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 1 October 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
1 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 265 252 212
Rank change year-on-year -13 -40 +20
Contract jobs citing IBM 532 359 443
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.97% 1.09% 1.17%
As % of the Vendors category 2.32% 2.28% 2.63%
Number of daily rates quoted 336 237 212
10th Percentile £350 £350 £335
25th Percentile £425 £415 £412
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £545 £475
Median % change year-on-year -8.26% +14.74% -9.52%
75th Percentile £600 £649 £611
90th Percentile £675 £688 £740
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £450
% change year-on-year +5.26% +5.56% -14.29%
Number of hourly rates quoted 17 8 27
10th Percentile £28.82 £25.04 £46.18
25th Percentile £57.50 £25.12 £61.25
Median hourly rate £65.00 £41.33 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +57.29% -40.96% +7.69%
75th Percentile £70.00 £71.75 -
90th Percentile - £73.25 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £63.75 £63.75 £70.00
% change year-on-year - -8.93% +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 22,891 15,745 16,843
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.69% 47.63% 44.52%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,889 9,692 9,932
10th Percentile £310 £275 £286
25th Percentile £413 £404 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% -4.76% -
75th Percentile £618 £613 £625
90th Percentile £710 £700 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £485 £500
% change year-on-year +3.09% -3.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,344 813 625
10th Percentile £13.98 £14.75 £14.73
25th Percentile £16.38 £17.75 £15.63
Median hourly rate £25.52 £25.15 £31.50
Median % change year-on-year +1.47% -20.16% -27.38%
75th Percentile £57.50 £42.50 £64.50
90th Percentile £77.50 £68.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £24.50 £21.30 £30.00
% change year-on-year +15.02% -29.00% -29.41%

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 1 October 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 1 October 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 1 October 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 -19 453 £500 -9.09% 338
UK excluding London -64 248 £500 +5.26% 223
London +7 209 £505 -17.04% 120
Work from Home -56 130 £545 -9.17% 186
North of England -50 97 £514 +14.22% 65
Yorkshire +4 63 £514 +8.77% 26
South East -60 34 £460 -16.36% 31
North West -66 33 £468 +4.00% 31
Scotland -13 31 £575 +33.10% 22
Midlands -61 30 £500 +13.77% 41
South West -22 29 £550 -8.33% 28
West Midlands -37 27 £500 -13.04% 17
East of England -17 25 £625 +13.64% 22
Wales -13 3 £600 -5.14% 8
East Midlands -29 2 - - 24

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 (7.14%) Confluence
2 36 (6.77%) WebSphere
3 26 (4.89%) CICS
4 18 (3.38%) SharePoint
5 15 (2.82%) Tomcat
6 13 (2.44%) nginx
7 10 (1.88%) Camunda
8 9 (1.69%) WebLogic
9 8 (1.50%) Apache
9 8 (1.50%) SAS
10 7 (1.32%) Oracle SOA Suite
11 6 (1.13%) JBoss
11 6 (1.13%) WebSphere Application Server
12 5 (0.94%) IBM Transformation Extender
13 3 (0.56%) IBM HTTP Server
13 3 (0.56%) IIS
13 3 (0.56%) MQSeries
13 3 (0.56%) Oracle HTTP Server
13 3 (0.56%) WebLogic Portal
13 3 (0.56%) WebSphere Portal
Applications
1 11 (2.07%) Microsoft Excel
2 7 (1.32%) Microsoft Office
2 7 (1.32%) Windchill
3 2 (0.38%) Spreadsheet
4 1 (0.19%) Chatbot
Business Applications
1 30 (5.64%) Maximo
2 19 (3.57%) IBM Planning Analytics
3 7 (1.32%) Teamcenter
4 5 (0.94%) Cognos Controller
5 4 (0.75%) Temenos T24
6 3 (0.56%) IBM Operational Decision Manager
7 2 (0.38%) SAP S/4HANA
7 2 (0.38%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
8 1 (0.19%) Actimize
8 1 (0.19%) Dynamics CRM
8 1 (0.19%) HFM
8 1 (0.19%) Misys Equation
8 1 (0.19%) Misys Midas
8 1 (0.19%) Remedy ITSM
8 1 (0.19%) SAP QM
Cloud Services
1 91 (17.11%) Azure
2 83 (15.60%) AWS
3 39 (7.33%) GCP
4 37 (6.95%) GitHub
5 24 (4.51%) OpenShift
6 14 (2.63%) GitHub Copilot
7 13 (2.44%) Anthropic Claude
7 13 (2.44%) GitHub Actions
8 12 (2.26%) Azure DevOps
9 11 (2.07%) ChatGPT
10 10 (1.88%) IBM Watson
10 10 (1.88%) Power Platform
11 9 (1.69%) Azure Service Bus
11 9 (1.69%) Boomi
11 9 (1.69%) Entra ID
11 9 (1.69%) iPaaS
12 8 (1.50%) Microsoft Copilot
13 7 (1.32%) Amazon S3
13 7 (1.32%) IBM Blueworks
14 6 (1.13%) Azure Data Factory
Communications & Networking
1 24 (4.51%) HTTP
2 21 (3.95%) SSL
3 12 (2.26%) SAN
4 10 (1.88%) Network Security
5 9 (1.69%) Firewall
6 8 (1.50%) TCP/IP
7 7 (1.32%) SNMP
8 6 (1.13%) DNS
8 6 (1.13%) Internet
8 6 (1.13%) SSH
8 6 (1.13%) Wireshark
9 5 (0.94%) VSAN
10 4 (0.75%) Fibre Channel
10 4 (0.75%) NAS
11 3 (0.56%) Cisco Nexus
11 3 (0.56%) iSCSI
12 2 (0.38%) BGP
12 2 (0.38%) Multicast
12 2 (0.38%) OSPF
12 2 (0.38%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 49 (9.21%) Db2
2 35 (6.58%) Relational Database
3 31 (5.83%) DataStage
4 28 (5.26%) SQL Server
5 20 (3.76%) Data Warehouse
6 17 (3.20%) Oracle Database
7 15 (2.82%) MongoDB
8 14 (2.63%) Metadata
9 10 (1.88%) Tableau
10 8 (1.50%) Power BI
11 7 (1.32%) Elasticsearch
11 7 (1.32%) GIS
11 7 (1.32%) PostgreSQL
12 6 (1.13%) NoSQL
13 5 (0.94%) Big Data
13 5 (0.94%) Data Lake
13 5 (0.94%) IBM InfoSphere
14 3 (0.56%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
14 3 (0.56%) RDBMS
15 2 (0.38%) Snowflake Schema
Development Applications
1 63 (11.84%) JIRA
2 46 (8.65%) Jenkins
3 34 (6.39%) Git
4 24 (4.51%) GitLab
5 21 (3.95%) Rational DOORS
6 19 (3.57%) JMeter
7 16 (3.01%) LoadRunner
7 16 (3.01%) SonarQube
8 15 (2.82%) Postman
8 15 (2.82%) SoapUI
9 12 (2.26%) Gradle
10 11 (2.07%) IBM UrbanCode
11 10 (1.88%) eggPlant
11 10 (1.88%) JUnit
11 10 (1.88%) Maven
11 10 (1.88%) REST Assured
11 10 (1.88%) Selenium
11 10 (1.88%) Sonatype Nexus
12 9 (1.69%) Mockito
12 9 (1.69%) Rational Rhapsody
General
1 205 (38.53%) Finance
2 141 (26.50%) Social Skills
3 138 (25.94%) Banking
4 74 (13.91%) Analytical Skills
5 27 (5.08%) Legal
6 21 (3.95%) Retail
7 19 (3.57%) Public Sector
8 16 (3.01%) Manufacturing
9 11 (2.07%) Military
10 10 (1.88%) Documentation Skills
11 8 (1.50%) Investment Banking
11 8 (1.50%) Presentation Skills
12 7 (1.32%) Front Office
12 7 (1.32%) Spanish Language
13 6 (1.13%) Aerospace
13 6 (1.13%) Influencing Skills
14 5 (0.94%) Law
15 4 (0.75%) Financial Institution
15 4 (0.75%) Organisational Skills
16 2 (0.38%) German Language
Job Titles
1 85 (15.98%) Developer
2 55 (10.34%) Architect
3 50 (9.40%) Analyst
4 43 (8.08%) Senior
5 37 (6.95%) Lead
6 26 (4.89%) Administrator
6 26 (4.89%) Solutions Architect
7 23 (4.32%) Consultant
8 21 (3.95%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 18 (3.38%) Automation Engineer
10 17 (3.20%) Java Developer
11 16 (3.01%) DataStage Developer
11 16 (3.01%) Middleware Engineer
12 15 (2.82%) Applications Support
12 15 (2.82%) Business Analyst
13 14 (2.63%) CICS Engineer
14 13 (2.44%) Applications Manager
14 13 (2.44%) Applications Support Manager
14 13 (2.44%) Support Manager
14 13 (2.44%) Test Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 96 (18.05%) Middleware
2 61 (11.47%) Kafka
3 47 (8.83%) REST
3 47 (8.83%) XML
4 41 (7.71%) JSON
5 31 (5.83%) SOAP
6 29 (5.45%) Spring Boot
7 28 (5.26%) ISPF
8 21 (3.95%) HTML
8 21 (3.95%) Spring
9 17 (3.20%) .NET
10 16 (3.01%) RabbitMQ
10 16 (3.01%) Terraform
11 14 (2.63%) OAuth
12 13 (2.44%) SAML
12 13 (2.44%) Web Services
13 12 (2.26%) GraphQL
13 12 (2.26%) Swagger
14 11 (2.07%) JWT
14 11 (2.07%) OpenAPI
Miscellaneous
1 111 (20.86%) Mainframe
2 29 (5.45%) Clustering
3 24 (4.51%) Data Centre
4 23 (4.32%) Replication
5 22 (4.14%) Cloud Native
5 22 (4.14%) Enterprise Software
6 20 (3.76%) Hybrid Cloud
7 19 (3.57%) AS400
8 16 (3.01%) Data Structures
8 16 (3.01%) Distributed Systems
9 14 (2.63%) Onboarding
10 13 (2.44%) iSeries
10 13 (2.44%) Legacy Systems
11 12 (2.26%) Data Protection Act
11 12 (2.26%) Legacy Applications
11 12 (2.26%) Product Ownership
12 11 (2.07%) IBM Mainframe
12 11 (2.07%) SWIFT Messaging Network
13 10 (1.88%) Management Information System
13 10 (1.88%) VSAM
Operating Systems
1 94 (17.67%) Linux
2 84 (15.79%) zOS
3 58 (10.90%) Unix
4 33 (6.20%) Windows
5 19 (3.57%) AIX
5 19 (3.57%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 9 (1.69%) Solaris
6 9 (1.69%) SUSE
6 9 (1.69%) Windows Server
7 7 (1.32%) MVS
8 5 (0.94%) Windows Server 2008
9 4 (0.75%) Windows Server 2019
10 2 (0.38%) Windows Server 2016
11 1 (0.19%) Data ONTAP
11 1 (0.19%) Mac OS
11 1 (0.19%) OpenVMS
11 1 (0.19%) VMS
11 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 99 (18.61%) CI/CD
2 92 (17.29%) Agile
3 87 (16.35%) Stakeholder Management
4 86 (16.17%) Migration
5 70 (13.16%) DevOps
5 70 (13.16%) Test Automation
6 66 (12.41%) ITIL
6 66 (12.41%) Problem-Solving
7 61 (11.47%) Continuous Improvement
8 53 (9.96%) Validation
9 48 (9.02%) ETL
9 48 (9.02%) Performance Tuning
10 47 (8.83%) Roadmaps
11 46 (8.65%) Change Management
12 45 (8.46%) Root Cause Analysis
13 43 (8.08%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 42 (7.89%) Scrum
15 41 (7.71%) AI
16 39 (7.33%) Performance Optimisation
17 35 (6.58%) Computer Science
Programming Languages
1 116 (21.80%) SQL
2 95 (17.86%) Python
3 88 (16.54%) Java
4 46 (8.65%) JavaScript
5 26 (4.89%) JCL
6 21 (3.95%) PL/SQL
6 21 (3.95%) PowerShell
7 20 (3.76%) Shell Script
8 18 (3.38%) Bash
8 18 (3.38%) COBOL
9 17 (3.20%) REXX
10 16 (3.01%) C++
11 14 (2.63%) C#
12 11 (2.07%) C
13 9 (1.69%) Perl
14 8 (1.50%) TypeScript
15 7 (1.32%) Assembly Language
15 7 (1.32%) CLIST
16 6 (1.13%) RPG
16 6 (1.13%) Search Processing Language
Qualifications
1 103 (19.36%) Security Cleared
2 83 (15.60%) SC Cleared
3 46 (8.65%) Degree
4 26 (4.89%) Computer Science Degree
5 13 (2.44%) BPSS Clearance
6 7 (1.32%) AWS Certification
6 7 (1.32%) CISSP
6 7 (1.32%) DV Cleared
7 6 (1.13%) ISTQB
7 6 (1.13%) PMI Certification
7 6 (1.13%) PMP
8 4 (0.75%) Azure Certification
8 4 (0.75%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 3 (0.56%) ACCA
9 3 (0.56%) CIMA
9 3 (0.56%) ISEB
9 3 (0.56%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
10 2 (0.38%) CCSP
10 2 (0.38%) CISA
10 2 (0.38%) CISM
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (6.39%) Data Quality
2 16 (3.01%) QA
3 10 (1.88%) ISO 20022
4 8 (1.50%) ISO 15022
5 7 (1.32%) NIST
6 6 (1.13%) GDPR
7 5 (0.94%) Actionable Recommendations
7 5 (0.94%) SLA
8 3 (0.56%) ISO/IEC 19770
8 3 (0.56%) SEPA
9 2 (0.38%) GAAP
9 2 (0.38%) GRC
9 2 (0.38%) IFRS
9 2 (0.38%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 2 (0.38%) PMO
10 1 (0.19%) Accessibility
10 1 (0.19%) DO-254
10 1 (0.19%) IEC 61508
10 1 (0.19%) MIL-STD-1553
10 1 (0.19%) TARGET2
System Software
1 44 (8.27%) Docker
2 30 (5.64%) RACF
3 22 (4.14%) VMware Infrastructure
4 15 (2.82%) NFS
5 14 (2.63%) Time Sharing Option
6 12 (2.26%) GPFS
7 11 (2.07%) VMware ESXi
8 10 (1.88%) Virtual Machines
9 9 (1.69%) vSphere
10 8 (1.50%) Firmware
11 7 (1.32%) ACF2
12 6 (1.13%) Active Directory
13 4 (0.75%) Oracle RAC
13 4 (0.75%) PowerHA
14 1 (0.19%) EMC RecoverPoint
14 1 (0.19%) Hyper-V
14 1 (0.19%) oVirt
14 1 (0.19%) RHEV
14 1 (0.19%) SRDF
14 1 (0.19%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 40 (7.52%) Kubernetes
2 28 (5.26%) Ansible
3 25 (4.70%) OMEGAMON
4 18 (3.38%) Tivoli
5 11 (2.07%) Grafana
5 11 (2.07%) Tivoli Monitoring
5 11 (2.07%) Tivoli Storage Manager
6 9 (1.69%) Netcool
7 8 (1.50%) Control-M
8 7 (1.32%) Nagios
8 7 (1.32%) ZABBIX
9 6 (1.13%) HP Fortify
9 6 (1.13%) vRealize
10 5 (0.94%) QRadar
11 4 (0.75%) CA Endevor
11 4 (0.75%) OpenView
11 4 (0.75%) Tivoli NetView
11 4 (0.75%) VxRail
12 3 (0.56%) Netcool/OMNIbus
12 3 (0.56%) Oracle RMAN
Vendors
1 116 (21.80%) Oracle
2 61 (11.47%) Microsoft
3 38 (7.14%) SAP
4 31 (5.83%) VMware
5 30 (5.64%) Google
6 28 (5.26%) Splunk
7 27 (5.08%) ServiceNow
8 19 (3.57%) Broadcom
8 19 (3.57%) Red Hat
9 18 (3.38%) Cisco
9 18 (3.38%) Dynatrace
10 15 (2.82%) Siemens
11 14 (2.63%) Cognos
12 13 (2.44%) Databricks
13 12 (2.26%) Dell
13 12 (2.26%) EMC
13 12 (2.26%) Sybase
14 11 (2.07%) Informatica
14 11 (2.07%) New Relic
14 11 (2.07%) TIBCO