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 13 August 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
13 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 259 236 232
Rank change year-on-year -23 -4 +7
Contract jobs citing IBM 519 371 421
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.97% 1.13% 1.08%
As % of the Vendors category 2.34% 2.38% 2.47%
Number of daily rates quoted 302 244 206
10th Percentile £317 £357 £354
25th Percentile £408 £408 £419
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £513 £500
Median % change year-on-year -2.44% +2.50% -4.76%
75th Percentile £600 £650 £642
90th Percentile £675 £720 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £450
% change year-on-year +5.26% +5.56% -14.29%
Number of hourly rates quoted 40 7 30
10th Percentile £25.18 £25.04 £27.00
25th Percentile £65.00 £25.09 £64.06
Median hourly rate £88.00 £57.50 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +53.04% -17.86% +3.70%
75th Percentile - £73.75 -
90th Percentile - £118.49 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £88.00 £63.75 £70.00
% change year-on-year +38.04% -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 22,208 15,570 17,043
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 41.62% 47.27% 43.76%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,745 9,527 10,624
10th Percentile £313 £278 £288
25th Percentile £413 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £510 £500 £520
Median % change year-on-year +2.00% -3.85% -0.95%
75th Percentile £607 £613 £625
90th Percentile £700 £700 £730
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,140 801 840
10th Percentile £14.80 £14.54 £13.68
25th Percentile £18.25 £17.30 £15.62
Median hourly rate £32.50 £25.15 £29.00
Median % change year-on-year +29.22% -13.28% -28.95%
75th Percentile £65.00 £47.12 £61.60
90th Percentile £83.63 £68.00 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.23 £21.29 £28.00
% change year-on-year +51.36% -23.96% -18.84%

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 13 August 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 13 August 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 13 August 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 -19 445 £500 -6.54% 267
UK excluding London -56 264 £500 +5.26% 133
London -25 187 £491 -17.44% 146
Work from Home -56 126 £548 -6.01% 131
North of England -35 93 £514 +10.42% 34
South East -34 59 £460 -18.22% 29
Yorkshire -13 53 £525 +3.70% 13
North West -46 38 £477 +10.29% 20
South West -17 36 £426 -29.00% 33
Midlands -62 32 £438 -1.63% 17
West Midlands -40 28 £450 -5.26% 11
Scotland -13 25 £575 +21.05% 11
East of England -16 16 £625 +13.64% 3
Wales -12 3 £600 -5.14% 3
East Midlands -29 3 - - 6
North East -42 1 £375 -18.92% 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 39 (7.51%) WebSphere
2 35 (6.74%) Confluence
3 25 (4.82%) CICS
4 23 (4.43%) SharePoint
5 16 (3.08%) Tomcat
6 14 (2.70%) nginx
7 8 (1.54%) JBoss
7 8 (1.54%) WebLogic
8 6 (1.16%) Oracle SOA Suite
9 5 (0.96%) Apache
9 5 (0.96%) SAS
9 5 (0.96%) WebSphere Application Server
10 4 (0.77%) Camunda
10 4 (0.77%) IIS
11 3 (0.58%) CMS
12 2 (0.39%) IBM HTTP Server
12 2 (0.39%) MQSeries
12 2 (0.39%) Oracle HTTP Server
12 2 (0.39%) WebSphere Portal
13 1 (0.19%) Documentum
Applications
1 6 (1.16%) Microsoft Excel
2 3 (0.58%) Microsoft Office
3 2 (0.39%) PlantUML
3 2 (0.39%) Spreadsheet
4 1 (0.19%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.19%) MS Visio
4 1 (0.19%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 21 (4.05%) Maximo
2 14 (2.70%) IBM Planning Analytics
3 9 (1.73%) Temenos T24
4 5 (0.96%) Cognos Controller
4 5 (0.96%) SAP S/4HANA
5 3 (0.58%) IBM Operational Decision Manager
5 3 (0.58%) SAP R/3
6 2 (0.39%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
6 2 (0.39%) Teamcenter
7 1 (0.19%) Actimize
7 1 (0.19%) Dynamics CRM
7 1 (0.19%) HFM
7 1 (0.19%) MetaTrader
7 1 (0.19%) Misys Equation
7 1 (0.19%) Misys Midas
7 1 (0.19%) Remedy ITSM
7 1 (0.19%) SAP QM
Cloud Services
1 81 (15.61%) AWS
2 74 (14.26%) Azure
3 33 (6.36%) GitHub
4 23 (4.43%) GCP
5 16 (3.08%) OpenShift
6 14 (2.70%) GitHub Copilot
7 12 (2.31%) Anthropic Claude
7 12 (2.31%) ChatGPT
8 11 (2.12%) GitHub Actions
9 10 (1.93%) Azure DevOps
10 9 (1.73%) IBM Watson
11 8 (1.54%) Amazon S3
12 7 (1.35%) Amazon EKS
13 6 (1.16%) Azure AI
13 6 (1.16%) IBM Blueworks
13 6 (1.16%) Microsoft Copilot
13 6 (1.16%) Vertex AI
14 5 (0.96%) Boomi
14 5 (0.96%) iPaaS
14 5 (0.96%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 23 (4.43%) SSL
2 18 (3.47%) HTTP
3 17 (3.28%) Firewall
3 17 (3.28%) SNMP
4 13 (2.50%) SAN
5 9 (1.73%) Network Security
5 9 (1.73%) TCP/IP
6 8 (1.54%) DNS
7 6 (1.16%) VSAN
8 5 (0.96%) Cisco Nexus
8 5 (0.96%) Fibre Channel
8 5 (0.96%) Wireshark
9 4 (0.77%) NAS
9 4 (0.77%) SSH
10 3 (0.58%) APPN
10 3 (0.58%) Internet
10 3 (0.58%) SNA
11 2 (0.39%) DMZ
11 2 (0.39%) LAN
11 2 (0.39%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 45 (8.67%) Db2
2 30 (5.78%) Relational Database
3 29 (5.59%) DataStage
4 19 (3.66%) Oracle Database
5 18 (3.47%) SQL Server
6 16 (3.08%) Metadata
7 13 (2.50%) MongoDB
8 12 (2.31%) Data Warehouse
9 9 (1.73%) Elasticsearch
10 8 (1.54%) Big Data
10 8 (1.54%) PostgreSQL
10 8 (1.54%) Tableau
11 7 (1.35%) NoSQL
12 6 (1.16%) GIS
13 5 (0.96%) Data Lake
14 3 (0.58%) IBM InfoSphere
14 3 (0.58%) Power BI
15 2 (0.39%) Amazon Redshift
15 2 (0.39%) BusinessObjects
15 2 (0.39%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
Development Applications
1 51 (9.83%) JIRA
2 42 (8.09%) Rational DOORS
3 32 (6.17%) Jenkins
4 21 (4.05%) Git
5 18 (3.47%) GitLab
6 15 (2.89%) JMeter
7 11 (2.12%) LoadRunner
8 9 (1.73%) Postman
8 9 (1.73%) SoapUI
9 8 (1.54%) IBM UrbanCode
9 8 (1.54%) Rational Rhapsody
9 8 (1.54%) SonarQube
10 7 (1.35%) eggPlant
10 7 (1.35%) Selenium
11 6 (1.16%) PowerDesigner
12 5 (0.96%) Cucumber
12 5 (0.96%) Liquibase
12 5 (0.96%) Sonatype Nexus
13 4 (0.77%) Gatling
13 4 (0.77%) Zephyr
General
1 164 (31.60%) Finance
2 118 (22.74%) Social Skills
3 115 (22.16%) Banking
4 64 (12.33%) Analytical Skills
5 32 (6.17%) Public Sector
6 31 (5.97%) Aerospace
6 31 (5.97%) Legal
7 12 (2.31%) Retail
8 9 (1.73%) Military
9 8 (1.54%) Front Office
9 8 (1.54%) Influencing Skills
9 8 (1.54%) Investment Banking
10 7 (1.35%) Documentation Skills
11 5 (0.96%) Law
11 5 (0.96%) Presentation Skills
12 4 (0.77%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 3 (0.58%) Manufacturing
13 3 (0.58%) Retail Banking
13 3 (0.58%) Telecoms
14 2 (0.39%) Back Office
Job Titles
1 68 (13.10%) Developer
2 64 (12.33%) Architect
3 50 (9.63%) Analyst
4 42 (8.09%) Senior
5 31 (5.97%) Administrator
6 27 (5.20%) Delivery Manager
6 27 (5.20%) Lead
6 27 (5.20%) Product Delivery Manager
6 27 (5.20%) Product Manager
7 26 (5.01%) Consultant
8 24 (4.62%) Solutions Architect
9 21 (4.05%) Systems Delivery Manager
9 21 (4.05%) Systems Manager
10 20 (3.85%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 18 (3.47%) Middleware Engineer
12 14 (2.70%) CICS Engineer
13 13 (2.50%) Management Consultant
14 12 (2.31%) Programmer
14 12 (2.31%) Software Engineer
14 12 (2.31%) Systems Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 72 (13.87%) Middleware
2 46 (8.86%) REST
3 39 (7.51%) Kafka
4 35 (6.74%) XML
5 29 (5.59%) JSON
6 24 (4.62%) ISPF
7 20 (3.85%) SOAP
8 17 (3.28%) RabbitMQ
8 17 (3.28%) Spring Boot
9 14 (2.70%) Spring
10 13 (2.50%) Flash
11 12 (2.31%) .NET
11 12 (2.31%) Web Services
12 11 (2.12%) OAuth
13 10 (1.93%) SAML
13 10 (1.93%) WebSphere MQ
14 9 (1.73%) OpenAPI
14 9 (1.73%) Swagger
15 8 (1.54%) HTML
15 8 (1.54%) Jakarta EE
Miscellaneous
1 99 (19.08%) Mainframe
2 38 (7.32%) Data Centre
3 35 (6.74%) Clustering
4 34 (6.55%) Product Ownership
5 33 (6.36%) Data Structures
6 22 (4.24%) Cloud Native
7 20 (3.85%) Replication
8 15 (2.89%) AS400
8 15 (2.89%) SWIFT Messaging Network
9 14 (2.70%) Legacy Systems
9 14 (2.70%) Linux Command Line
10 13 (2.50%) Hybrid Cloud
10 13 (2.50%) IBM Mainframe
11 12 (2.31%) Distributed Systems
11 12 (2.31%) Enterprise Software
11 12 (2.31%) Legacy Applications
11 12 (2.31%) Management Information System
12 11 (2.12%) iSeries
13 10 (1.93%) Data Protection Act
13 10 (1.93%) Equity Derivative
Operating Systems
1 103 (19.85%) Linux
2 75 (14.45%) zOS
3 57 (10.98%) Unix
4 45 (8.67%) Windows
5 38 (7.32%) AIX
6 23 (4.43%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 16 (3.08%) Solaris
8 13 (2.50%) Windows Server
9 10 (1.93%) Windows Server 2008
10 8 (1.54%) SUSE
10 8 (1.54%) Windows Server 2019
11 7 (1.35%) MVS
12 4 (0.77%) Windows Server 2016
13 2 (0.39%) Oracle Linux
13 2 (0.39%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
14 1 (0.19%) Mac OS
14 1 (0.19%) OpenVMS
14 1 (0.19%) VMS
14 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 105 (20.23%) Agile
2 79 (15.22%) CI/CD
3 77 (14.84%) Migration
4 67 (12.91%) Continuous Improvement
5 66 (12.72%) DevOps
6 63 (12.14%) Stakeholder Management
7 59 (11.37%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 56 (10.79%) ITIL
8 56 (10.79%) Test Automation
9 52 (10.02%) Problem-Solving
10 48 (9.25%) Roadmaps
11 47 (9.06%) ETL
12 46 (8.86%) Computer Science
13 38 (7.32%) Configuration Management
13 38 (7.32%) Systems Engineering
14 37 (7.13%) AI
15 36 (6.94%) Change Management
15 36 (6.94%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
15 36 (6.94%) Scrum
16 35 (6.74%) Root Cause Analysis
Programming Languages
1 98 (18.88%) SQL
2 95 (18.30%) Python
3 74 (14.26%) Java
4 35 (6.74%) PowerShell
5 24 (4.62%) JavaScript
6 23 (4.43%) Bash
7 20 (3.85%) PL/SQL
8 19 (3.66%) JCL
9 15 (2.89%) REXX
10 14 (2.70%) C++
10 14 (2.70%) COBOL
10 14 (2.70%) Search Processing Language
11 13 (2.50%) Shell Script
12 11 (2.12%) Perl
13 10 (1.93%) C
13 10 (1.93%) C#
14 7 (1.35%) Ada
15 6 (1.16%) Assembly Language
15 6 (1.16%) CLIST
16 5 (0.96%) MATLAB
Qualifications
1 133 (25.63%) Security Cleared
2 91 (17.53%) SC Cleared
3 53 (10.21%) Degree
4 12 (2.31%) Computer Science Degree
5 8 (1.54%) AWS Certification
5 8 (1.54%) BPSS Clearance
5 8 (1.54%) CISSP
5 8 (1.54%) DV Cleared
6 5 (0.96%) Azure Certification
6 5 (0.96%) CISM
6 5 (0.96%) ISTQB
7 4 (0.77%) (ISC)2 CCSP
7 4 (0.77%) CCSP
7 4 (0.77%) Cisco Certification
7 4 (0.77%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
8 3 (0.58%) CEH
8 3 (0.58%) ISEB
8 3 (0.58%) PMI Certification
8 3 (0.58%) PMP
9 2 (0.39%) CISMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (6.17%) Data Quality
2 15 (2.89%) QA
3 7 (1.35%) GDPR
3 7 (1.35%) ISO 20022
3 7 (1.35%) SLA
4 6 (1.16%) ISO 15022
5 5 (0.96%) NIST
6 4 (0.77%) Actionable Recommendations
6 4 (0.77%) GRC
6 4 (0.77%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 4 (0.77%) SEPA
7 2 (0.39%) Accessibility
7 2 (0.39%) GAAP
7 2 (0.39%) IFRS
7 2 (0.39%) NCSC
8 1 (0.19%) ISO 26262
8 1 (0.19%) ISO/IEC 15288
8 1 (0.19%) ISO/IEC 19770
8 1 (0.19%) MIL-STD-1553
8 1 (0.19%) PMO
System Software
1 40 (7.71%) Docker
2 26 (5.01%) VMware Infrastructure
3 25 (4.82%) RACF
4 17 (3.28%) NFS
5 16 (3.08%) VMware ESXi
6 13 (2.50%) Virtual Machines
7 12 (2.31%) Firmware
7 12 (2.31%) GPFS
7 12 (2.31%) Time Sharing Option
8 11 (2.12%) vSphere
9 7 (1.35%) Oracle RAC
9 7 (1.35%) PowerHA
10 6 (1.16%) ACF2
11 4 (0.77%) Hyper-V
12 3 (0.58%) Active Directory
12 3 (0.58%) EMC RecoverPoint
12 3 (0.58%) KVM
13 1 (0.19%) oVirt
13 1 (0.19%) RHEV
13 1 (0.19%) Tivoli Workload Scheduler
Systems Management
1 26 (5.01%) Ansible
2 25 (4.82%) Kubernetes
3 24 (4.62%) OMEGAMON
4 20 (3.85%) Tivoli
5 18 (3.47%) Terraform
6 17 (3.28%) Nagios
6 17 (3.28%) ZABBIX
7 16 (3.08%) Netcool
8 15 (2.89%) Tivoli Storage Manager
9 14 (2.70%) OpenView
9 14 (2.70%) Tivoli Monitoring
10 9 (1.73%) Grafana
10 9 (1.73%) vRealize
11 6 (1.16%) Oracle RMAN
11 6 (1.16%) Tivoli NetView
11 6 (1.16%) VxRail
12 5 (0.96%) Control-M
12 5 (0.96%) HP Fortify
13 4 (0.77%) CA Endevor
13 4 (0.77%) QRadar
Vendors
1 104 (20.04%) Oracle
2 44 (8.48%) Microsoft
3 38 (7.32%) VMware
4 35 (6.74%) Splunk
5 34 (6.55%) SAP
6 26 (5.01%) Red Hat
7 24 (4.62%) ServiceNow
8 22 (4.24%) HP
9 21 (4.05%) Cisco
9 21 (4.05%) Google
10 18 (3.47%) BMC
11 16 (3.08%) SolarWinds
12 14 (2.70%) Broadcom
13 13 (2.50%) Brocade
13 13 (2.50%) Cognos
13 13 (2.50%) Dell
13 13 (2.50%) Dynatrace
13 13 (2.50%) MathWorks
14 12 (2.31%) Sybase
15 11 (2.12%) Databricks