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 21 November 2025, 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
21 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 255 221 222
Rank change year-on-year -34 +1 +67
Contract jobs citing IBM 376 415 511
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.05% 1.14% 1.10%
As % of the Vendors category 2.20% 2.53% 2.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 252 196 304
10th Percentile £317 £284 £400
25th Percentile £406 £400 £460
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £480 £550
Median % change year-on-year +4.17% -12.73% -
75th Percentile £629 £600 £653
90th Percentile £720 £680 £774
UK excluding London median daily rate £474 £450 £525
% change year-on-year +5.29% -14.29% +1.94%
Number of hourly rates quoted 10 26 16
10th Percentile £25.04 £24.18 -
25th Percentile £25.15 £46.18 £65.00
Median hourly rate £63.75 £63.25 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +0.79% -9.64% +27.27%
75th Percentile £72.25 £68.75 -
90th Percentile £75.65 £70.00 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £70.00 £63.25 £70.00
% change year-on-year +10.67% -9.64% +30.82%

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 17,053 16,375 21,009
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 47.54% 44.88% 45.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 10,738 9,632 13,459
10th Percentile £287 £300 £260
25th Percentile £405 £413 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -1.45%
75th Percentile £612 £625 £638
90th Percentile £700 £718 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -1.60% - +1.01%
Number of hourly rates quoted 887 522 674
10th Percentile £15.33 £15.51 £14.59
25th Percentile £18.25 £19.09 £20.00
Median hourly rate £25.15 £30.00 £44.50
Median % change year-on-year -16.18% -32.58% +72.61%
75th Percentile £42.63 £62.50 £63.75
90th Percentile £72.50 £73.98 £76.53
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.32 £27.50 £44.50
% change year-on-year -18.85% -38.20% +97.78%

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 21 November 2025.

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 21 November 2025.

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 21 November 2025. 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 -31 330 £500 +3.63% 215
UK excluding London -28 221 £474 +5.29% 159
Work from Home +2 121 £550 +11.68% 102
London -41 110 £545 +9.00% 73
North of England -26 70 £450 -16.67% 19
North West +15 55 £450 +25.00% 15
Midlands +1 53 £425 -3.41% 19
West Midlands +5 42 £445 +3.49% 14
South East -29 39 £563 +25.70% 62
East of England -3 24 £475 -5.00% 33
Scotland -3 18 £450 - 5
South West -30 16 £633 +5.42% 32
Yorkshire -58 15 £473 -21.24% 4
East Midlands -11 11 £415 -13.54% 5
Northern Ireland - 4 £350 - 2
Wales 0 1 £633 +201.19%

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 39 (10.37%) WebSphere
2 26 (6.91%) Confluence
3 24 (6.38%) Apache
4 18 (4.79%) IIS
5 17 (4.52%) WebSphere Application Server
6 16 (4.26%) CICS
7 15 (3.99%) JBoss
8 13 (3.46%) MQSeries
8 13 (3.46%) SharePoint
9 11 (2.93%) ArcGIS
10 10 (2.66%) iPlanet
11 7 (1.86%) WebLogic
12 6 (1.60%) Oracle SOA Suite
12 6 (1.60%) SAS
13 4 (1.06%) FileNet
14 3 (0.80%) Tomcat
15 2 (0.53%) nginx
16 1 (0.27%) Anypoint
16 1 (0.27%) IBM Transformation Extender
Applications
1 12 (3.19%) Microsoft Office
2 8 (2.13%) Microsoft Excel
3 7 (1.86%) MS Visio
4 4 (1.06%) Chatbot
5 3 (0.80%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.80%) Sketch
6 1 (0.27%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 47 (12.50%) Maximo
2 5 (1.33%) BusinessWorks
3 4 (1.06%) IBM Planning Analytics
4 3 (0.80%) Oracle 11i
4 3 (0.80%) SAP EWM
4 3 (0.80%) SAP PM
4 3 (0.80%) SAP PP
4 3 (0.80%) SAP QM
4 3 (0.80%) SAP S/4HANA
4 3 (0.80%) SAP WM
5 2 (0.53%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
6 1 (0.27%) Algo Collateral
6 1 (0.27%) Cloudability
6 1 (0.27%) Cognos Controller
6 1 (0.27%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
6 1 (0.27%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
6 1 (0.27%) SAP GRC
6 1 (0.27%) Teamcenter
6 1 (0.27%) TIBCO BusinessEvents
6 1 (0.27%) TRIRIGA
Cloud Services
1 95 (25.27%) AWS
2 59 (15.69%) Azure
3 28 (7.45%) GCP
4 23 (6.12%) OpenShift
5 13 (3.46%) Serverless
6 12 (3.19%) AWS CloudFormation
6 12 (3.19%) AWS Lambda
7 11 (2.93%) IBM Cloud
8 10 (2.66%) Datadog
9 9 (2.39%) Amazon ECS
9 9 (2.39%) Amazon S3
9 9 (2.39%) GitHub
10 8 (2.13%) OCI
10 8 (2.13%) Power Platform
10 8 (2.13%) SaaS
11 7 (1.86%) Azure API Management
11 7 (1.86%) PaaS
12 6 (1.60%) IBM Watson
13 5 (1.33%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 5 (1.33%) Azure Sentinel
Communications & Networking
1 13 (3.46%) SSH
2 12 (3.19%) HTTPS
3 11 (2.93%) VSAN
4 10 (2.66%) Kerberos
5 8 (2.13%) SAN
5 8 (2.13%) SSL
6 7 (1.86%) Firewall
6 7 (1.86%) VPN
7 4 (1.06%) HTTP
7 4 (1.06%) LAN
7 4 (1.06%) Network Security
8 3 (0.80%) WAN
9 2 (0.53%) Calico
9 2 (0.53%) DNS
9 2 (0.53%) DWDM
9 2 (0.53%) SDH
9 2 (0.53%) TCP/IP
10 1 (0.27%) iSCSI
10 1 (0.27%) VLAN
10 1 (0.27%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 36 (9.57%) DB2
2 31 (8.24%) SQL Server
3 23 (6.12%) Oracle Database
4 21 (5.59%) Amazon RDS
4 21 (5.59%) Relational Database
5 15 (3.99%) PostgreSQL
6 11 (2.93%) Data Warehouse
7 9 (2.39%) DataStage
7 9 (2.39%) GIS
8 8 (2.13%) Amazon Athena
8 8 (2.13%) NoSQL
9 6 (1.60%) Amazon Redshift
9 6 (1.60%) Couchbase
9 6 (1.60%) Metadata
9 6 (1.60%) Oracle Reports
10 5 (1.33%) DynamoDB
10 5 (1.33%) IBM InfoSphere
10 5 (1.33%) Power BI
11 3 (0.80%) Cognos Framework Manager
11 3 (0.80%) Cognos Report Studio
Development Applications
1 40 (10.64%) JIRA
2 25 (6.65%) Git
2 25 (6.65%) Jenkins
3 20 (5.32%) GitLab
4 16 (4.26%) Rational DOORS
5 10 (2.66%) Bitbucket Server
5 10 (2.66%) CA Release Automation
6 9 (2.39%) Sonatype Nexus
7 5 (1.33%) Bitbucket
7 5 (1.33%) ERwin
7 5 (1.33%) SoapUI
8 4 (1.06%) JUnit
8 4 (1.06%) Rational Rhapsody
8 4 (1.06%) Selenium
9 3 (0.80%) Ant
9 3 (0.80%) IBM UrbanCode
9 3 (0.80%) Log4j
9 3 (0.80%) Maven
9 3 (0.80%) Visual Studio
10 2 (0.53%) PowerDesigner
General
1 106 (28.19%) Social Skills
2 87 (23.14%) Finance
3 58 (15.43%) Banking
4 39 (10.37%) Analytical Skills
5 23 (6.12%) Public Sector
6 16 (4.26%) Documentation Skills
7 14 (3.72%) Presentation Skills
8 11 (2.93%) Aerospace
9 8 (2.13%) Financial Institution
9 8 (2.13%) Private Banking
10 5 (1.33%) Investment Banking
10 5 (1.33%) Telecoms
11 4 (1.06%) Electronics
11 4 (1.06%) International Banking
11 4 (1.06%) Law
11 4 (1.06%) Retail
12 3 (0.80%) Legal
12 3 (0.80%) Manufacturing
12 3 (0.80%) Pharmaceutical
12 3 (0.80%) Police
Job Titles
1 69 (18.35%) Developer
2 56 (14.89%) Analyst
3 44 (11.70%) Architect
4 34 (9.04%) Consultant
5 30 (7.98%) Solutions Architect
6 22 (5.85%) Senior
7 19 (5.05%) Platform Engineer
8 16 (4.26%) Lead
9 15 (3.99%) Infrastructure Analyst
9 15 (3.99%) Management Consultant
10 14 (3.72%) Data Engineer
11 12 (3.19%) Maximo Consultant
11 12 (3.19%) webMethods Developer
12 11 (2.93%) Programmer
13 9 (2.39%) DevOps Engineer
13 9 (2.39%) Maximo Architect
13 9 (2.39%) Software Engineer
13 9 (2.39%) Storage Analyst
14 8 (2.13%) Administrator
14 8 (2.13%) Technical Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 44 (11.70%) XML
2 30 (7.98%) Kafka
3 27 (7.18%) OAuth
3 27 (7.18%) SOAP
4 22 (5.85%) JSON
4 22 (5.85%) LDAP
5 21 (5.59%) SAML
6 20 (5.32%) JMS
6 20 (5.32%) OpenID
7 18 (4.79%) Middleware
8 16 (4.26%) Web Services
9 15 (3.99%) Spring
10 12 (3.19%) ISPF
11 10 (2.66%) Flash
11 10 (2.66%) REST
12 9 (2.39%) Hibernate
12 9 (2.39%) XSLT
13 7 (1.86%) EDI
14 6 (1.60%) WSDL
14 6 (1.60%) XSD
Miscellaneous
1 42 (11.17%) Mainframe
2 27 (7.18%) Legacy Systems
3 26 (6.91%) Replication
4 20 (5.32%) Linux Command Line
5 16 (4.26%) IBM Mainframe
6 14 (3.72%) AS400
6 14 (3.72%) Data Centre
7 13 (3.46%) Cloud Native
7 13 (3.46%) Tandem
8 10 (2.66%) Data Protection Act
8 10 (2.66%) Enterprise Software
9 8 (2.13%) DataPower
9 8 (2.13%) VSAM
10 6 (1.60%) CMDB
10 6 (1.60%) Onboarding
10 6 (1.60%) PKI
10 6 (1.60%) SWIFT Messaging Network
11 5 (1.33%) Clustering
11 5 (1.33%) iSeries
11 5 (1.33%) Legacy Applications
Operating Systems
1 75 (19.95%) Linux
2 68 (18.09%) Windows
3 41 (10.90%) Unix
4 23 (6.12%) zOS
5 19 (5.05%) Windows Server
6 10 (2.66%) AIX
7 7 (1.86%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 6 (1.60%) Windows 10
8 6 (1.60%) Windows 7
8 6 (1.60%) Windows Server 2003
8 6 (1.60%) Windows Server 2016
9 3 (0.80%) MVS
10 2 (0.53%) Android
10 2 (0.53%) Apple iOS
10 2 (0.53%) CentOS
10 2 (0.53%) OS/2
10 2 (0.53%) Solaris
10 2 (0.53%) VMS
11 1 (0.27%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
11 1 (0.27%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 70 (18.62%) Problem-Solving
2 69 (18.35%) Agile
3 61 (16.22%) DevOps
4 60 (15.96%) Migration
5 58 (15.43%) CI/CD
6 48 (12.77%) Stakeholder Management
7 35 (9.31%) Asset Management
8 34 (9.04%) Incident Response
9 30 (7.98%) Computer Science
9 30 (7.98%) Containerisation
10 29 (7.71%) ITIL
11 27 (7.18%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 26 (6.91%) Data Protection
12 26 (6.91%) High Availability
13 25 (6.65%) Performance Tuning
13 25 (6.65%) Roadmaps
14 24 (6.38%) Continuous Improvement
15 22 (5.85%) ETL
16 21 (5.59%) Platform Engineering
16 21 (5.59%) Test Automation
Programming Languages
1 61 (16.22%) SQL
2 51 (13.56%) Python
3 43 (11.44%) Java
4 25 (6.65%) Shell Script
5 20 (5.32%) JavaScript
6 19 (5.05%) JCL
7 17 (4.52%) REXX
8 15 (3.99%) CLIST
9 13 (3.46%) RPG
10 11 (2.93%) COBOL
11 10 (2.66%) Groovy
12 8 (2.13%) PL/SQL
12 8 (2.13%) PowerShell
13 7 (1.86%) C++
13 7 (1.86%) Perl
14 6 (1.60%) Assembly Language
14 6 (1.60%) Bash
14 6 (1.60%) Korn
14 6 (1.60%) XPath
15 5 (1.33%) C
Qualifications
1 84 (22.34%) Security Cleared
2 64 (17.02%) SC Cleared
3 38 (10.11%) Degree
4 28 (7.45%) Computer Science Degree
5 18 (4.79%) AWS Certification
6 10 (2.66%) DV Cleared
7 9 (2.39%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
8 8 (2.13%) CISSP
9 7 (1.86%) Azure Certification
9 7 (1.86%) BPSS Clearance
10 6 (1.60%) CISM
10 6 (1.60%) Master's Degree
11 5 (1.33%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 4 (1.06%) Microsoft Certification
13 3 (0.80%) Cisco Certification
13 3 (0.80%) GCIH
13 3 (0.80%) ISTQB
13 3 (0.80%) PMI Certification
13 3 (0.80%) PMP
13 3 (0.80%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (5.32%) QA
2 12 (3.19%) GDPR
3 9 (2.39%) HIPAA
4 8 (2.13%) Data Quality
5 6 (1.60%) ISO 20022
6 5 (1.33%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 5 (1.33%) SEPA
7 4 (1.06%) NIST
7 4 (1.06%) PCI DSS
7 4 (1.06%) SLA
8 3 (0.80%) Basel III
8 3 (0.80%) NIST 800
9 2 (0.53%) ISO/IEC 19770
9 2 (0.53%) MISRA
9 2 (0.53%) MISRA C
9 2 (0.53%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 1 (0.27%) GRC
10 1 (0.27%) IFRS
10 1 (0.27%) IFRS 9
10 1 (0.27%) ISO 19650
System Software
1 26 (6.91%) Docker
2 25 (6.65%) VMware Infrastructure
3 21 (5.59%) vSphere
4 15 (3.99%) Active Directory
5 13 (3.46%) Time Sharing Option
6 12 (3.19%) GPFS
6 12 (3.19%) VMware ESXi
7 11 (2.93%) NFS
8 9 (2.39%) RACF
9 8 (2.13%) Tivoli Directory Server
10 6 (1.60%) Job Entry Subsystem
11 5 (1.33%) Virtual Machines
12 3 (0.80%) Tivoli Workload Scheduler
13 1 (0.27%) Hyper-V
13 1 (0.27%) KVM
13 1 (0.27%) SRDF
13 1 (0.27%) Veritas Cluster Server
13 1 (0.27%) VMware NSX
13 1 (0.27%) Xen
Systems Management
1 30 (7.98%) Kubernetes
2 24 (6.38%) Terraform
3 19 (5.05%) vRealize
4 13 (3.46%) OMEGAMON
5 11 (2.93%) Ansible
5 11 (2.93%) Progress Chef
5 11 (2.93%) Tivoli
6 10 (2.66%) CA Single Sign-On
6 10 (2.66%) CA Wily
7 9 (2.39%) CA Endevor
7 9 (2.39%) Single Sign-On
7 9 (2.39%) VxRail
8 8 (2.13%) Tivoli Identity Manager
9 7 (1.86%) Control-M
10 6 (1.60%) QRadar
10 6 (1.60%) Tivoli NetView
11 5 (1.33%) TIBCO Hawk
11 5 (1.33%) Tivoli Storage Manager
12 3 (0.80%) NetBackup
12 3 (0.80%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 72 (19.15%) Oracle
2 65 (17.29%) Microsoft
3 31 (8.24%) VMware
4 28 (7.45%) Cisco
5 24 (6.38%) ServiceNow
6 20 (5.32%) AppDynamics
6 20 (5.32%) Splunk
7 18 (4.79%) HP
7 18 (4.79%) SAP
8 16 (4.26%) Dell
9 13 (3.46%) Broadcom
10 12 (3.19%) Citrix
10 12 (3.19%) Cognos
10 12 (3.19%) Red Hat
10 12 (3.19%) Software AG
10 12 (3.19%) webMethods
11 11 (2.93%) Google
12 10 (2.66%) Commvault
12 10 (2.66%) SolarWinds
13 8 (2.13%) TIBCO