IT Engineer Contract Job Trends

IT Engineer
UK

The median IT Engineer daily rate in the UK is £190, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 17 December 2025.

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

6 months to
17 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 218 261 225
Rank change year-on-year +43 -36 +80
Contract jobs requiring an IT Engineer 469 337 475
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.27% 0.98% 1.08%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.40% 1.06% 1.16%
Number of daily rates quoted 279 220 290
10th Percentile £134 £125 £110
25th Percentile £153 £150 £143
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £190 £200 £200
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% - -
75th Percentile £238 £300 £256
90th Percentile £338 £538 £388
UK excluding London median daily rate £190 £185 £200
% change year-on-year +2.70% -7.50% +14.29%
Number of hourly rates quoted 126 43 107
10th Percentile £18.10 £15.12 £13.16
25th Percentile £20.20 £15.61 £16.13
Median hourly rate £25.15 £21.59 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year +16.49% +21.84% -
75th Percentile - £24.18 £20.00
90th Percentile - £26.44 £27.15
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £21.59 £17.72
% change year-on-year +16.49% +21.84% -

All Contract IT Job Vacancies
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 33,474 31,919 40,968
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 90.98% 92.77% 93.39%
Number of daily rates quoted 21,192 19,646 27,547
10th Percentile £290 £300 £288
25th Percentile £404 £410 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £619 £638 £644
90th Percentile £720 £738 £740
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £490 £500
% change year-on-year -3.06% -2.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,966 1,020 1,459
10th Percentile £14.25 £15.48 £15.16
25th Percentile £18.00 £21.00 £19.06
Median hourly rate £25.15 £33.52 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year -24.97% -25.51% +50.00%
75th Percentile £57.50 £62.59 £65.00
90th Percentile £71.00 £72.53 £77.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £32.50 £45.00
% change year-on-year -22.62% -27.78% +80.00%

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 17 December 2025.

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 17 December 2025.

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 17 December 2025. 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 +45 425 £190 -5.00% 251
UK excluding London +12 360 £190 +2.70% 256
London +12 100 £200 -19.19% 47
South East +13 90 £195 -2.50% 75
North of England -17 75 £170 -19.05% 68
South West +15 60 £200 +6.67% 36
Midlands -21 55 £189 +4.86% 29
East of England +19 51 £190 +5.56% 21
North West -11 39 £152 -15.83% 35
West Midlands -30 35 £250 +25.00% 17
Work from Home -23 27 £306 -5.77% 77
Yorkshire -35 27 £205 -31.67% 30
Scotland +5 25 £195 +6.85% 17
East Midlands -13 24 £128 -29.17% 12
Wales -9 11 £183 +4.29% 16
North East -2 9 £106 -47.00% 7
Northern Ireland -7 1 £195 -

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

For the 6 months to 17 December 2025, 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.

1 195 (41.58%) Windows
2 147 (31.34%) Microsoft
3 144 (30.70%) Microsoft 365
4 135 (28.78%) Security Cleared
5 131 (27.93%) SC Cleared
6 117 (24.95%) Active Directory
7 105 (22.39%) Windows 10
8 93 (19.83%) Migration
9 88 (18.76%) Customer Service
10 72 (15.35%) Workflow
11 67 (14.29%) Workflow Management
12 64 (13.65%) Problem-Solving
13 54 (11.51%) Asset Management
14 45 (9.59%) Azure
15 41 (8.74%) Microsoft Intune
15 41 (8.74%) ServiceNow
16 37 (7.89%) ITIL
17 35 (7.46%) SCCM
18 34 (7.25%) Microsoft Office
19 29 (6.18%) TCP/IP
20 28 (5.97%) Firewall
21 27 (5.76%) Android
21 27 (5.76%) Infrastructure Engineering
21 27 (5.76%) ITSM
22 26 (5.54%) Cybersecurity
23 25 (5.33%) Apple
23 25 (5.33%) Cisco
24 24 (5.12%) Mac OS
24 24 (5.12%) Microsoft Exchange
25 23 (4.90%) DBS Check

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 24 (5.12%) Microsoft Exchange
2 23 (4.90%) SharePoint
3 1 (0.21%) Confluence
3 1 (0.21%) IIS
3 1 (0.21%) Skype for Business
3 1 (0.21%) Tomcat
Applications
1 34 (7.25%) Microsoft Office
2 8 (1.71%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.85%) Spreadsheet
4 1 (0.21%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 7 (1.49%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.21%) Pegasus Opera
2 1 (0.21%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 144 (30.70%) Microsoft 365
2 45 (9.59%) Azure
3 23 (4.90%) Entra ID
4 20 (4.26%) Google Workspace
5 10 (2.13%) OneDrive
6 8 (1.71%) AWS
7 6 (1.28%) Azure Stack
8 4 (0.85%) SaaS
8 4 (0.85%) Slack
9 3 (0.64%) IaaS
9 3 (0.64%) Mimecast
9 3 (0.64%) PaaS
9 3 (0.64%) Power Platform
10 2 (0.43%) AWS IoT
10 2 (0.43%) Azure Sentinel
10 2 (0.43%) Google Drive
11 1 (0.21%) Microsoft Copilot
11 1 (0.21%) Microsoft Purview
11 1 (0.21%) Power Automate
11 1 (0.21%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 29 (6.18%) TCP/IP
2 28 (5.97%) Firewall
3 23 (4.90%) DNS
4 21 (4.48%) DHCP
5 20 (4.26%) VPN
6 18 (3.84%) Wi-Fi
7 16 (3.41%) Network Security
8 14 (2.99%) LAN
9 13 (2.77%) Wireless
10 12 (2.56%) ATM
11 11 (2.35%) WAN
12 8 (1.71%) SAN
12 8 (1.71%) VLAN
12 8 (1.71%) VoIP
13 7 (1.49%) PABX
14 4 (0.85%) IP Telephony
14 4 (0.85%) Remote Desktop
15 3 (0.64%) NAS
16 2 (0.43%) Modbus
16 2 (0.43%) Unified Communications
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (1.07%) SQL Server
2 2 (0.43%) Power BI
3 1 (0.21%) Electronic Patient Records
3 1 (0.21%) Metadata
3 1 (0.21%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 6 (1.28%) JIRA
2 1 (0.21%) Hudson
General
1 198 (42.22%) Social Skills
2 36 (7.68%) Finance
3 29 (6.18%) Manufacturing
3 29 (6.18%) Public Sector
4 21 (4.48%) Telecoms
5 20 (4.26%) Electronics
5 20 (4.26%) Marketing
5 20 (4.26%) Organisational Skills
6 18 (3.84%) Banking
7 16 (3.41%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 10 (2.13%) Analytical Skills
9 9 (1.92%) Aerospace
10 5 (1.07%) Documentation Skills
11 4 (0.85%) Law
11 4 (0.85%) Retail
12 3 (0.64%) Investment Banking
12 3 (0.64%) Pharmaceutical
13 2 (0.43%) Automotive
13 2 (0.43%) Legal
13 2 (0.43%) Local Government
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 2 (0.43%) Middleware
2 1 (0.21%) JSON
2 1 (0.21%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 38 (8.10%) Driving Licence
2 19 (4.05%) Self-Motivation
3 18 (3.84%) Smartphone
4 17 (3.62%) Onboarding
5 16 (3.41%) EPoS
5 16 (3.41%) Operational Technology
6 12 (2.56%) Data Centre
7 10 (2.13%) Legacy Systems
8 6 (1.28%) Hybrid Cloud
8 6 (1.28%) iPhone
8 6 (1.28%) Video Conferencing
9 5 (1.07%) Analytical Mindset
10 4 (0.85%) Management Information System
11 3 (0.64%) CCTV
11 3 (0.64%) Enterprise Software
11 3 (0.64%) Replication
11 3 (0.64%) SCADA
12 2 (0.43%) 3D Printing
12 2 (0.43%) IoT
12 2 (0.43%) Team-Oriented Environment
Operating Systems
1 195 (41.58%) Windows
2 105 (22.39%) Windows 10
3 27 (5.76%) Android
4 24 (5.12%) Mac OS
5 21 (4.48%) Apple iOS
6 20 (4.26%) Windows Server
7 18 (3.84%) Linux
8 7 (1.49%) Windows 7
9 3 (0.64%) Mac OS X
10 2 (0.43%) Solaris
10 2 (0.43%) Unix
10 2 (0.43%) VMS
10 2 (0.43%) Windows 8
11 1 (0.21%) CentOS
11 1 (0.21%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 93 (19.83%) Migration
2 88 (18.76%) Customer Service
3 72 (15.35%) Workflow
4 67 (14.29%) Workflow Management
5 64 (13.65%) Problem-Solving
6 54 (11.51%) Asset Management
7 37 (7.89%) ITIL
8 27 (5.76%) Infrastructure Engineering
8 27 (5.76%) ITSM
9 26 (5.54%) Cybersecurity
10 22 (4.69%) Business Intelligence
11 20 (4.26%) Break/Fix
11 20 (4.26%) Digital Marketing
11 20 (4.26%) Programme Management
12 18 (3.84%) Logistics
13 14 (2.99%) User Experience
14 12 (2.56%) Service Management
15 11 (2.35%) Business Continuity
15 11 (2.35%) Service Delivery
16 10 (2.13%) IT Asset Management
Programming Languages
1 21 (4.48%) PowerShell
2 4 (0.85%) SQL
3 3 (0.64%) Python
4 1 (0.21%) Bash
4 1 (0.21%) C
4 1 (0.21%) Java
Qualifications
1 135 (28.78%) Security Cleared
2 131 (27.93%) SC Cleared
3 23 (4.90%) DBS Check
4 13 (2.77%) Network+ Certification
5 10 (2.13%) A+ Certification
5 10 (2.13%) Degree
5 10 (2.13%) DV Cleared
6 9 (1.92%) Cisco Certification
6 9 (1.92%) Microsoft Certification
7 8 (1.71%) CCNA
8 6 (1.28%) Azure Certification
8 6 (1.28%) MCSE
9 4 (0.85%) BPSS Clearance
10 3 (0.64%) CCNP
11 2 (0.43%) Computer Science Degree
12 1 (0.21%) HND
12 1 (0.21%) ISACA
12 1 (0.21%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 1 (0.21%) MCP
12 1 (0.21%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (3.41%) SLA
2 3 (0.64%) GDPR
3 2 (0.43%) Cyber Essentials
4 1 (0.21%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
4 1 (0.21%) ISO/IEC 27001
System Software
1 117 (24.95%) Active Directory
2 16 (3.41%) VMware Infrastructure
3 7 (1.49%) Hyper-V
4 5 (1.07%) Virtual Desktop
4 5 (1.07%) Virtual Machines
5 3 (0.64%) Firmware
6 2 (0.43%) VMware Workstation
7 1 (0.21%) BitLocker
7 1 (0.21%) Terminal Services
7 1 (0.21%) VMware ESXi
7 1 (0.21%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 41 (8.74%) Microsoft Intune
2 35 (7.46%) SCCM
3 15 (3.20%) Jamf Pro
4 5 (1.07%) WSUS
5 2 (0.43%) Ansible
5 2 (0.43%) SCOM
5 2 (0.43%) Single Sign-On
6 1 (0.21%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 1 (0.21%) Autotask
6 1 (0.21%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 147 (31.34%) Microsoft
2 41 (8.74%) ServiceNow
3 25 (5.33%) Apple
3 25 (5.33%) Cisco
4 23 (4.90%) SAP
4 23 (4.90%) VMware
5 22 (4.69%) Dell
5 22 (4.69%) HP
6 20 (4.26%) Google
7 9 (1.92%) Citrix
8 8 (1.71%) Remedy
9 6 (1.28%) Okta
10 4 (0.85%) CrowdStrike
10 4 (0.85%) Sophos
11 3 (0.64%) Bloomberg
11 3 (0.64%) CheckPoint
11 3 (0.64%) Datto
11 3 (0.64%) Reuters
11 3 (0.64%) Veeam
12 2 (0.43%) Zscaler