IT Engineer Contract Job Trends

IT Engineer
UK

The median IT Engineer daily rate in the UK is £200, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 7 April 2026.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
7 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 215 208 218
Rank change year-on-year -7 +10 +60
Contract jobs requiring an IT Engineer 545 376 478
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.20% 1.28% 1.09%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.30% 1.39% 1.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 319 256 288
10th Percentile £150 £125 £124
25th Percentile £174 £141 £150
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £200 £188 £200
Median % change year-on-year +6.67% -6.25% -
75th Percentile £272 £252 £288
90th Percentile £435 £450 £441
UK excluding London median daily rate £200 £180 £189
% change year-on-year +11.11% -4.64% -5.63%
Number of hourly rates quoted 105 46 122
10th Percentile £18.77 £18.17 £12.04
25th Percentile £20.50 £18.51 £15.75
Median hourly rate £23.58 £21.01 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year +12.21% +18.57% -
75th Percentile £25.15 £24.18 £20.25
90th Percentile £25.77 £26.33 £23.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.50 £21.01 £17.50
% change year-on-year +11.85% +20.06% -1.24%

All Contract IT Job Roles
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title 42,056 27,143 40,722
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.24% 92.76% 92.78%
Number of daily rates quoted 26,180 17,855 26,652
10th Percentile £313 £300 £275
25th Percentile £413 £406 £408
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £520 £525
Median % change year-on-year -3.85% -0.95% -3.05%
75th Percentile £613 £630 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £743
UK excluding London median daily rate £488 £475 £490
% change year-on-year +2.63% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,649 962 2,545
10th Percentile £15.00 £14.99 £12.86
25th Percentile £20.00 £20.24 £16.25
Median hourly rate £40.00 £31.76 £34.00
Median % change year-on-year +25.94% -6.59% -23.65%
75th Percentile £65.00 £64.50 £60.00
90th Percentile £77.50 £76.25 £71.25
UK excluding London median hourly rate £41.62 £30.93 £35.00
% change year-on-year +34.55% -11.63% -17.38%

IT Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'IT Engineer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

IT Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

IT Engineer
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for IT Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for IT Engineer job vacancies in the UK

IT Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing IT Engineer over the 6 months to 7 April 2026.

Daily rate histogram for IT Engineer in the UK

IT Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for IT Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for IT Engineer job vacancies in the UK

IT Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing IT Engineer over the 6 months to 7 April 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for IT Engineer in the UK

IT Engineer
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing IT Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 7 April 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 -2 483 £200 +5.26% 265
UK excluding London -21 419 £200 +11.11% 281
London -24 122 £218 -6.84% 30
North of England -20 113 £190 -5.00% 59
South East -25 92 £200 +5.26% 75
East of England +8 59 £203 +12.50% 30
Midlands -55 56 £200 +33.33% 46
North West -10 51 £170 -15.00% 35
Yorkshire -29 46 £205 -34.40% 22
South West -37 41 £185 +25.42% 41
Scotland +12 34 £178 - 14
East Midlands -11 34 £200 +17.65% 22
Wales -10 24 £200 +36.33% 16
West Midlands -66 23 £188 +33.93% 24
Work from Home -48 19 £238 -6.86% 58
North East -6 16 £450 +125.00% 5
Northern Ireland -12 1 - - 3

IT Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 7 April 2026, IT Engineer contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads featuring IT Engineer in the job title.

1 238 (43.67%) Windows
2 209 (38.35%) Microsoft 365
3 203 (37.25%) Microsoft
4 187 (34.31%) Active Directory
5 125 (22.94%) Customer Service
6 121 (22.20%) Security Cleared
7 118 (21.65%) Windows 10
8 114 (20.92%) SC Cleared
9 92 (16.88%) Migration
10 89 (16.33%) Problem-Solving
11 65 (11.93%) Azure
12 62 (11.38%) Workflow
13 58 (10.64%) Microsoft Intune
14 57 (10.46%) Workflow Management
15 55 (10.09%) ServiceNow
16 51 (9.36%) Asset Management
16 51 (9.36%) ITIL
17 49 (8.99%) Wi-Fi
18 46 (8.44%) Dell
19 45 (8.26%) ITSM
20 44 (8.07%) SAN
21 43 (7.89%) Break/Fix
22 40 (7.34%) Microsoft Certification
23 37 (6.79%) DHCP
23 37 (6.79%) DNS
23 37 (6.79%) Network+ Certification
24 36 (6.61%) A+ Certification
24 36 (6.61%) CCNA
24 36 (6.61%) Cisco Certification
24 36 (6.61%) JIRA

IT Engineer Skill Set
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 28 (5.14%) SharePoint
2 26 (4.77%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.55%) Confluence
4 1 (0.18%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 23 (4.22%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (0.73%) Microsoft Excel
3 3 (0.55%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 6 (1.10%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (0.37%) NetSuite
3 1 (0.18%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 209 (38.35%) Microsoft 365
2 65 (11.93%) Azure
3 34 (6.24%) Entra ID
4 18 (3.30%) Google Workspace
5 17 (3.12%) Azure DevOps
5 17 (3.12%) OneDrive
5 17 (3.12%) SaaS
6 11 (2.02%) PaaS
7 10 (1.83%) AWS
8 9 (1.65%) IaaS
9 5 (0.92%) Datadog
10 4 (0.73%) GitHub
11 3 (0.55%) Mimecast
11 3 (0.55%) Power Platform
11 3 (0.55%) Rubrik
12 2 (0.37%) AWS IoT
12 2 (0.37%) Azure Sentinel
12 2 (0.37%) PowerApps
13 1 (0.18%) Microsoft Copilot
13 1 (0.18%) Microsoft Purview
Communications & Networking
1 49 (8.99%) Wi-Fi
2 44 (8.07%) SAN
3 37 (6.79%) DHCP
3 37 (6.79%) DNS
4 34 (6.24%) LAN
5 28 (5.14%) VPN
6 26 (4.77%) Firewall
7 24 (4.40%) TCP/IP
8 19 (3.49%) VLAN
8 19 (3.49%) WAN
9 15 (2.75%) Network Security
10 10 (1.83%) VoIP
11 8 (1.47%) Wireless
12 7 (1.28%) Internet
13 6 (1.10%) WLAN
14 4 (0.73%) Unified Communications
15 3 (0.55%) IPv4
15 3 (0.55%) IPv6
15 3 (0.55%) Skype
15 3 (0.55%) Structured Cabling
Database & Business Intelligence
1 11 (2.02%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.18%) Electronic Patient Records
2 1 (0.18%) Power BI
2 1 (0.18%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 36 (6.61%) JIRA
2 5 (0.92%) Chocolatey
3 4 (0.73%) Git
3 4 (0.73%) GitLab
4 1 (0.18%) Hudson
General
1 227 (41.65%) Social Skills
2 45 (8.26%) Analytical Skills
3 42 (7.71%) Finance
4 37 (6.79%) Manufacturing
5 33 (6.06%) Banking
6 31 (5.69%) Public Sector
7 21 (3.85%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 16 (2.94%) Telecoms
9 15 (2.75%) Electronics
9 15 (2.75%) Marketing
9 15 (2.75%) Organisational Skills
10 7 (1.28%) Investment Banking
11 6 (1.10%) Documentation Skills
12 5 (0.92%) Aerospace
13 4 (0.73%) Financial Institution
14 3 (0.55%) Front Office
14 3 (0.55%) Law
15 2 (0.37%) Retail
16 1 (0.18%) Automotive
16 1 (0.18%) Retail Banking
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 4 (0.73%) React
2 2 (0.37%) Microsoft Graph
3 1 (0.18%) 802.1X
3 1 (0.18%) Middleware
3 1 (0.18%) Redfish
Miscellaneous
1 42 (7.71%) Data Centre
1 42 (7.71%) Onboarding
2 34 (6.24%) Analytical Mindset
3 23 (4.22%) Driving Licence
4 19 (3.49%) Self-Motivation
5 14 (2.57%) Operational Technology
6 12 (2.20%) Virtual Team
7 9 (1.65%) EPoS
8 6 (1.10%) Hybrid Cloud
8 6 (1.10%) Smartphone
8 6 (1.10%) Video Conferencing
9 5 (0.92%) Cyber Threat
10 4 (0.73%) Enterprise Software
10 4 (0.73%) IoT
10 4 (0.73%) iPhone
10 4 (0.73%) Legacy Systems
10 4 (0.73%) Management Information System
10 4 (0.73%) Renewable Energy
11 3 (0.55%) SCADA
12 2 (0.37%) CCTV
Operating Systems
1 238 (43.67%) Windows
2 118 (21.65%) Windows 10
3 26 (4.77%) Android
4 25 (4.59%) Mac OS
5 22 (4.04%) Apple iOS
5 22 (4.04%) Windows Server
6 15 (2.75%) Linux
7 3 (0.55%) Unix
8 2 (0.37%) Solaris
8 2 (0.37%) Windows Server 2016
9 1 (0.18%) Mac OS X
9 1 (0.18%) Windows 7
9 1 (0.18%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 125 (22.94%) Customer Service
2 92 (16.88%) Migration
3 89 (16.33%) Problem-Solving
4 62 (11.38%) Workflow
5 57 (10.46%) Workflow Management
6 51 (9.36%) Asset Management
6 51 (9.36%) ITIL
7 45 (8.26%) ITSM
8 43 (7.89%) Break/Fix
9 32 (5.87%) Cybersecurity
10 27 (4.95%) User Experience
11 25 (4.59%) Infrastructure Engineering
12 23 (4.22%) Change Management
13 22 (4.04%) DevOps
14 20 (3.67%) Logistics
15 19 (3.49%) Disaster Recovery
16 16 (2.94%) Business Intelligence
16 16 (2.94%) Problem Management
17 15 (2.75%) Digital Marketing
17 15 (2.75%) Programme Management
Programming Languages
1 29 (5.32%) PowerShell
2 18 (3.30%) SQL
3 17 (3.12%) C#
4 7 (1.28%) Python
5 4 (0.73%) JavaScript
5 4 (0.73%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 121 (22.20%) Security Cleared
2 114 (20.92%) SC Cleared
3 40 (7.34%) Microsoft Certification
4 37 (6.79%) Network+ Certification
5 36 (6.61%) A+ Certification
5 36 (6.61%) CCNA
5 36 (6.61%) Cisco Certification
6 35 (6.42%) MCSE
7 13 (2.39%) DV Cleared
8 7 (1.28%) Degree
9 4 (0.73%) DBS Check
10 3 (0.55%) BPSS Clearance
11 2 (0.37%) CCNP
12 1 (0.18%) Azure Certification
12 1 (0.18%) HND
12 1 (0.18%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 1 (0.18%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 21 (3.85%) SLA
2 6 (1.10%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 4 (0.73%) Cyber Essentials
4 3 (0.55%) NIST
5 1 (0.18%) GDPR
5 1 (0.18%) GxP
5 1 (0.18%) PCI DSS
5 1 (0.18%) QA
System Software
1 187 (34.31%) Active Directory
2 9 (1.65%) Hyper-V
3 7 (1.28%) VMware Infrastructure
4 3 (0.55%) Firmware
4 3 (0.55%) Virtual Desktop
5 2 (0.37%) Docker
5 2 (0.37%) VMware Workstation
5 2 (0.37%) vSphere
6 1 (0.18%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 58 (10.64%) Microsoft Intune
2 33 (6.06%) SCCM
3 17 (3.12%) Jamf Pro
4 6 (1.10%) WSUS
5 4 (0.73%) Ansible
5 4 (0.73%) Kubernetes
6 3 (0.55%) FortiGate
6 3 (0.55%) Single Sign-On
6 3 (0.55%) Terraform
7 2 (0.37%) PaperCut
8 1 (0.18%) Dell DRAC
8 1 (0.18%) SCOM
8 1 (0.18%) ServiceCenter
Vendors
1 203 (37.25%) Microsoft
2 55 (10.09%) ServiceNow
3 46 (8.44%) Dell
4 17 (3.12%) VMware
5 16 (2.94%) Google
5 16 (2.94%) HP
5 16 (2.94%) SAP
6 15 (2.75%) Cisco
7 12 (2.20%) Apple
8 9 (1.65%) Citrix
9 8 (1.47%) Tenable
10 6 (1.10%) Remedy
11 5 (0.92%) AppDynamics
11 5 (0.92%) Dynatrace
11 5 (0.92%) Fortinet
12 4 (0.73%) CrowdStrike
13 3 (0.55%) Veeam
13 3 (0.55%) Zscaler
14 2 (0.37%) Computacenter
14 2 (0.37%) ION Trading