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 February 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 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 295 237 206
Rank change year-on-year -58 -31 +106
Contract jobs citing IBM 339 338 504
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.88% 1.08% 1.12%
As % of the Vendors category 1.93% 2.33% 2.56%
Number of daily rates quoted 211 164 314
10th Percentile £306 £320 £406
25th Percentile £396 £413 £441
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £465 £500 £550
Median % change year-on-year -7.00% -9.09% +4.76%
75th Percentile £572 £603 £650
90th Percentile £688 £682 £754
UK excluding London median daily rate £441 £450 £500
% change year-on-year -1.94% -10.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 20 21 21
10th Percentile £25.71 - £62.50
25th Percentile £44.88 £24.18 £65.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £46.18 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +40.75% -34.03% +64.01%
75th Percentile £70.00 £68.75 -
90th Percentile £70.15 - -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £70.00 £46.18 £70.00
% change year-on-year +51.58% -34.03% +68.16%

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 17,562 14,530 19,696
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 45.57% 46.26% 43.87%
Number of daily rates quoted 11,297 8,594 12,423
10th Percentile £300 £282 £253
25th Percentile £410 £409 £403
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £523 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.31% -0.48% -2.33%
75th Percentile £609 £625 £638
90th Percentile £700 £713 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £493 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -1.50% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 832 423 898
10th Percentile £15.00 £15.62 £13.00
25th Percentile £17.87 £20.09 £16.00
Median hourly rate £23.75 £28.41 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year -16.40% -5.30% -0.83%
75th Percentile £51.31 £61.13 £59.94
90th Percentile £73.63 £80.08 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.46 £25.00 £30.00
% change year-on-year -14.16% -16.67% +16.23%

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 February 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 February 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 February 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 -57 297 £475 -5.00% 84
UK excluding London -39 189 £441 -1.94% 65
London -47 108 £500 -4.76% 31
Work from Home -12 103 £475 -4.76% 42
North of England -59 55 £450 +13.42% 13
Midlands -23 49 £400 -13.04% 4
West Midlands -6 48 £400 -12.09% 3
North West -16 41 £448 +17.59% 11
East of England +1 28 £318 -25.06% 10
South East -39 24 £525 +23.53% 22
South West -34 21 £700 +16.67% 14
Scotland +7 15 £440 -2.33% 5
Yorkshire -59 14 £475 -1.04% 2
Wales -3 1 - - 1
East Midlands -27 1 £837 +74.27% 1

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 22 (6.49%) WebSphere
2 19 (5.60%) Confluence
3 15 (4.42%) Apache
4 12 (3.54%) JBoss
5 11 (3.24%) IIS
5 11 (3.24%) WebSphere Application Server
6 10 (2.95%) CICS
6 10 (2.95%) iPlanet
6 10 (2.95%) MQSeries
6 10 (2.95%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 8 (2.36%) SharePoint
7 8 (2.36%) WebLogic
8 5 (1.47%) ArcGIS
8 5 (1.47%) nginx
9 4 (1.18%) Anypoint
9 4 (1.18%) Tomcat
10 3 (0.88%) Apache Airflow
10 3 (0.88%) Apache Spark
10 3 (0.88%) SAS
11 2 (0.59%) FileNet
Applications
1 9 (2.65%) MS Visio
2 7 (2.06%) Microsoft Office
3 6 (1.77%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.29%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 28 (8.26%) Maximo
2 9 (2.65%) IBM Planning Analytics
3 7 (2.06%) BusinessWorks
4 4 (1.18%) Oracle 11i
4 4 (1.18%) SAP S/4HANA
5 3 (0.88%) SAP EWM
5 3 (0.88%) SAP PM
5 3 (0.88%) SAP PP
5 3 (0.88%) SAP QM
5 3 (0.88%) SAP WM
6 2 (0.59%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
6 2 (0.59%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
7 1 (0.29%) Cognos Controller
7 1 (0.29%) Oracle FAH
7 1 (0.29%) Oracle Payables
7 1 (0.29%) Oracle Receivables
7 1 (0.29%) SAP AFS
7 1 (0.29%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
7 1 (0.29%) Temenos T24
7 1 (0.29%) TRIRIGA
Cloud Services
1 93 (27.43%) AWS
2 59 (17.40%) Azure
3 27 (7.96%) OpenShift
4 14 (4.13%) Datadog
5 13 (3.83%) AWS CloudFormation
5 13 (3.83%) GCP
6 12 (3.54%) AWS Lambda
6 12 (3.54%) Serverless
7 11 (3.24%) Azure Sentinel
8 9 (2.65%) Azure API Management
8 9 (2.65%) SaaS
9 8 (2.36%) Azure AKS
9 8 (2.36%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 8 (2.36%) Azure Monitor
9 8 (2.36%) OCI
10 7 (2.06%) IBM Watson
10 7 (2.06%) Power Platform
11 6 (1.77%) Amazon CloudWatch
12 5 (1.47%) Azure DevOps
13 4 (1.18%) IBM Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 16 (4.72%) HTTPS
2 15 (4.42%) VSAN
3 13 (3.83%) VPN
4 11 (3.24%) SAN
5 10 (2.95%) Kerberos
6 8 (2.36%) HTTP
6 8 (2.36%) SSH
7 6 (1.77%) Fibre Channel
7 6 (1.77%) TCP/IP
8 5 (1.47%) iSCSI
8 5 (1.47%) NAS
8 5 (1.47%) SNA
9 4 (1.18%) APPN
9 4 (1.18%) DWDM
9 4 (1.18%) LAN
9 4 (1.18%) Network Security
9 4 (1.18%) WAN
10 3 (0.88%) Firewall
11 2 (0.59%) MPLS
11 2 (0.59%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 24 (7.08%) DB2
1 24 (7.08%) Oracle Database
2 23 (6.78%) SQL Server
3 13 (3.83%) Oracle Reports
4 12 (3.54%) Relational Database
5 11 (3.24%) Data Warehouse
5 11 (3.24%) DataStage
6 10 (2.95%) GIS
6 10 (2.95%) NoSQL
7 9 (2.65%) PostgreSQL
8 7 (2.06%) Amazon RDS
8 7 (2.06%) Amazon Redshift
9 6 (1.77%) Couchbase
9 6 (1.77%) Power BI
10 5 (1.47%) Big Data
10 5 (1.47%) DynamoDB
10 5 (1.47%) IBM InfoSphere
11 4 (1.18%) Elasticsearch
11 4 (1.18%) Metadata
11 4 (1.18%) Oracle Database 10g
Development Applications
1 38 (11.21%) JIRA
2 24 (7.08%) Git
3 19 (5.60%) Rational DOORS
4 18 (5.31%) Jenkins
5 10 (2.95%) Bitbucket Server
5 10 (2.95%) CA Release Automation
6 9 (2.65%) GitLab
7 8 (2.36%) PVCS
7 8 (2.36%) Sonatype Nexus
8 6 (1.77%) SoapUI
9 4 (1.18%) Ant
9 4 (1.18%) ERwin
9 4 (1.18%) JUnit
10 3 (0.88%) Bitbucket
10 3 (0.88%) IBM UrbanCode
11 2 (0.59%) Selenium
12 1 (0.29%) ClearCase
12 1 (0.29%) Cucumber
12 1 (0.29%) Rational Rhapsody
12 1 (0.29%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
General
1 92 (27.14%) Finance
2 80 (23.60%) Social Skills
3 52 (15.34%) Banking
4 34 (10.03%) Analytical Skills
5 25 (7.37%) Public Sector
6 18 (5.31%) Documentation Skills
7 9 (2.65%) Electronics
7 9 (2.65%) Presentation Skills
8 8 (2.36%) Private Banking
9 7 (2.06%) Financial Institution
10 6 (1.77%) Aviation
11 5 (1.47%) Law
11 5 (1.47%) Retail
11 5 (1.47%) Telecoms
12 4 (1.18%) Investment Banking
12 4 (1.18%) Legal
13 3 (0.88%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 3 (0.88%) Manufacturing
13 3 (0.88%) Pharmaceutical
14 2 (0.59%) Aerospace
Job Titles
1 62 (18.29%) Analyst
2 61 (17.99%) Developer
3 29 (8.55%) Architect
4 24 (7.08%) Infrastructure Analyst
5 22 (6.49%) Senior
6 19 (5.60%) Data Engineer
6 19 (5.60%) Storage Analyst
7 18 (5.31%) Solutions Architect
8 16 (4.72%) Software Engineer
9 13 (3.83%) DevOps Engineer
9 13 (3.83%) Lead
10 12 (3.54%) Platform Engineer
10 12 (3.54%) webMethods Developer
11 9 (2.65%) Consultant
11 9 (2.65%) Storage Engineer
12 8 (2.36%) Azure Engineer
12 8 (2.36%) Programmer
12 8 (2.36%) Systems Programmer
12 8 (2.36%) z/OS Systems Programmer
13 7 (2.06%) C/C++ Software Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 40 (11.80%) XML
2 28 (8.26%) Kafka
3 22 (6.49%) SOAP
4 21 (6.19%) JMS
5 20 (5.90%) Flash
6 19 (5.60%) Middleware
7 18 (5.31%) JSON
8 14 (4.13%) OAuth
9 13 (3.83%) XSLT
10 11 (3.24%) OpenID
11 10 (2.95%) LDAP
11 10 (2.95%) SAML
12 9 (2.65%) ARM Templates
12 9 (2.65%) REST
12 9 (2.65%) Web Services
13 8 (2.36%) XSD
14 7 (2.06%) J2EE
14 7 (2.06%) OC4J
14 7 (2.06%) TIBCO EMS
14 7 (2.06%) WSDL
Miscellaneous
1 39 (11.50%) Mainframe
2 36 (10.62%) Linux Command Line
3 32 (9.44%) Replication
4 21 (6.19%) Legacy Systems
5 13 (3.83%) Data Centre
6 11 (3.24%) AS400
7 10 (2.95%) Enterprise Software
7 10 (2.95%) Hybrid Cloud
8 8 (2.36%) Algorithms
8 8 (2.36%) DataPower
8 8 (2.36%) Tandem
9 7 (2.06%) Enterprise Storage
9 7 (2.06%) Onboarding
9 7 (2.06%) VSAM
10 6 (1.77%) iSeries
10 6 (1.77%) Management Information System
11 5 (1.47%) CMDB
11 5 (1.47%) IBM Mainframe
11 5 (1.47%) Product Ownership
11 5 (1.47%) SWIFT Messaging Network
Operating Systems
1 80 (23.60%) Linux
2 52 (15.34%) Windows
3 39 (11.50%) Unix
4 29 (8.55%) zOS
5 17 (5.01%) Windows Server
6 16 (4.72%) AIX
7 10 (2.95%) Windows Server 2016
8 8 (2.36%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 7 (2.06%) Windows 10
9 7 (2.06%) Windows 7
9 7 (2.06%) Windows Server 2003
10 5 (1.47%) Solaris
11 4 (1.18%) Windows Server 2008
12 3 (0.88%) Windows Server 2019
13 1 (0.29%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
13 1 (0.29%) VME
13 1 (0.29%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 75 (22.12%) Agile
2 57 (16.81%) Problem-Solving
3 48 (14.16%) DevOps
4 46 (13.57%) CI/CD
5 45 (13.27%) Migration
6 43 (12.68%) Stakeholder Management
7 32 (9.44%) ITIL
8 28 (8.26%) Asset Management
8 28 (8.26%) Performance Tuning
9 26 (7.67%) Analytics
9 26 (7.67%) ETL
10 24 (7.08%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 22 (6.49%) Test Automation
12 21 (6.19%) Data Modelling
12 21 (6.19%) Infrastructure Engineering
12 21 (6.19%) Workflow
13 20 (5.90%) Continuous Improvement
14 19 (5.60%) Containerisation
14 19 (5.60%) High Availability
15 18 (5.31%) Ticket Management
Programming Languages
1 59 (17.40%) SQL
2 43 (12.68%) Python
3 35 (10.32%) Java
4 21 (6.19%) Shell Script
5 16 (4.72%) JCL
6 15 (4.42%) PL/SQL
7 14 (4.13%) REXX
8 12 (3.54%) C
9 11 (3.24%) Groovy
10 10 (2.95%) COBOL
10 10 (2.95%) JavaScript
11 9 (2.65%) C++
11 9 (2.65%) CLIST
12 8 (2.36%) Bicep
12 8 (2.36%) PowerShell
12 8 (2.36%) RPG
13 7 (2.06%) Embedded C
13 7 (2.06%) Korn
13 7 (2.06%) Perl
13 7 (2.06%) XPath
Qualifications
1 72 (21.24%) Security Cleared
2 47 (13.86%) SC Cleared
3 27 (7.96%) Degree
4 16 (4.72%) Computer Science Degree
5 15 (4.42%) Azure Certification
6 13 (3.83%) AWS Certification
6 13 (3.83%) DV Cleared
7 12 (3.54%) BPSS Clearance
8 11 (3.24%) CISM
8 11 (3.24%) CISSP
9 9 (2.65%) Microsoft Certification
10 8 (2.36%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
11 7 (2.06%) IBM Certification
11 7 (2.06%) Master's Degree
12 5 (1.47%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
13 4 (1.18%) ITIL Certification
13 4 (1.18%) PMI Certification
13 4 (1.18%) PMP
14 3 (0.88%) ISTQB
14 3 (0.88%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (4.72%) QA
2 13 (3.83%) Data Quality
3 10 (2.95%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 9 (2.65%) NIST
4 9 (2.65%) SLA
5 8 (2.36%) NIST 800
6 4 (1.18%) Basel III
6 4 (1.18%) ISO 20022
6 4 (1.18%) PCI DSS
6 4 (1.18%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 4 (1.18%) SEPA
7 3 (0.88%) GDPR
8 2 (0.59%) ISO/IEC 19770
9 1 (0.29%) Def Stans
9 1 (0.29%) GRC
9 1 (0.29%) HIPAA
9 1 (0.29%) IFRS
9 1 (0.29%) IFRS 17
9 1 (0.29%) IFRS 9
9 1 (0.29%) ISO 15022
System Software
1 42 (12.39%) VMware Infrastructure
2 31 (9.14%) vSphere
3 24 (7.08%) NFS
4 21 (6.19%) GPFS
4 21 (6.19%) VMware ESXi
5 18 (5.31%) Docker
6 13 (3.83%) Virtual Machines
7 11 (3.24%) Active Directory
7 11 (3.24%) RACF
8 8 (2.36%) Tivoli Directory Server
9 7 (2.06%) Job Entry Subsystem
10 4 (1.18%) Time Sharing Option
11 3 (0.88%) Hyper-V
11 3 (0.88%) KVM
11 3 (0.88%) VMware NSX
12 2 (0.59%) Oracle RAC
13 1 (0.29%) Ceph
13 1 (0.29%) Firmware
13 1 (0.29%) Lustre
Systems Management
1 30 (8.85%) vRealize
2 28 (8.26%) Terraform
3 21 (6.19%) Kubernetes
4 17 (5.01%) Ansible
5 14 (4.13%) VxRail
6 10 (2.95%) CA Single Sign-On
6 10 (2.95%) CA Wily
7 9 (2.65%) Progress Chef
8 8 (2.36%) Control-M
8 8 (2.36%) Tivoli
9 7 (2.06%) TIBCO Hawk
10 6 (1.77%) OMEGAMON
11 5 (1.47%) IBM BigFix
11 5 (1.47%) Single Sign-On
11 5 (1.47%) Tivoli NetView
11 5 (1.47%) Tivoli Storage Manager
12 4 (1.18%) QRadar
13 3 (0.88%) vCenter Server
13 3 (0.88%) zSecure
14 2 (0.59%) EMC NetWorker
Vendors
1 80 (23.60%) Oracle
2 48 (14.16%) VMware
3 47 (13.86%) Microsoft
4 45 (13.27%) Cisco
5 35 (10.32%) ServiceNow
6 24 (7.08%) AppDynamics
7 22 (6.49%) SAP
8 21 (6.19%) Dell
9 18 (5.31%) HP
10 16 (4.72%) Broadcom
11 15 (4.42%) Red Hat
11 15 (4.42%) Splunk
12 14 (4.13%) Commvault
12 14 (4.13%) SolarWinds
13 13 (3.83%) Google
13 13 (3.83%) Software AG
13 13 (3.83%) webMethods
14 10 (2.95%) EMC
15 9 (2.65%) Citrix
15 9 (2.65%) Cognos