IBM Contract Job Trends

IBM
UK

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies requiring knowledge or experience of IBM products and/or services. It includes a benchmarking guide to contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited IBM over the 6 months leading up to 10 July 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

The figures below represent the IT contractor job market in general and are not representative of contractor rates within the International Business Machines Corporation.

6 months to
10 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 280 231 226
Rank change year-on-year -49 -5 +40
Contract jobs citing IBM 468 383 455
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.89% 1.18% 1.05%
As % of the Vendors category 2.16% 2.49% 2.44%
Number of daily rates quoted 265 250 242
10th Percentile £313 £358 £360
25th Percentile £400 £408 £410
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £490 £500 £490
Median % change year-on-year -2.00% +2.15% -6.76%
75th Percentile £600 £649 £625
90th Percentile £672 £703 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £475
% change year-on-year +5.26% - -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 46 5 39
10th Percentile £25.77 £24.81 £51.40
25th Percentile £52.19 £25.04 £65.00
Median hourly rate £83.00 £25.08 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +231.01% -64.18% +3.70%
75th Percentile £88.00 £72.50 -
90th Percentile - £139.23 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £88.00 £25.08 £70.00
% change year-on-year +250.95% -64.18% +1.82%

All Vendors
UK

IBM falls under the Vendor Products and Services category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring knowledge or experience of all vendor products and services.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 21,701 15,371 18,628
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.23% 47.50% 43.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,508 9,423 11,588
10th Percentile £313 £281 £267
25th Percentile £413 £403 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £501 £500 £513
Median % change year-on-year +0.10% -2.44% -2.38%
75th Percentile £600 £613 £625
90th Percentile £700 £713 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £481 £500
% change year-on-year +3.95% -3.80% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,110 733 1,141
10th Percentile £15.81 £14.75 £12.40
25th Percentile £19.25 £17.30 £15.00
Median hourly rate £34.61 £25.15 £25.00
Median % change year-on-year +37.62% +0.60% -38.34%
75th Percentile £63.94 £52.16 £60.00
90th Percentile £82.55 £68.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.50 £22.63 £24.18
% change year-on-year +43.61% -6.41% -22.00%

IBM
Job Vacancy Trend

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

IBM job vacancy trend in the UK

IBM
Daily Rate Trend

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

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

IBM
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing IBM over the 6 months to 10 July 2026.

Daily rate histogram for IBM in the UK

IBM
Hourly Rate Trend

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

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

IBM
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing IBM over the 6 months to 10 July 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for IBM in the UK

IBM
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 IBM within the UK over the 6 months to 10 July 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 -45 397 £475 -5.00% 105
UK excluding London -81 249 £500 +5.26% 85
London -40 159 £475 -20.17% 34
Work from Home -69 125 £525 -3.67% 48
North of England -60 93 £514 +20.94% 17
South East -47 50 £425 -20.93% 26
North West -35 48 £455 +11.26% 8
Yorkshire -31 44 £563 +15.67% 6
South West -9 37 £426 -29.00% 14
Midlands -61 29 £401 -8.76% 11
Scotland -22 24 £550 +10.94% 5
West Midlands -62 24 £400 -13.04% 6
East of England -30 13 £437 -20.55% 10
East Midlands -25 4 £837 +101.57% 5
Wales -13 3 £635 +0.40% 3
North East -39 1 £375 -10.45% 3

IBM
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 35 (7.48%) WebSphere
2 29 (6.20%) Confluence
3 27 (5.77%) CICS
4 19 (4.06%) Tomcat
5 17 (3.63%) nginx
6 14 (2.99%) SharePoint
7 9 (1.92%) WebLogic
8 7 (1.50%) JBoss
9 6 (1.28%) Apache
10 5 (1.07%) SAS
10 5 (1.07%) WebSphere Application Server
11 4 (0.85%) IIS
12 3 (0.64%) Apache Airflow
12 3 (0.64%) Apache Spark
12 3 (0.64%) Camunda
12 3 (0.64%) CMS
13 2 (0.43%) IBM HTTP Server
13 2 (0.43%) Oracle HTTP Server
13 2 (0.43%) Oracle SOA Suite
13 2 (0.43%) WebSphere Portal
Applications
1 5 (1.07%) Microsoft Excel
2 3 (0.64%) Microsoft Office
3 2 (0.43%) PlantUML
3 2 (0.43%) Spreadsheet
4 1 (0.21%) MS Visio
4 1 (0.21%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 19 (4.06%) Maximo
2 9 (1.92%) IBM Planning Analytics
2 9 (1.92%) Temenos T24
3 5 (1.07%) Cognos Controller
3 5 (1.07%) SAP S/4HANA
4 3 (0.64%) IBM Operational Decision Manager
4 3 (0.64%) SAP R/3
5 2 (0.43%) Teamcenter
6 1 (0.21%) Dynamics CRM
6 1 (0.21%) HFM
6 1 (0.21%) MetaTrader
6 1 (0.21%) Misys Equation
6 1 (0.21%) Misys Midas
6 1 (0.21%) Oracle Payables
6 1 (0.21%) Remedy ITSM
6 1 (0.21%) SAP AFS
6 1 (0.21%) SAP QM
6 1 (0.21%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 66 (14.10%) AWS
2 50 (10.68%) Azure
3 25 (5.34%) GitHub
4 14 (2.99%) GitHub Copilot
5 13 (2.78%) OpenShift
6 12 (2.56%) ChatGPT
7 10 (2.14%) Anthropic Claude
7 10 (2.14%) Azure DevOps
7 10 (2.14%) IBM Watson
8 8 (1.71%) Amazon S3
8 8 (1.71%) GCP
9 7 (1.50%) Amazon EKS
9 7 (1.50%) Vertex AI
10 6 (1.28%) Azure AI
11 5 (1.07%) Amazon EC2
12 4 (0.85%) IBM Blueworks
12 4 (0.85%) IBM Cloud
12 4 (0.85%) MinIO
13 3 (0.64%) AWS Lambda
13 3 (0.64%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 23 (4.91%) Firewall
2 20 (4.27%) SSL
3 17 (3.63%) SNMP
4 16 (3.42%) HTTP
5 9 (1.92%) SAN
5 9 (1.92%) TCP/IP
6 8 (1.71%) DNS
7 7 (1.50%) VSAN
8 6 (1.28%) Network Security
9 5 (1.07%) Fibre Channel
10 4 (0.85%) APPN
10 4 (0.85%) Cisco Nexus
10 4 (0.85%) LAN
10 4 (0.85%) NAS
10 4 (0.85%) SNA
10 4 (0.85%) WAN
10 4 (0.85%) Wireshark
11 3 (0.64%) MPLS
11 3 (0.64%) SSH
12 2 (0.43%) Multicast
Database & Business Intelligence
1 45 (9.62%) Db2
2 31 (6.62%) DataStage
3 28 (5.98%) Relational Database
4 19 (4.06%) SQL Server
5 14 (2.99%) Metadata
5 14 (2.99%) MongoDB
5 14 (2.99%) Oracle Database
6 12 (2.56%) Data Warehouse
6 12 (2.56%) Elasticsearch
7 10 (2.14%) PostgreSQL
8 9 (1.92%) NoSQL
9 8 (1.71%) Big Data
10 7 (1.50%) GIS
11 3 (0.64%) Apache Hive
11 3 (0.64%) Oracle Reports
12 2 (0.43%) Amazon Aurora
12 2 (0.43%) Amazon Redshift
12 2 (0.43%) Data Lake
12 2 (0.43%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
12 2 (0.43%) Power BI
Development Applications
1 42 (8.97%) JIRA
2 39 (8.33%) Rational DOORS
3 22 (4.70%) Jenkins
4 15 (3.21%) Git
5 14 (2.99%) GitLab
6 8 (1.71%) Rational Rhapsody
7 5 (1.07%) Ant
7 5 (1.07%) IBM UrbanCode
7 5 (1.07%) Liquibase
7 5 (1.07%) PowerDesigner
8 4 (0.85%) Eclipse
8 4 (0.85%) JMeter
9 3 (0.64%) Cucumber
9 3 (0.64%) Gradle
9 3 (0.64%) JUnit
9 3 (0.64%) Maven
9 3 (0.64%) REST Assured
9 3 (0.64%) Sonatype Nexus
9 3 (0.64%) Visual Studio
10 2 (0.43%) SonarQube
General
1 136 (29.06%) Finance
2 105 (22.44%) Social Skills
3 94 (20.09%) Banking
4 49 (10.47%) Analytical Skills
5 37 (7.91%) Public Sector
6 30 (6.41%) Aerospace
7 29 (6.20%) Legal
8 15 (3.21%) Retail
9 12 (2.56%) Influencing Skills
10 8 (1.71%) Front Office
10 8 (1.71%) Investment Banking
10 8 (1.71%) Military
11 7 (1.50%) Documentation Skills
11 7 (1.50%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 5 (1.07%) Law
13 4 (0.85%) Financial Institution
13 4 (0.85%) Presentation Skills
13 4 (0.85%) Telecoms
14 2 (0.43%) Back Office
14 2 (0.43%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 57 (12.18%) Developer
2 50 (10.68%) Architect
3 47 (10.04%) Analyst
4 30 (6.41%) Senior
5 28 (5.98%) Administrator
6 26 (5.56%) Delivery Manager
6 26 (5.56%) Product Delivery Manager
6 26 (5.56%) Product Manager
7 22 (4.70%) Consultant
8 21 (4.49%) Systems Delivery Manager
8 21 (4.49%) Systems Manager
9 18 (3.85%) Lead
10 17 (3.63%) Solutions Architect
11 16 (3.42%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 15 (3.21%) Middleware Engineer
13 14 (2.99%) Data Engineer
13 14 (2.99%) Designer
13 14 (2.99%) Software Engineer
14 13 (2.78%) Management Consultant
15 12 (2.56%) Systems Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 65 (13.89%) Middleware
2 37 (7.91%) REST
3 24 (5.13%) ISPF
4 21 (4.49%) JSON
4 21 (4.49%) XML
5 18 (3.85%) Spring Boot
6 17 (3.63%) Flash
6 17 (3.63%) Spring
7 16 (3.42%) Kafka
8 12 (2.56%) RabbitMQ
9 9 (1.92%) WebSphere MQ
10 8 (1.71%) EJB
10 8 (1.71%) JDBC
10 8 (1.71%) PyTorch
10 8 (1.71%) SOAP
11 7 (1.50%) JMS
11 7 (1.50%) JSP
11 7 (1.50%) LangChain
11 7 (1.50%) scikit-learn
11 7 (1.50%) ZeroMQ
Miscellaneous
1 100 (21.37%) Mainframe
2 36 (7.69%) Data Centre
3 33 (7.05%) Clustering
4 31 (6.62%) Data Structures
4 31 (6.62%) Product Ownership
5 21 (4.49%) Linux Command Line
5 21 (4.49%) Replication
6 17 (3.63%) Legacy Systems
7 15 (3.21%) SWIFT Messaging Network
7 15 (3.21%) VSAM
8 14 (2.99%) Cloud Native
9 13 (2.78%) Legacy Applications
10 12 (2.56%) IBM Mainframe
11 11 (2.35%) Algorithms
12 10 (2.14%) BYOD
12 10 (2.14%) Management Information System
13 9 (1.92%) Equity Derivative
13 9 (1.92%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
13 9 (1.92%) Hybrid Cloud
14 8 (1.71%) Data Protection Act
Operating Systems
1 110 (23.50%) Linux
2 69 (14.74%) zOS
3 54 (11.54%) Windows
4 53 (11.32%) Unix
5 43 (9.19%) AIX
6 25 (5.34%) Solaris
7 23 (4.91%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 20 (4.27%) Windows Server
9 13 (2.78%) Windows Server 2008
10 11 (2.35%) Windows Server 2019
11 8 (1.71%) SUSE
11 8 (1.71%) Windows Server 2016
12 6 (1.28%) MVS
13 2 (0.43%) Oracle Linux
13 2 (0.43%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
14 1 (0.21%) Android
14 1 (0.21%) Mac OS
14 1 (0.21%) Windows 10
14 1 (0.21%) Windows 7
14 1 (0.21%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 94 (20.09%) Agile
2 66 (14.10%) CI/CD
3 58 (12.39%) DevOps
4 56 (11.97%) Migration
5 53 (11.32%) Continuous Improvement
6 51 (10.90%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 49 (10.47%) Problem-Solving
8 47 (10.04%) Roadmaps
9 45 (9.62%) ITIL
10 43 (9.19%) ETL
11 40 (8.55%) Stakeholder Management
12 39 (8.33%) Test Automation
13 36 (7.69%) Computer Science
13 36 (7.69%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
14 35 (7.48%) AI
14 35 (7.48%) Configuration Management
14 35 (7.48%) Systems Engineering
15 33 (7.05%) Change Management
15 33 (7.05%) UML
16 32 (6.84%) Validation
Programming Languages
1 95 (20.30%) SQL
2 80 (17.09%) Python
3 69 (14.74%) Java
4 37 (7.91%) PowerShell
5 24 (5.13%) Bash
6 21 (4.49%) PL/SQL
7 20 (4.27%) COBOL
7 20 (4.27%) JCL
8 16 (3.42%) REXX
9 14 (2.99%) Search Processing Language
10 13 (2.78%) C++
11 11 (2.35%) Shell Script
12 10 (2.14%) C
13 9 (1.92%) Ada
14 8 (1.71%) JavaScript
15 7 (1.50%) Assembly Language
15 7 (1.50%) C#
15 7 (1.50%) MATLAB
15 7 (1.50%) Perl
16 6 (1.28%) CLIST
Qualifications
1 126 (26.92%) Security Cleared
2 81 (17.31%) SC Cleared
3 45 (9.62%) Degree
4 13 (2.78%) BPSS Clearance
5 9 (1.92%) Computer Science Degree
6 6 (1.28%) AWS Certification
6 6 (1.28%) CISSP
6 6 (1.28%) DV Cleared
7 5 (1.07%) Master's Degree
8 4 (0.85%) IBM Certification
9 3 (0.64%) Azure Certification
9 3 (0.64%) CEH
9 3 (0.64%) CISM
9 3 (0.64%) PMI Certification
9 3 (0.64%) PMP
10 2 (0.43%) (ISC)2 CCSP
10 2 (0.43%) Cisco Certification
10 2 (0.43%) CSSLP
10 2 (0.43%) GCIH
10 2 (0.43%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (6.62%) Data Quality
2 11 (2.35%) QA
3 9 (1.92%) SLA
4 6 (1.28%) GDPR
4 6 (1.28%) ISO 20022
5 5 (1.07%) SEPA
6 4 (0.85%) ISO 15022
7 2 (0.43%) Accessibility
7 2 (0.43%) GAAP
7 2 (0.43%) GRC
7 2 (0.43%) IFRS
7 2 (0.43%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 2 (0.43%) NCSC
7 2 (0.43%) NIST
8 1 (0.21%) ISO/IEC 15288
8 1 (0.21%) MIL-STD-1553
8 1 (0.21%) PCI DSS
8 1 (0.21%) PMO
8 1 (0.21%) TARGET2
8 1 (0.21%) WCAG
System Software
1 31 (6.62%) Docker
2 26 (5.56%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (4.91%) RACF
4 22 (4.70%) VMware ESXi
5 21 (4.49%) NFS
6 16 (3.42%) GPFS
7 15 (3.21%) Virtual Machines
8 13 (2.78%) vSphere
9 12 (2.56%) Time Sharing Option
10 9 (1.92%) Oracle RAC
11 8 (1.71%) Firmware
12 7 (1.50%) Hyper-V
13 6 (1.28%) KVM
14 3 (0.64%) ACF2
14 3 (0.64%) EMC RecoverPoint
14 3 (0.64%) PowerHA
15 2 (0.43%) Job Entry Subsystem
15 2 (0.43%) Tivoli Workload Scheduler
15 2 (0.43%) VMware NSX
16 1 (0.21%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 28 (5.98%) Ansible
2 23 (4.91%) OMEGAMON
3 21 (4.49%) Tivoli
4 17 (3.63%) Nagios
4 17 (3.63%) Terraform
4 17 (3.63%) ZABBIX
5 16 (3.42%) Netcool
6 15 (3.21%) Kubernetes
7 14 (2.99%) OpenView
7 14 (2.99%) Tivoli Monitoring
8 12 (2.56%) vRealize
9 11 (2.35%) Tivoli Storage Manager
10 8 (1.71%) IBM BigFix
10 8 (1.71%) Oracle RMAN
11 7 (1.50%) Tivoli NetView
11 7 (1.50%) VxRail
12 6 (1.28%) vCenter Server
13 4 (0.85%) CA Endevor
13 4 (0.85%) Grafana
14 3 (0.64%) QRadar
Vendors
1 90 (19.23%) Oracle
2 45 (9.62%) VMware
3 31 (6.62%) Microsoft
4 30 (6.41%) Splunk
5 28 (5.98%) Cisco
6 26 (5.56%) SAP
7 25 (5.34%) HP
7 25 (5.34%) Red Hat
8 23 (4.91%) ServiceNow
9 20 (4.27%) BMC
10 18 (3.85%) Dell
11 16 (3.42%) SolarWinds
12 15 (3.21%) MathWorks
13 14 (2.99%) Broadcom
14 13 (2.78%) Brocade
15 11 (2.35%) Google
15 11 (2.35%) Sybase
16 10 (2.14%) Cognos
17 9 (1.92%) Temenos
18 8 (1.71%) Siemens