12.38% 5
East Midlands -35 1 £525 +213.43% 8
Yorkshire -54 1 - - 8

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 2 (0.90%) Confluence
1 2 (0.90%) Oracle SOA Suite
1 2 (0.90%) Oracle Workflow
2 1 (0.45%) Apache
2 1 (0.45%) Apache Spark
Applications
1 13 (5.83%) Simulink
2 4 (1.79%) Microsoft Office
3 1 (0.45%) Microsoft Excel
Business Applications
1 7 (3.14%) BASE24
2 5 (2.24%) Payment Gateway
3 3 (1.35%) Teamcenter
4 1 (0.45%) Dynamics CRM
4 1 (0.45%) Dynamics NAV
4 1 (0.45%) Loan IQ
4 1 (0.45%) Oracle Applications
4 1 (0.45%) Oracle EBS
Cloud Services
1 13 (5.83%) Azure
2 12 (5.38%) AWS
3 7 (3.14%) Azure DevOps
4 6 (2.69%) GitHub
4 6 (2.69%) Power Platform
5 4 (1.79%) GCP
6 3 (1.35%) Amazon S3
6 3 (1.35%) GitHub Actions
7 2 (0.90%) Amazon CloudWatch
7 2 (0.90%) AWS CloudFormation
7 2 (0.90%) AWS IoT
7 2 (0.90%) Azure Monitor
7 2 (0.90%) Dynamics 365
7 2 (0.90%) GitHub Copilot
8 1 (0.45%) AWS CloudTrail
8 1 (0.45%) AWS Lambda
8 1 (0.45%) Entra ID
8 1 (0.45%) Firebase
8 1 (0.45%) Google Drive
8 1 (0.45%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 22 (9.87%) Ethernet
2 17 (7.62%) Wireless
3 16 (7.17%) Software-Defined Radio
4 6 (2.69%) TCP/IP
5 5 (2.24%) 3GPP
6 4 (1.79%) DNS
6 4 (1.79%) Modbus
6 4 (1.79%) Network Security
6 4 (1.79%) RS-232
6 4 (1.79%) RS-485
7 3 (1.35%) Bluetooth
7 3 (1.35%) Internet
7 3 (1.35%) MQTT
7 3 (1.35%) MVNO
7 3 (1.35%) RS-422
7 3 (1.35%) SMPP
7 3 (1.35%) SMS
7 3 (1.35%) SpaceWire
7 3 (1.35%) VXLAN
8 2 (0.90%) ATM
Database & Business Intelligence
1 8 (3.59%) NonStop SQL
2 6 (2.69%) Power BI
3 5 (2.24%) OLTP
3 5 (2.24%) SQL Server
4 4 (1.79%) NoSQL
4 4 (1.79%) PostgreSQL
5 3 (1.35%) Data Warehouse
5 3 (1.35%) MongoDB
5 3 (1.35%) Tableau
6 2 (0.90%) Oracle Database
7 1 (0.45%) Amazon Athena
7 1 (0.45%) Amazon Redshift
7 1 (0.45%) Apache Hudi
7 1 (0.45%) Apache Iceberg
7 1 (0.45%) Big Data
7 1 (0.45%) Data Lake
7 1 (0.45%) Kdb+
7 1 (0.45%) Metadata
7 1 (0.45%) Redis
7 1 (0.45%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 25 (11.21%) Rational DOORS
2 20 (8.97%) Git
3 14 (6.28%) Rational Rhapsody
4 12 (5.38%) JIRA
5 8 (3.59%) GitLab
6 5 (2.24%) PVCS
6 5 (2.24%) Visual Studio
7 3 (1.35%) Subversion
8 2 (0.90%) Jenkins
9 1 (0.45%) Appium
9 1 (0.45%) Crashlytics
9 1 (0.45%) ER Studio
9 1 (0.45%) fastlane
9 1 (0.45%) git-flow
9 1 (0.45%) PetaLinux
9 1 (0.45%) Postman
9 1 (0.45%) Robot Framework
9 1 (0.45%) SonarQube
9 1 (0.45%) XCTest
9 1 (0.45%) XCUITest
General
1 44 (19.73%) Social Skills
2 29 (13.00%) Aerospace
3 24 (10.76%) Electronics
4 17 (7.62%) Analytical Skills
5 14 (6.28%) Finance
6 13 (5.83%) Law
7 12 (5.38%) Documentation Skills
7 12 (5.38%) Manufacturing
8 9 (4.04%) Banking
9 6 (2.69%) Automotive
10 5 (2.24%) Public Sector
11 4 (1.79%) Avionics
11 4 (1.79%) Games
12 3 (1.35%) Telecoms
13 2 (0.90%) Investment Banking
13 2 (0.90%) Japanese Language
13 2 (0.90%) Military
13 2 (0.90%) Publishing
14 1 (0.45%) Korean Language
14 1 (0.45%) Local Government
Job Titles
1 84 (37.67%) Software Engineer
2 70 (31.39%) Embedded Engineer
3 49 (21.97%) Embedded Software Engineer
4 35 (15.70%) Developer
5 23 (10.31%) C Software Engineer
5 23 (10.31%) C++ Software Engineer
6 22 (9.87%) C/C++ Software Engineer
7 13 (5.83%) FPGA Engineer
8 11 (4.93%) Embedded C Engineer
8 11 (4.93%) Embedded C Software Engineer
8 11 (4.93%) Senior
9 10 (4.48%) C/C++ Embedded Software Engineer
9 10 (4.48%) Embedded C/C++ Engineer
9 10 (4.48%) Embedded C/C++ Software Engineer
9 10 (4.48%) Embedded C++ Engineer
9 10 (4.48%) Embedded C++ Software Engineer
9 10 (4.48%) Lead
9 10 (4.48%) Validation Engineer
10 9 (4.04%) Software Developer
10 9 (4.04%) Test Leader
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 16 (7.17%) Yocto
2 8 (3.59%) .NET
3 6 (2.69%) WinForms
4 5 (2.24%) Middleware
5 4 (1.79%) Kafka
5 4 (1.79%) Qt
6 3 (1.35%) ARM Templates
6 3 (1.35%) HTML
6 3 (1.35%) Itk
6 3 (1.35%) JSON
6 3 (1.35%) REST
7 2 (0.90%) HTML5
7 2 (0.90%) NumPy
7 2 (0.90%) QML
7 2 (0.90%) Web Services
8 1 (0.45%) Boost C++ Libraries
8 1 (0.45%) GStreamer
8 1 (0.45%) RabbitMQ
8 1 (0.45%) RESTful
8 1 (0.45%) SciPy
Miscellaneous
1 42 (18.83%) FPGA
2 39 (17.49%) Embedded Systems
3 19 (8.52%) PCIe
4 17 (7.62%) VHDL
5 12 (5.38%) Verilog
6 9 (4.04%) Algorithms
6 9 (4.04%) Device Driver
7 8 (3.59%) Tandem
8 7 (3.14%) MicroBlaze
8 7 (3.14%) RISC-V
9 6 (2.69%) EMV
9 6 (2.69%) IoT
10 5 (2.24%) Data Centre
11 3 (1.35%) ARM Cortex
11 3 (1.35%) Cloud Native
11 3 (1.35%) Cyber Threat
11 3 (1.35%) Java Card
11 3 (1.35%) Legacy Systems
12 2 (0.90%) CAN bus
12 2 (0.90%) Video\Live Streaming
Operating Systems
1 59 (26.46%) Linux
2 22 (9.87%) Embedded Linux
3 13 (5.83%) FreeRTOS
3 13 (5.83%) Windows
4 3 (1.35%) Unix
5 2 (0.90%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.45%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.45%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 115 (51.57%) Software Engineering
2 43 (19.28%) Validation
3 37 (16.59%) Problem-Solving
4 32 (14.35%) Test Automation
5 28 (12.56%) CI/CD
6 27 (12.11%) Signal Processing
6 27 (12.11%) Workflow
7 21 (9.42%) Digital Signal Processing
8 19 (8.52%) Embedded Software Development
9 18 (8.07%) Agile
10 17 (7.62%) Workflow Management
11 16 (7.17%) Verification and Validation
12 15 (6.73%) DevOps
12 15 (6.73%) FPGA Design
13 14 (6.28%) Unit Testing
14 13 (5.83%) Requirements Analysis
14 13 (5.83%) Software Testing
14 13 (5.83%) UML
15 12 (5.38%) Systems Engineering
15 12 (5.38%) TDD
Programming Languages
1 116 (52.02%) C++
2 55 (24.66%) Python
3 36 (16.14%) Embedded C
4 29 (13.00%) Ada
5 26 (11.66%) SQL
6 21 (9.42%) Java
6 21 (9.42%) MATLAB
7 14 (6.28%) Embedded C++
8 13 (5.83%) Bash
9 11 (4.93%) SystemVerilog
10 8 (3.59%) C#
11 7 (3.14%) PL/SQL
11 7 (3.14%) Shell Script
12 6 (2.69%) COBOL
13 5 (2.24%) Rust
14 4 (1.79%) JavaScript
14 4 (1.79%) ProC
15 3 (1.35%) Perl
16 2 (0.90%) PowerShell
16 2 (0.90%) VB
Qualifications
1 57 (25.56%) Security Cleared
2 42 (18.83%) SC Cleared
3 19 (8.52%) Degree
4 9 (4.04%) BPSS Clearance
4 9 (4.04%) DV Cleared
5 2 (0.90%) CCNA
5 2 (0.90%) Cisco Certification
5 2 (0.90%) Computer Science Degree
5 2 (0.90%) ISTQB
6 1 (0.45%) Azure Certification
6 1 (0.45%) ISTQB Advanced Certification
6 1 (0.45%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
6 1 (0.45%) Master's Degree
6 1 (0.45%) PhD
6 1 (0.45%) Six Sigma Black Belt
6 1 (0.45%) Six Sigma Green Belt
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (7.62%) Def Stans
2 11 (4.93%) QA
3 6 (2.69%) ISO 8583
3 6 (2.69%) MISRA
4 5 (2.24%) PCI DSS
5 4 (1.79%) DO-178B
5 4 (1.79%) IEC 61508
6 3 (1.35%) MIL-STD-1553
7 2 (0.90%) Data Quality
7 2 (0.90%) ISO 26262
8 1 (0.45%) Accessibility
8 1 (0.45%) DICOM
8 1 (0.45%) DO-254
8 1 (0.45%) HL7
8 1 (0.45%) IFRS
8 1 (0.45%) IFRS 9
8 1 (0.45%) ISO 14001
8 1 (0.45%) ISO 9001
8 1 (0.45%) MISRA C
System Software
1 19 (8.52%) Firmware
2 11 (4.93%) Docker
3 8 (3.59%) VMware Infrastructure
4 7 (3.14%) Embedded Firmware
4 7 (3.14%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (0.90%) Oracle RAC
5 2 (0.90%) vCloud
5 2 (0.90%) VMware NSX
5 2 (0.90%) vSphere
6 1 (0.45%) Active Directory
6 1 (0.45%) FreeRADIUS
6 1 (0.45%) Slurm Workload Manager
6 1 (0.45%) Squid
Systems Management
1 8 (3.59%) Kubernetes
2 7 (3.14%) Terraform
3 5 (2.24%) Ansible
4 2 (0.90%) Prometheus
5 1 (0.45%) Grafana
5 1 (0.45%) HP ALM
5 1 (0.45%) Nagios
5 1 (0.45%) Packer
5 1 (0.45%) Puppet
Vendors
1 13 (5.83%) IBM
1 13 (5.83%) Xilinx
2 12 (5.38%) Intel
3 9 (4.04%) HP
3 9 (4.04%) Microsemi
4 8 (3.59%) Oracle
4 8 (3.59%) VMware
5 7 (3.14%) Cisco
5 7 (3.14%) MathWorks
6 6 (2.69%) Microsoft
7 5 (2.24%) ANSYS
8 4 (1.79%) Lauterbach
8 4 (1.79%) SAP
9 3 (1.35%) Google
9 3 (1.35%) Thales
10 2 (0.90%) Dell
10 2 (0.90%) Perforce
10 2 (0.90%) QNX
11 1 (0.45%) Citrix
11 1 (0.45%) EMC