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 September 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 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 272 236 218
Rank change year-on-year -36 -18 +12
Contract jobs citing IBM 507 366 428
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.93% 1.11% 1.12%
As % of the Vendors category 2.22% 2.35% 2.53%
Number of daily rates quoted 308 236 204
10th Percentile £343 £357 £343
25th Percentile £413 £413 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £545 £475
Median % change year-on-year -8.26% +14.74% -9.52%
75th Percentile £600 £649 £600
90th Percentile £675 £700 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £450
% change year-on-year +5.26% +5.56% -14.29%
Number of hourly rates quoted 23 7 31
10th Percentile £39.40 £25.04 £27.00
25th Percentile £61.03 £25.09 £61.25
Median hourly rate £70.00 £25.15 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +178.33% -64.07% +7.69%
75th Percentile £71.88 £66.88 -
90th Percentile £88.00 £73.50 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £70.00 £57.50 £70.00
% change year-on-year +21.74% -17.86% +7.69%

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 22,804 15,574 16,904
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.85% 47.21% 44.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,992 9,525 10,215
10th Percentile £313 £275 £289
25th Percentile £413 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% -4.76% -
75th Percentile £613 £613 £626
90th Percentile £700 £700 £731
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,252 784 693
10th Percentile £14.00 £14.69 £14.18
25th Percentile £16.72 £17.36 £15.62
Median hourly rate £27.34 £25.15 £31.00
Median % change year-on-year +8.71% -18.87% -27.06%
75th Percentile £63.26 £43.75 £63.75
90th Percentile £81.25 £68.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £26.14 £21.28 £30.00
% change year-on-year +22.84% -29.07% -25.00%

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 September 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 September 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for IBM in the UK

IBM
Top 15 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 September 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 -33 430 £500 -9.09% 185
UK excluding London -76 238 £500 +5.26% 116
London 0 199 £488 -19.92% 92
Work from Home -59 122 £550 -12.52% 119
North of England -57 85 £513 +14.06% 28
Yorkshire -12 53 £514 +8.77% 8
South East -62 37 £460 -16.36% 29
South West -24 33 £550 -8.33% 17
North West -73 31 £455 +1.00% 16
Scotland -37 30 £600 +32.74% 14
Midlands -67 27 £475 +8.08% 11
West Midlands -42 25 £500 -13.04% 6
East of England -20 23 £625 +13.64% 14
Wales -11 3 £600 -5.14% 2
East Midlands -32 1 - - 5

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 38 (7.50%) Confluence
2 32 (6.31%) WebSphere
3 24 (4.73%) CICS
4 22 (4.34%) SharePoint
5 13 (2.56%) Tomcat
6 11 (2.17%) nginx
7 10 (1.97%) Camunda
8 7 (1.38%) JBoss
8 7 (1.38%) Oracle SOA Suite
9 6 (1.18%) WebLogic
10 5 (0.99%) SAS
10 5 (0.99%) WebSphere Application Server
11 4 (0.79%) Apache
12 3 (0.59%) IIS
12 3 (0.59%) MQSeries
13 2 (0.39%) ArcGIS
13 2 (0.39%) IBM HTTP Server
13 2 (0.39%) Oracle HTTP Server
13 2 (0.39%) WebSphere Portal
14 1 (0.20%) Apache Spark
Applications
1 8 (1.58%) Microsoft Excel
2 5 (0.99%) Microsoft Office
3 2 (0.39%) Spreadsheet
4 1 (0.20%) Chatbot
Business Applications
1 24 (4.73%) Maximo
2 19 (3.75%) IBM Planning Analytics
3 8 (1.58%) Temenos T24
4 5 (0.99%) Cognos Controller
5 3 (0.59%) IBM Operational Decision Manager
6 2 (0.39%) SAP S/4HANA
6 2 (0.39%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
7 1 (0.20%) Actimize
7 1 (0.20%) Dynamics CRM
7 1 (0.20%) HFM
7 1 (0.20%) MetaTrader
7 1 (0.20%) Misys Equation
7 1 (0.20%) Misys Midas
7 1 (0.20%) Remedy ITSM
7 1 (0.20%) SAP QM
7 1 (0.20%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 77 (15.19%) Azure
2 74 (14.60%) AWS
3 32 (6.31%) GitHub
4 30 (5.92%) GCP
5 24 (4.73%) OpenShift
6 15 (2.96%) GitHub Copilot
7 14 (2.76%) Anthropic Claude
8 12 (2.37%) ChatGPT
9 9 (1.78%) GitHub Actions
10 8 (1.58%) Amazon S3
10 8 (1.58%) Azure DevOps
10 8 (1.58%) Azure Service Bus
10 8 (1.58%) Boomi
10 8 (1.58%) iPaaS
11 7 (1.38%) IBM Blueworks
11 7 (1.38%) Microsoft Copilot
12 6 (1.18%) Azure Data Factory
12 6 (1.18%) IBM Watson
12 6 (1.18%) Power Platform
13 5 (0.99%) Entra ID
Communications & Networking
1 23 (4.54%) SSL
2 21 (4.14%) HTTP
3 13 (2.56%) SNMP
4 11 (2.17%) SAN
5 10 (1.97%) Firewall
5 10 (1.97%) TCP/IP
6 9 (1.78%) Network Security
7 6 (1.18%) DNS
8 5 (0.99%) Cisco Nexus
8 5 (0.99%) Wireshark
9 4 (0.79%) Fibre Channel
9 4 (0.79%) SSH
9 4 (0.79%) VSAN
10 3 (0.59%) Internet
10 3 (0.59%) NAS
11 2 (0.39%) APPN
11 2 (0.39%) DMZ
11 2 (0.39%) LAN
11 2 (0.39%) SNA
11 2 (0.39%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 47 (9.27%) Db2
2 34 (6.71%) Relational Database
3 31 (6.11%) DataStage
4 24 (4.73%) SQL Server
5 18 (3.55%) Oracle Database
6 17 (3.35%) Data Warehouse
7 16 (3.16%) Metadata
7 16 (3.16%) MongoDB
8 9 (1.78%) Elasticsearch
9 8 (1.58%) Tableau
10 7 (1.38%) NoSQL
11 6 (1.18%) GIS
11 6 (1.18%) PostgreSQL
12 5 (0.99%) Big Data
12 5 (0.99%) Data Lake
12 5 (0.99%) Power BI
13 2 (0.39%) Amazon Redshift
13 2 (0.39%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
13 2 (0.39%) IBM InfoSphere
13 2 (0.39%) Redis
Development Applications
1 61 (12.03%) JIRA
2 37 (7.30%) Jenkins
3 24 (4.73%) GitLab
4 22 (4.34%) Git
5 20 (3.94%) Rational DOORS
6 16 (3.16%) JMeter
7 14 (2.76%) SonarQube
8 12 (2.37%) LoadRunner
9 11 (2.17%) Gradle
9 11 (2.17%) Sonatype Nexus
10 10 (1.97%) Postman
10 10 (1.97%) Rational Rhapsody
10 10 (1.97%) SoapUI
11 9 (1.78%) JUnit
11 9 (1.78%) Maven
11 9 (1.78%) REST Assured
12 8 (1.58%) Bitbucket Server
12 8 (1.58%) IBM UrbanCode
12 8 (1.58%) Mockito
12 8 (1.58%) Selenium
General
1 182 (35.90%) Finance
2 132 (26.04%) Banking
3 126 (24.85%) Social Skills
4 67 (13.21%) Analytical Skills
5 29 (5.72%) Legal
6 22 (4.34%) Public Sector
7 16 (3.16%) Retail
8 10 (1.97%) Aerospace
8 10 (1.97%) Military
9 8 (1.58%) Front Office
9 8 (1.58%) Investment Banking
10 7 (1.38%) Documentation Skills
10 7 (1.38%) Presentation Skills
11 6 (1.18%) Influencing Skills
11 6 (1.18%) Law
12 4 (0.79%) Spanish Language
13 3 (0.59%) Financial Institution
13 3 (0.59%) Manufacturing
13 3 (0.59%) Retail Banking
13 3 (0.59%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 84 (16.57%) Developer
2 61 (12.03%) Architect
3 47 (9.27%) Analyst
4 44 (8.68%) Senior
5 30 (5.92%) Lead
6 28 (5.52%) Administrator
7 26 (5.13%) Solutions Architect
8 24 (4.73%) Consultant
9 20 (3.94%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 18 (3.55%) Middleware Engineer
11 17 (3.35%) Java Developer
12 14 (2.76%) CICS Engineer
12 14 (2.76%) DataStage Developer
13 13 (2.56%) Business Analyst
14 12 (2.37%) Oracle Developer
14 12 (2.37%) Test Engineer
15 11 (2.17%) Applications Support
15 11 (2.17%) Delivery Manager
15 11 (2.17%) Programmer
15 11 (2.17%) Senior Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 73 (14.40%) Middleware
2 55 (10.85%) Kafka
3 44 (8.68%) REST
4 42 (8.28%) XML
5 35 (6.90%) JSON
6 30 (5.92%) Spring Boot
7 24 (4.73%) ISPF
7 24 (4.73%) SOAP
8 23 (4.54%) Spring
9 18 (3.55%) RabbitMQ
10 17 (3.35%) HTML
11 15 (2.96%) .NET
12 13 (2.56%) OAuth
12 13 (2.56%) Web Services
13 12 (2.37%) SAML
13 12 (2.37%) Terraform
14 11 (2.17%) Swagger
15 10 (1.97%) CSS
15 10 (1.97%) EDI
15 10 (1.97%) Flash
Miscellaneous
1 106 (20.91%) Mainframe
2 31 (6.11%) Clustering
3 25 (4.93%) Data Centre
4 21 (4.14%) Replication
5 20 (3.94%) Cloud Native
5 20 (3.94%) Data Structures
6 16 (3.16%) Enterprise Software
6 16 (3.16%) Product Ownership
6 16 (3.16%) SWIFT Messaging Network
7 15 (2.96%) AS400
7 15 (2.96%) Distributed Systems
8 14 (2.76%) Hybrid Cloud
9 13 (2.56%) Data Protection Act
9 13 (2.56%) Legacy Applications
9 13 (2.56%) Legacy Systems
10 12 (2.37%) IBM Mainframe
11 11 (2.17%) iSeries
12 10 (1.97%) Equity Derivative
12 10 (1.97%) Management Information System
12 10 (1.97%) Onboarding
Operating Systems
1 94 (18.54%) Linux
2 84 (16.57%) zOS
3 55 (10.85%) Unix
4 39 (7.69%) Windows
5 25 (4.93%) AIX
6 21 (4.14%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 11 (2.17%) Solaris
8 8 (1.58%) SUSE
8 8 (1.58%) Windows Server
9 7 (1.38%) MVS
9 7 (1.38%) Windows Server 2008
10 5 (0.99%) Windows Server 2019
11 3 (0.59%) Windows Server 2016
12 2 (0.39%) Oracle Linux
12 2 (0.39%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
13 1 (0.20%) Mac OS
13 1 (0.20%) OpenVMS
13 1 (0.20%) VMS
13 1 (0.20%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 94 (18.54%) Agile
2 89 (17.55%) CI/CD
3 78 (15.38%) Migration
4 66 (13.02%) DevOps
5 63 (12.43%) Stakeholder Management
5 63 (12.43%) Test Automation
6 58 (11.44%) ITIL
7 57 (11.24%) Problem-Solving
8 51 (10.06%) Continuous Improvement
9 49 (9.66%) ETL
10 45 (8.88%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 43 (8.48%) Scrum
11 43 (8.48%) Validation
12 41 (8.09%) Change Management
13 39 (7.69%) Performance Tuning
14 38 (7.50%) Root Cause Analysis
15 37 (7.30%) AI
15 37 (7.30%) Roadmaps
16 36 (7.10%) Computer Science
17 34 (6.71%) Performance Optimisation
Programming Languages
1 105 (20.71%) SQL
2 93 (18.34%) Python
3 85 (16.77%) Java
4 33 (6.51%) JavaScript
5 25 (4.93%) PowerShell
6 24 (4.73%) JCL
7 21 (4.14%) PL/SQL
8 17 (3.35%) C++
8 17 (3.35%) Shell Script
9 16 (3.16%) Bash
9 16 (3.16%) REXX
10 14 (2.76%) COBOL
11 13 (2.56%) C
12 12 (2.37%) C#
13 10 (1.97%) Perl
13 10 (1.97%) Search Processing Language
14 7 (1.38%) Ada
15 6 (1.18%) Assembly Language
15 6 (1.18%) CLIST
16 5 (0.99%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 111 (21.89%) Security Cleared
2 83 (16.37%) SC Cleared
3 45 (8.88%) Degree
4 21 (4.14%) Computer Science Degree
5 8 (1.58%) DV Cleared
6 7 (1.38%) AWS Certification
6 7 (1.38%) BPSS Clearance
7 6 (1.18%) CISSP
7 6 (1.18%) ISTQB
8 4 (0.79%) Azure Certification
8 4 (0.79%) CISM
8 4 (0.79%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 3 (0.59%) (ISC)2 CCSP
9 3 (0.59%) ACCA
9 3 (0.59%) CCSP
9 3 (0.59%) CIMA
9 3 (0.59%) Cisco Certification
9 3 (0.59%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
9 3 (0.59%) PMI Certification
9 3 (0.59%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 36 (7.10%) Data Quality
2 17 (3.35%) QA
3 10 (1.97%) ISO 20022
4 8 (1.58%) ISO 15022
5 7 (1.38%) GDPR
6 5 (0.99%) NIST
7 4 (0.79%) Actionable Recommendations
7 4 (0.79%) SEPA
7 4 (0.79%) SLA
8 3 (0.59%) GRC
8 3 (0.59%) ISO/IEC 19770
8 3 (0.59%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 2 (0.39%) GAAP
9 2 (0.39%) IFRS
9 2 (0.39%) PMO
10 1 (0.20%) DO-254
10 1 (0.20%) ISO 26262
10 1 (0.20%) ISO/IEC 15288
10 1 (0.20%) MIL-STD-1553
10 1 (0.20%) TARGET2
System Software
1 41 (8.09%) Docker
2 27 (5.33%) RACF
3 22 (4.34%) VMware Infrastructure
4 16 (3.16%) NFS
5 12 (2.37%) Time Sharing Option
5 12 (2.37%) Virtual Machines
5 12 (2.37%) VMware ESXi
6 11 (2.17%) GPFS
7 8 (1.58%) vSphere
8 7 (1.38%) ACF2
8 7 (1.38%) Firmware
9 6 (1.18%) Oracle RAC
10 5 (0.99%) PowerHA
11 4 (0.79%) Active Directory
12 3 (0.59%) EMC RecoverPoint
13 1 (0.20%) Hyper-V
13 1 (0.20%) oVirt
13 1 (0.20%) RHEV
13 1 (0.20%) SRDF
13 1 (0.20%) Tivoli Workload Scheduler
Systems Management
1 32 (6.31%) Kubernetes
2 24 (4.73%) Ansible
2 24 (4.73%) OMEGAMON
3 17 (3.35%) Tivoli
4 13 (2.56%) Nagios
4 13 (2.56%) Tivoli Storage Manager
4 13 (2.56%) ZABBIX
5 12 (2.37%) Netcool
6 10 (1.97%) OpenView
6 10 (1.97%) Tivoli Monitoring
7 9 (1.78%) Grafana
8 6 (1.18%) Control-M
8 6 (1.18%) vRealize
9 5 (0.99%) HP Fortify
9 5 (0.99%) Oracle RMAN
9 5 (0.99%) QRadar
9 5 (0.99%) Tivoli NetView
10 4 (0.79%) CA Endevor
10 4 (0.79%) VxRail
11 3 (0.59%) Avamar
Vendors
1 113 (22.29%) Oracle
2 52 (10.26%) Microsoft
3 32 (6.31%) Splunk
3 32 (6.31%) VMware
4 31 (6.11%) SAP
5 25 (4.93%) Google
6 22 (4.34%) Red Hat
7 21 (4.14%) ServiceNow
8 19 (3.75%) Broadcom
8 19 (3.75%) Cisco
9 16 (3.16%) HP
10 14 (2.76%) BMC
10 14 (2.76%) Cognos
10 14 (2.76%) Dynatrace
11 13 (2.56%) Brocade
11 13 (2.56%) Dell
11 13 (2.56%) MathWorks
11 13 (2.56%) Sybase
12 12 (2.37%) SolarWinds
13 11 (2.17%) Databricks