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 11 January 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
11 Jan 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 299 220 203
Rank change year-on-year -79 -17 +104
Contract jobs citing IBM 325 356 508
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.89% 1.12% 1.18%
As % of the Vendors category 1.93% 2.45% 2.67%
Number of daily rates quoted 204 167 308
10th Percentile £313 £311 £409
25th Percentile £400 £413 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £550
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% -9.09% +2.33%
75th Percentile £575 £626 £671
90th Percentile £696 £686 £772
UK excluding London median daily rate £448 £450 £525
% change year-on-year -0.44% -14.29% +5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 15 24 18
10th Percentile £36.59 - £63.88
25th Percentile £63.13 £24.18 £65.00
Median hourly rate £70.00 £62.50 £68.63
Median % change year-on-year +12.00% -8.93% +64.85%
75th Percentile - £68.75 £70.00
90th Percentile £73.60 £69.63 £73.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £70.00 £62.50 £70.00
% change year-on-year +12.00% -10.71% +72.52%

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 16,847 14,544 19,004
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 46.30% 45.76% 44.23%
Number of daily rates quoted 10,815 8,618 12,039
10th Percentile £300 £285 £253
25th Percentile £411 £409 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -2.42%
75th Percentile £613 £625 £638
90th Percentile £700 £715 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £495 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -1.00% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 799 427 687
10th Percentile £15.00 £15.62 £14.00
25th Percentile £17.96 £19.79 £17.88
Median hourly rate £23.83 £27.35 £43.84
Median % change year-on-year -12.89% -37.61% +60.13%
75th Percentile £47.50 £61.25 £63.29
90th Percentile £74.26 £80.04 £76.92
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.50 £25.00 £44.50
% change year-on-year -14.00% -43.82% +80.27%

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 11 January 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 11 January 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 11 January 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 -60 290 £475 -5.00% 125
UK excluding London -49 184 £448 -0.44% 113
London -33 103 £525 -0.94% 26
Work from Home -27 95 £492 -1.60% 91
North of England -41 54 £453 -5.63% 13
Midlands -12 50 £400 -12.09% 12
West Midlands +6 49 £400 -11.11% 10
North West -16 38 £453 +19.84% 6
East of England +1 27 £276 -35.12% 29
South East -34 24 £525 +25.00% 35
South West -34 19 £700 +16.67% 25
Yorkshire -60 16 £463 -18.14% 4
Scotland -1 13 £430 -4.50% 2
East Midlands -30 1 £385 -19.79% 2
Northern Ireland - 1 £350 - 2

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 26 (8.00%) Confluence
2 23 (7.08%) WebSphere
3 13 (4.00%) Apache
4 12 (3.69%) JBoss
4 12 (3.69%) SharePoint
4 12 (3.69%) WebSphere Application Server
5 11 (3.38%) CICS
5 11 (3.38%) IIS
6 10 (3.08%) iPlanet
6 10 (3.08%) MQSeries
6 10 (3.08%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 7 (2.15%) WebLogic
8 6 (1.85%) ArcGIS
9 4 (1.23%) Anypoint
10 3 (0.92%) FileNet
10 3 (0.92%) SAS
11 2 (0.62%) nginx
11 2 (0.62%) Tomcat
Applications
1 11 (3.38%) Microsoft Office
2 9 (2.77%) MS Visio
3 7 (2.15%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.31%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.31%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.31%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 34 (10.46%) Maximo
2 7 (2.15%) BusinessWorks
2 7 (2.15%) IBM Planning Analytics
3 4 (1.23%) Oracle 11i
4 3 (0.92%) SAP EWM
4 3 (0.92%) SAP PM
4 3 (0.92%) SAP PP
4 3 (0.92%) SAP QM
4 3 (0.92%) SAP S/4HANA
4 3 (0.92%) SAP WM
5 2 (0.62%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 2 (0.62%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
5 2 (0.62%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
6 1 (0.31%) Cloudability
6 1 (0.31%) Cognos Controller
6 1 (0.31%) Oracle Applications
6 1 (0.31%) Oracle FAH
6 1 (0.31%) Oracle Payables
6 1 (0.31%) Oracle Receivables
6 1 (0.31%) TRIRIGA
Cloud Services
1 88 (27.08%) AWS
2 61 (18.77%) Azure
3 32 (9.85%) OpenShift
4 14 (4.31%) Datadog
4 14 (4.31%) GCP
5 12 (3.69%) AWS CloudFormation
5 12 (3.69%) AWS Lambda
5 12 (3.69%) Serverless
6 10 (3.08%) Azure Sentinel
7 9 (2.77%) Azure API Management
8 8 (2.46%) Azure AKS
8 8 (2.46%) Azure ExpressRoute
8 8 (2.46%) Azure Monitor
8 8 (2.46%) OCI
9 7 (2.15%) Power Platform
9 7 (2.15%) SaaS
10 6 (1.85%) Amazon CloudWatch
11 5 (1.54%) Azure DevOps
12 4 (1.23%) IBM Watson
13 3 (0.92%) Snowflake
Communications & Networking
1 16 (4.92%) HTTPS
2 14 (4.31%) VSAN
3 12 (3.69%) SAN
3 12 (3.69%) SSH
4 11 (3.38%) VPN
5 10 (3.08%) Kerberos
6 7 (2.15%) Fibre Channel
7 6 (1.85%) iSCSI
7 6 (1.85%) NAS
8 5 (1.54%) HTTP
9 4 (1.23%) Network Security
9 4 (1.23%) TCP/IP
10 3 (0.92%) Firewall
10 3 (0.92%) LAN
10 3 (0.92%) SNA
10 3 (0.92%) WAN
11 2 (0.62%) APPN
11 2 (0.62%) DNS
11 2 (0.62%) DWDM
11 2 (0.62%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 25 (7.69%) DB2
2 23 (7.08%) Oracle Database
3 20 (6.15%) SQL Server
4 13 (4.00%) DataStage
4 13 (4.00%) Relational Database
5 10 (3.08%) Oracle Reports
6 9 (2.77%) PostgreSQL
7 8 (2.46%) Data Warehouse
7 8 (2.46%) NoSQL
8 7 (2.15%) Amazon RDS
8 7 (2.15%) Amazon Redshift
8 7 (2.15%) GIS
9 6 (1.85%) Couchbase
9 6 (1.85%) Metadata
10 5 (1.54%) DynamoDB
10 5 (1.54%) IBM InfoSphere
10 5 (1.54%) Power BI
11 4 (1.23%) Oracle Database 10g
12 3 (0.92%) Cognos Framework Manager
12 3 (0.92%) Cognos Report Studio
Development Applications
1 44 (13.54%) JIRA
2 24 (7.38%) Git
3 20 (6.15%) Jenkins
3 20 (6.15%) Rational DOORS
4 11 (3.38%) GitLab
5 10 (3.08%) Bitbucket Server
5 10 (3.08%) CA Release Automation
6 9 (2.77%) Sonatype Nexus
7 8 (2.46%) PVCS
8 6 (1.85%) SoapUI
9 5 (1.54%) ERwin
10 4 (1.23%) Ant
10 4 (1.23%) Bitbucket
10 4 (1.23%) JUnit
11 3 (0.92%) IBM UrbanCode
12 2 (0.62%) PowerDesigner
12 2 (0.62%) Rational Rhapsody
12 2 (0.62%) Selenium
13 1 (0.31%) ClearCase
13 1 (0.31%) Visual Studio
General
1 89 (27.38%) Social Skills
2 88 (27.08%) Finance
3 49 (15.08%) Banking
4 36 (11.08%) Analytical Skills
5 22 (6.77%) Public Sector
6 17 (5.23%) Documentation Skills
7 10 (3.08%) Electronics
7 10 (3.08%) Presentation Skills
8 8 (2.46%) Private Banking
9 7 (2.15%) Financial Institution
10 5 (1.54%) Law
11 4 (1.23%) Aviation
11 4 (1.23%) Legal
11 4 (1.23%) Telecoms
12 3 (0.92%) Aerospace
12 3 (0.92%) International Banking
12 3 (0.92%) Investment Banking
12 3 (0.92%) Manufacturing
12 3 (0.92%) Police
12 3 (0.92%) Retail
Job Titles
1 64 (19.69%) Developer
2 62 (19.08%) Analyst
3 33 (10.15%) Architect
4 23 (7.08%) Infrastructure Analyst
4 23 (7.08%) Solutions Architect
5 21 (6.46%) Senior
6 16 (4.92%) Data Engineer
6 16 (4.92%) Software Engineer
6 16 (4.92%) Storage Analyst
7 13 (4.00%) DevOps Engineer
8 12 (3.69%) Lead
8 12 (3.69%) webMethods Developer
9 10 (3.08%) Platform Engineer
10 9 (2.77%) Consultant
10 9 (2.77%) Storage Engineer
11 8 (2.46%) Azure Engineer
11 8 (2.46%) C++ Software Engineer
11 8 (2.46%) Programmer
11 8 (2.46%) Systems Programmer
11 8 (2.46%) z/OS Systems Programmer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 40 (12.31%) XML
2 26 (8.00%) Kafka
3 23 (7.08%) SOAP
4 19 (5.85%) JMS
4 19 (5.85%) JSON
5 17 (5.23%) Flash
5 17 (5.23%) Middleware
6 16 (4.92%) OAuth
7 14 (4.31%) XSLT
8 12 (3.69%) LDAP
8 12 (3.69%) OpenID
9 11 (3.38%) SAML
10 10 (3.08%) Web Services
11 9 (2.77%) ARM Templates
12 8 (2.46%) WSDL
12 8 (2.46%) XSD
13 7 (2.15%) J2EE
13 7 (2.15%) OC4J
13 7 (2.15%) REST
13 7 (2.15%) TIBCO EMS
Miscellaneous
1 38 (11.69%) Mainframe
2 32 (9.85%) Replication
3 30 (9.23%) Linux Command Line
4 19 (5.85%) Legacy Systems
5 12 (3.69%) Data Centre
5 12 (3.69%) Tandem
6 10 (3.08%) AS400
6 10 (3.08%) Hybrid Cloud
7 9 (2.77%) DataPower
7 9 (2.77%) Enterprise Software
8 8 (2.46%) Cloud Native
8 8 (2.46%) IBM Mainframe
9 7 (2.15%) Enterprise Storage
9 7 (2.15%) Onboarding
10 6 (1.85%) CMDB
10 6 (1.85%) iSeries
10 6 (1.85%) Management Information System
10 6 (1.85%) VSAM
11 5 (1.54%) Algorithms
11 5 (1.54%) SWIFT Messaging Network
Operating Systems
1 71 (21.85%) Linux
2 51 (15.69%) Windows
3 39 (12.00%) Unix
4 27 (8.31%) zOS
5 12 (3.69%) AIX
6 10 (3.08%) Windows Server
7 6 (1.85%) Windows 10
7 6 (1.85%) Windows 7
7 6 (1.85%) Windows Server 2003
7 6 (1.85%) Windows Server 2016
8 5 (1.54%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 3 (0.92%) MVS
10 2 (0.62%) Solaris
10 2 (0.62%) VMS
11 1 (0.31%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
11 1 (0.31%) VME
11 1 (0.31%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 71 (21.85%) Agile
2 54 (16.62%) Problem-Solving
3 50 (15.38%) Migration
4 48 (14.77%) DevOps
5 47 (14.46%) Stakeholder Management
6 42 (12.92%) CI/CD
7 35 (10.77%) ITIL
8 29 (8.92%) Performance Tuning
9 27 (8.31%) Asset Management
10 24 (7.38%) Data Protection
11 23 (7.08%) Analytics
11 23 (7.08%) ETL
11 23 (7.08%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 22 (6.77%) Data Modelling
13 21 (6.46%) High Availability
13 21 (6.46%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 21 (6.46%) Roadmaps
14 20 (6.15%) Computer Science
15 19 (5.85%) Continuous Improvement
15 19 (5.85%) Test Automation
Programming Languages
1 47 (14.46%) SQL
2 33 (10.15%) Python
3 31 (9.54%) Java
4 22 (6.77%) Shell Script
5 17 (5.23%) JCL
6 12 (3.69%) PL/SQL
6 12 (3.69%) REXX
7 11 (3.38%) C
7 11 (3.38%) Groovy
8 10 (3.08%) C++
8 10 (3.08%) JavaScript
9 9 (2.77%) COBOL
10 8 (2.46%) Bicep
10 8 (2.46%) CLIST
10 8 (2.46%) RPG
10 8 (2.46%) XPath
11 7 (2.15%) Embedded C
11 7 (2.15%) Embedded C++
11 7 (2.15%) Korn
11 7 (2.15%) Perl
Qualifications
1 67 (20.62%) Security Cleared
2 44 (13.54%) SC Cleared
3 28 (8.62%) Degree
4 18 (5.54%) Computer Science Degree
5 14 (4.31%) Azure Certification
6 13 (4.00%) AWS Certification
6 13 (4.00%) DV Cleared
7 11 (3.38%) CISM
7 11 (3.38%) CISSP
8 9 (2.77%) BPSS Clearance
8 9 (2.77%) Microsoft Certification
9 8 (2.46%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
10 5 (1.54%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
11 4 (1.23%) PMI Certification
11 4 (1.23%) PMP
12 3 (0.92%) IBM Certification
12 3 (0.92%) ISTQB
12 3 (0.92%) ITIL Certification
12 3 (0.92%) Master's Degree
12 3 (0.92%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 13 (4.00%) QA
2 10 (3.08%) Data Quality
2 10 (3.08%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 9 (2.77%) NIST
4 8 (2.46%) NIST 800
5 5 (1.54%) GDPR
5 5 (1.54%) ISO 20022
5 5 (1.54%) SLA
6 4 (1.23%) Basel III
6 4 (1.23%) PCI DSS
6 4 (1.23%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 4 (1.23%) SEPA
7 2 (0.62%) HIPAA
7 2 (0.62%) IFRS
7 2 (0.62%) IFRS 9
7 2 (0.62%) ISO/IEC 19770
8 1 (0.31%) Def Stans
8 1 (0.31%) GAAP
8 1 (0.31%) IEC 61508
8 1 (0.31%) MISRA C
System Software
1 38 (11.69%) VMware Infrastructure
2 28 (8.62%) vSphere
3 22 (6.77%) NFS
4 18 (5.54%) GPFS
5 15 (4.62%) Docker
5 15 (4.62%) VMware ESXi
6 12 (3.69%) Active Directory
7 10 (3.08%) RACF
7 10 (3.08%) Virtual Machines
8 8 (2.46%) Tivoli Directory Server
9 6 (1.85%) Time Sharing Option
10 5 (1.54%) Job Entry Subsystem
11 1 (0.31%) Ceph
11 1 (0.31%) Hyper-V
11 1 (0.31%) KVM
11 1 (0.31%) Lustre
11 1 (0.31%) SRDF
11 1 (0.31%) Veritas Cluster Server
11 1 (0.31%) VMware NSX
11 1 (0.31%) Xen
Systems Management
1 28 (8.62%) Kubernetes
1 28 (8.62%) Terraform
2 27 (8.31%) vRealize
3 14 (4.31%) Ansible
4 13 (4.00%) VxRail
5 10 (3.08%) CA Single Sign-On
5 10 (3.08%) CA Wily
6 9 (2.77%) Progress Chef
7 8 (2.46%) Control-M
7 8 (2.46%) Tivoli
8 7 (2.15%) TIBCO Hawk
9 6 (1.85%) OMEGAMON
9 6 (1.85%) Tivoli Storage Manager
10 5 (1.54%) Single Sign-On
11 4 (1.23%) CA Endevor
11 4 (1.23%) QRadar
12 3 (0.92%) Tivoli NetView
12 3 (0.92%) zSecure
13 2 (0.62%) Argo
13 2 (0.62%) EMC NetWorker
Vendors
1 72 (22.15%) Oracle
2 51 (15.69%) Microsoft
3 40 (12.31%) VMware
4 38 (11.69%) Cisco
5 32 (9.85%) ServiceNow
6 24 (7.38%) AppDynamics
7 21 (6.46%) SAP
8 16 (4.92%) Dell
9 15 (4.62%) HP
10 14 (4.31%) Broadcom
10 14 (4.31%) Commvault
10 14 (4.31%) SolarWinds
11 13 (4.00%) Red Hat
12 12 (3.69%) Google
12 12 (3.69%) Software AG
12 12 (3.69%) Splunk
12 12 (3.69%) webMethods
13 9 (2.77%) Cognos
13 9 (2.77%) EMC
14 8 (2.46%) Citrix
136 IBM jobs Nationwide