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 23 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
23 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 264 236 229
Rank change year-on-year -28 -7 +32
Contract jobs citing IBM 489 383 434
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.93% 1.17% 1.06%
As % of the Vendors category 2.25% 2.47% 2.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 280 252 223
10th Percentile £316 £356 £357
25th Percentile £406 £408 £409
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £495
Median % change year-on-year - +1.11% -5.81%
75th Percentile £600 £649 £625
90th Percentile £675 £718 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £506 £475 £475
% change year-on-year +6.58% - -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 41 5 37
10th Percentile £25.77 £24.81 £45.30
25th Percentile £61.25 £25.04 £65.00
Median hourly rate £88.00 £25.08 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +250.95% -64.18% +3.70%
75th Percentile - £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% +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 21,778 15,500 17,842
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.30% 47.45% 43.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,534 9,482 11,204
10th Percentile £313 £281 £275
25th Percentile £413 £402 £409
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £501 £500 £514
Median % change year-on-year +0.10% -2.72% -2.10%
75th Percentile £600 £613 £625
90th Percentile £700 £713 £731
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,078 764 967
10th Percentile £16.00 £14.75 £13.13
25th Percentile £19.33 £17.30 £15.50
Median hourly rate £35.00 £25.15 £26.03
Median % change year-on-year +39.17% -3.38% -36.22%
75th Percentile £65.00 £50.50 £61.30
90th Percentile £85.00 £68.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.99 £22.50 £25.00
% change year-on-year +51.07% -10.00% -22.24%

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 23 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 23 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 23 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 -50 411 £495 -1.00% 107
UK excluding London -58 255 £506 +6.58% 69
London -33 164 £488 -18.75% 50
Work from Home -81 125 £520 -5.11% 48
North of England -46 93 £514 +14.22% 10
South East -51 54 £425 -20.93% 16
Yorkshire -27 46 £563 +12.50% 5
North West -40 46 £459 +10.60% 2
South West -16 36 £426 -29.00% 14
Midlands -66 29 £413 -7.25% 13
Scotland -10 26 £550 +10.94% 7
West Midlands -59 25 £413 -13.16% 8
East of England -23 13 £625 +13.64% 7
Wales -15 4 £600 -5.14% 3
East Midlands -25 3 - - 5
North East -40 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 38 (7.77%) WebSphere
2 34 (6.95%) Confluence
3 30 (6.13%) CICS
4 18 (3.68%) SharePoint
5 17 (3.48%) Tomcat
6 15 (3.07%) nginx
7 8 (1.64%) JBoss
7 8 (1.64%) WebLogic
8 6 (1.23%) Apache
9 5 (1.02%) SAS
9 5 (1.02%) WebSphere Application Server
10 4 (0.82%) Apache Spark
10 4 (0.82%) Camunda
10 4 (0.82%) IIS
11 3 (0.61%) Apache Airflow
11 3 (0.61%) CMS
12 2 (0.41%) IBM HTTP Server
12 2 (0.41%) Oracle HTTP Server
12 2 (0.41%) Oracle SOA Suite
12 2 (0.41%) WebSphere Portal
Applications
1 5 (1.02%) Microsoft Excel
2 3 (0.61%) Microsoft Office
3 2 (0.41%) PlantUML
3 2 (0.41%) Spreadsheet
4 1 (0.20%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.20%) MS Visio
4 1 (0.20%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 20 (4.09%) Maximo
2 11 (2.25%) IBM Planning Analytics
3 9 (1.84%) Temenos T24
4 6 (1.23%) SAP S/4HANA
5 5 (1.02%) Cognos Controller
6 3 (0.61%) IBM Operational Decision Manager
6 3 (0.61%) SAP R/3
7 2 (0.41%) Remedy ITSM
7 2 (0.41%) Teamcenter
8 1 (0.20%) Dynamics CRM
8 1 (0.20%) HFM
8 1 (0.20%) MetaTrader
8 1 (0.20%) Misys Equation
8 1 (0.20%) Misys Midas
8 1 (0.20%) Oracle Payables
8 1 (0.20%) SAP AFS
8 1 (0.20%) SAP QM
8 1 (0.20%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 66 (13.50%) AWS
2 55 (11.25%) Azure
3 26 (5.32%) GitHub
4 15 (3.07%) GitHub Copilot
4 15 (3.07%) OpenShift
5 13 (2.66%) ChatGPT
6 12 (2.45%) GCP
7 11 (2.25%) Anthropic Claude
8 10 (2.04%) Azure DevOps
9 9 (1.84%) Amazon S3
10 8 (1.64%) IBM Watson
11 7 (1.43%) Amazon EKS
11 7 (1.43%) Vertex AI
12 6 (1.23%) Azure AI
12 6 (1.23%) Microsoft Copilot
13 5 (1.02%) Amazon EC2
13 5 (1.02%) IBM Blueworks
13 5 (1.02%) IBM Cloud
13 5 (1.02%) Microsoft 365
14 4 (0.82%) OneDrive
Communications & Networking
1 23 (4.70%) Firewall
2 21 (4.29%) SSL
3 17 (3.48%) SNMP
4 16 (3.27%) HTTP
5 12 (2.45%) SAN
6 8 (1.64%) DNS
6 8 (1.64%) Network Security
7 7 (1.43%) TCP/IP
8 6 (1.23%) VSAN
9 5 (1.02%) Fibre Channel
10 4 (0.82%) Cisco Nexus
10 4 (0.82%) NAS
10 4 (0.82%) Wireshark
11 3 (0.61%) SSH
12 2 (0.41%) APPN
12 2 (0.41%) Internet
12 2 (0.41%) LAN
12 2 (0.41%) SD-WAN
12 2 (0.41%) SNA
12 2 (0.41%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 50 (10.22%) Db2
2 32 (6.54%) DataStage
3 30 (6.13%) Relational Database
4 21 (4.29%) SQL Server
5 15 (3.07%) Metadata
6 14 (2.86%) MongoDB
7 13 (2.66%) Data Warehouse
7 13 (2.66%) Oracle Database
8 11 (2.25%) PostgreSQL
9 10 (2.04%) Elasticsearch
10 9 (1.84%) NoSQL
11 8 (1.64%) Big Data
12 6 (1.23%) GIS
13 5 (1.02%) Data Lake
14 3 (0.61%) Amazon Redshift
14 3 (0.61%) Apache Hive
14 3 (0.61%) BusinessObjects
14 3 (0.61%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
15 2 (0.41%) OLTP
15 2 (0.41%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 48 (9.82%) JIRA
2 41 (8.38%) Rational DOORS
3 23 (4.70%) Jenkins
4 19 (3.89%) GitLab
5 15 (3.07%) Git
6 8 (1.64%) IBM UrbanCode
6 8 (1.64%) Rational Rhapsody
7 5 (1.02%) Ant
7 5 (1.02%) Liquibase
7 5 (1.02%) PowerDesigner
8 4 (0.82%) Eclipse
8 4 (0.82%) Gradle
8 4 (0.82%) JMeter
8 4 (0.82%) JUnit
8 4 (0.82%) Maven
8 4 (0.82%) REST Assured
8 4 (0.82%) Sonatype Nexus
8 4 (0.82%) Zephyr
9 3 (0.61%) SonarQube
9 3 (0.61%) Visual Studio
General
1 152 (31.08%) Finance
2 117 (23.93%) Social Skills
3 100 (20.45%) Banking
4 53 (10.84%) Analytical Skills
5 35 (7.16%) Public Sector
6 31 (6.34%) Legal
7 30 (6.13%) Aerospace
8 14 (2.86%) Retail
9 12 (2.45%) Influencing Skills
10 10 (2.04%) Military
11 9 (1.84%) Documentation Skills
12 8 (1.64%) Front Office
13 7 (1.43%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 7 (1.43%) Investment Banking
14 5 (1.02%) Law
14 5 (1.02%) Presentation Skills
15 4 (0.82%) Financial Institution
16 3 (0.61%) Telecoms
17 2 (0.41%) Back Office
17 2 (0.41%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 62 (12.68%) Developer
2 61 (12.47%) Architect
3 48 (9.82%) Analyst
4 35 (7.16%) Senior
5 31 (6.34%) Administrator
6 26 (5.32%) Delivery Manager
6 26 (5.32%) Product Delivery Manager
6 26 (5.32%) Product Manager
7 24 (4.91%) Consultant
8 21 (4.29%) Systems Delivery Manager
8 21 (4.29%) Systems Manager
9 20 (4.09%) Lead
9 20 (4.09%) Solutions Architect
10 19 (3.89%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 17 (3.48%) Designer
11 17 (3.48%) Middleware Engineer
12 14 (2.86%) Data Engineer
13 13 (2.66%) CICS Engineer
13 13 (2.66%) Management Consultant
14 12 (2.45%) Systems Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 68 (13.91%) Middleware
2 40 (8.18%) REST
3 25 (5.11%) JSON
4 24 (4.91%) ISPF
5 23 (4.70%) XML
6 20 (4.09%) Kafka
7 18 (3.68%) Spring Boot
8 15 (3.07%) Spring
9 14 (2.86%) Flash
9 14 (2.86%) RabbitMQ
10 12 (2.45%) SOAP
11 9 (1.84%) Jakarta EE
11 9 (1.84%) WebSphere MQ
12 8 (1.64%) PyTorch
12 8 (1.64%) Web Services
13 7 (1.43%) JDBC
13 7 (1.43%) LangChain
13 7 (1.43%) OAuth
13 7 (1.43%) SAML
13 7 (1.43%) ZeroMQ
Miscellaneous
1 106 (21.68%) Mainframe
2 42 (8.59%) Data Centre
3 36 (7.36%) Clustering
4 32 (6.54%) Data Structures
5 31 (6.34%) Product Ownership
6 20 (4.09%) Replication
7 18 (3.68%) Cloud Native
7 18 (3.68%) Linux Command Line
8 15 (3.07%) SWIFT Messaging Network
8 15 (3.07%) VSAM
9 14 (2.86%) AS400
9 14 (2.86%) IBM Mainframe
9 14 (2.86%) Legacy Systems
10 12 (2.45%) Management Information System
11 11 (2.25%) Legacy Applications
12 10 (2.04%) BYOD
12 10 (2.04%) Equity Derivative
12 10 (2.04%) Hybrid Cloud
13 9 (1.84%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
13 9 (1.84%) iSeries
Operating Systems
1 106 (21.68%) Linux
2 74 (15.13%) zOS
3 60 (12.27%) Unix
4 52 (10.63%) Windows
5 46 (9.41%) AIX
6 23 (4.70%) Solaris
7 22 (4.50%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 18 (3.68%) Windows Server
9 11 (2.25%) Windows Server 2008
10 9 (1.84%) Windows Server 2019
11 8 (1.64%) SUSE
12 7 (1.43%) MVS
13 5 (1.02%) Windows Server 2016
14 2 (0.41%) Oracle Linux
14 2 (0.41%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
15 1 (0.20%) Android
15 1 (0.20%) Apple iOS
15 1 (0.20%) Mac OS
15 1 (0.20%) VMS
15 1 (0.20%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 97 (19.84%) Agile
2 72 (14.72%) CI/CD
3 68 (13.91%) Migration
4 63 (12.88%) DevOps
5 60 (12.27%) Continuous Improvement
6 54 (11.04%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 52 (10.63%) ITIL
7 52 (10.63%) Stakeholder Management
8 50 (10.22%) Problem-Solving
9 49 (10.02%) ETL
9 49 (10.02%) Roadmaps
10 43 (8.79%) Test Automation
11 41 (8.38%) Computer Science
12 37 (7.57%) Change Management
12 37 (7.57%) Systems Engineering
13 36 (7.36%) AI
13 36 (7.36%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
14 35 (7.16%) Configuration Management
14 35 (7.16%) Scrum
15 34 (6.95%) Root Cause Analysis
Programming Languages
1 95 (19.43%) SQL
2 83 (16.97%) Python
3 69 (14.11%) Java
4 39 (7.98%) PowerShell
5 25 (5.11%) Bash
6 20 (4.09%) COBOL
6 20 (4.09%) JCL
7 19 (3.89%) PL/SQL
8 16 (3.27%) REXX
9 14 (2.86%) Search Processing Language
10 13 (2.66%) C++
11 12 (2.45%) Shell Script
12 11 (2.25%) JavaScript
13 10 (2.04%) C
13 10 (2.04%) Perl
14 8 (1.64%) C#
15 7 (1.43%) Ada
15 7 (1.43%) CLIST
16 6 (1.23%) Assembly Language
17 5 (1.02%) MATLAB
Qualifications
1 124 (25.36%) Security Cleared
2 80 (16.36%) SC Cleared
3 51 (10.43%) Degree
4 12 (2.45%) Computer Science Degree
5 10 (2.04%) BPSS Clearance
6 8 (1.64%) CISSP
7 7 (1.43%) AWS Certification
7 7 (1.43%) DV Cleared
8 5 (1.02%) Azure Certification
8 5 (1.02%) CISM
8 5 (1.02%) IBM Certification
8 5 (1.02%) Master's Degree
9 4 (0.82%) (ISC)2 CCSP
9 4 (0.82%) CCSP
9 4 (0.82%) Cisco Certification
10 3 (0.61%) CEH
10 3 (0.61%) PMI Certification
10 3 (0.61%) PMP
11 2 (0.41%) CISMP
11 2 (0.41%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (6.95%) Data Quality
2 16 (3.27%) QA
3 8 (1.64%) GDPR
3 8 (1.64%) SLA
4 7 (1.43%) ISO 20022
5 5 (1.02%) ISO 15022
5 5 (1.02%) NIST
5 5 (1.02%) SEPA
6 4 (0.82%) GRC
6 4 (0.82%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 2 (0.41%) Accessibility
7 2 (0.41%) GAAP
7 2 (0.41%) IFRS
7 2 (0.41%) NCSC
8 1 (0.20%) ISO/IEC 15288
8 1 (0.20%) MIL-STD-1553
8 1 (0.20%) PCI DSS
8 1 (0.20%) PMO
8 1 (0.20%) TARGET2
8 1 (0.20%) WCAG
System Software
1 33 (6.75%) Docker
2 26 (5.32%) RACF
3 25 (5.11%) VMware Infrastructure
4 18 (3.68%) NFS
5 17 (3.48%) VMware ESXi
6 16 (3.27%) Virtual Machines
7 13 (2.66%) GPFS
8 12 (2.45%) Time Sharing Option
9 11 (2.25%) Firmware
10 10 (2.04%) vSphere
11 8 (1.64%) Oracle RAC
12 7 (1.43%) Hyper-V
13 6 (1.23%) ACF2
13 6 (1.23%) KVM
13 6 (1.23%) PowerHA
14 3 (0.61%) Active Directory
14 3 (0.61%) EMC RecoverPoint
15 2 (0.41%) Tivoli Workload Scheduler
16 1 (0.20%) Job Entry Subsystem
16 1 (0.20%) SRDF
Systems Management
1 26 (5.32%) Ansible
2 23 (4.70%) OMEGAMON
3 21 (4.29%) Tivoli
4 19 (3.89%) Terraform
5 17 (3.48%) Kubernetes
5 17 (3.48%) Nagios
5 17 (3.48%) ZABBIX
6 16 (3.27%) Netcool
7 14 (2.86%) OpenView
7 14 (2.86%) Tivoli Monitoring
7 14 (2.86%) Tivoli Storage Manager
8 9 (1.84%) vRealize
9 7 (1.43%) Oracle RMAN
10 6 (1.23%) IBM BigFix
10 6 (1.23%) vCenter Server
10 6 (1.23%) VxRail
11 5 (1.02%) Grafana
11 5 (1.02%) Tivoli NetView
12 4 (0.82%) CA Endevor
13 3 (0.61%) QRadar
Vendors
1 88 (18.00%) Oracle
2 41 (8.38%) VMware
3 36 (7.36%) Microsoft
4 29 (5.93%) Splunk
5 28 (5.73%) SAP
6 25 (5.11%) Red Hat
7 23 (4.70%) ServiceNow
8 22 (4.50%) HP
9 21 (4.29%) Cisco
10 19 (3.89%) BMC
11 16 (3.27%) SolarWinds
12 14 (2.86%) Broadcom
12 14 (2.86%) Dell
12 14 (2.86%) Google
13 13 (2.66%) Brocade
13 13 (2.66%) MathWorks
14 12 (2.45%) Sybase
15 10 (2.04%) Cognos
16 9 (1.84%) Temenos
17 8 (1.64%) Informatica