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 5 December 2025.

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

6 months to
5 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 219 263 232
Rank change year-on-year +44 -31 +76
Contract jobs requiring an IT Engineer 462 346 476
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.27% 0.96% 1.06%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.39% 1.03% 1.13%
Number of daily rates quoted 283 219 295
10th Percentile £133 £131 £111
25th Percentile £153 £150 £146
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £190 £200 £200
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% - -
75th Percentile £238 £300 £265
90th Percentile £336 £538 £400
UK excluding London median daily rate £190 £183 £200
% change year-on-year +4.11% -8.75% +11.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 125 48 109
10th Percentile £18.58 £15.10 £13.16
25th Percentile £19.00 £15.22 £16.25
Median hourly rate £25.08 £21.59 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year +16.14% +21.84% -
75th Percentile £25.15 £24.18 £20.00
90th Percentile - - £26.20
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.08 £21.59 £17.72
% change year-on-year +16.14% +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 33,199 33,522 42,042
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 90.96% 92.79% 93.45%
Number of daily rates quoted 21,096 20,434 28,329
10th Percentile £285 £300 £294
25th Percentile £402 £410 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £619 £638 £645
90th Percentile £723 £738 £743
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £495 £500
% change year-on-year -4.04% -1.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,922 1,156 1,511
10th Percentile £14.25 £15.42 £15.16
25th Percentile £17.97 £20.75 £19.06
Median hourly rate £25.15 £35.00 £44.00
Median % change year-on-year -28.14% -20.45% +39.68%
75th Percentile £57.50 £64.20 £65.00
90th Percentile £71.00 £73.66 £77.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £32.50 £44.50
% change year-on-year -22.62% -26.97% +78.00%

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 5 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 5 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 5 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 +38 421 £190 -5.00% 290
UK excluding London +13 351 £190 +4.11% 294
London +23 102 £200 -16.67% 49
South East +18 93 £200 - 81
North of England -17 72 £170 -15.00% 86
South West +11 59 £206 +10.00% 30
Midlands -23 53 £189 +4.86% 39
East of England +11 49 £190 +5.56% 31
North West -4 38 £152 -15.83% 32
West Midlands -24 32 £250 +25.00% 23
Work from Home -22 26 £288 -21.23% 75
Yorkshire -24 25 £205 -19.61% 51
East Midlands -9 23 £128 -29.17% 16
Scotland +3 22 £195 +6.85% 24
Wales -12 11 £178 +10.94% 7
North East 0 9 £106 -47.00% 8
Northern Ireland -6 1 £195 - 2

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

For the 6 months to 5 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.

1 198 (42.86%) Windows
2 145 (31.39%) Microsoft
3 144 (31.17%) Microsoft 365
4 133 (28.79%) Security Cleared
5 129 (27.92%) SC Cleared
6 119 (25.76%) Active Directory
7 107 (23.16%) Windows 10
8 85 (18.40%) Customer Service
9 84 (18.18%) Migration
10 63 (13.64%) Workflow
11 60 (12.99%) Problem-Solving
12 58 (12.55%) Asset Management
12 58 (12.55%) Workflow Management
13 46 (9.96%) Azure
14 44 (9.52%) Microsoft Intune
15 40 (8.66%) ITIL
16 39 (8.44%) ServiceNow
17 35 (7.58%) Microsoft Office
18 34 (7.36%) SCCM
19 31 (6.71%) TCP/IP
20 30 (6.49%) Firewall
21 28 (6.06%) ITSM
22 27 (5.84%) Cybersecurity
23 26 (5.63%) Android
24 25 (5.41%) Apple
24 25 (5.41%) Cisco
24 25 (5.41%) SharePoint
25 24 (5.19%) DBS Check
25 24 (5.19%) Entra ID
25 24 (5.19%) Microsoft Exchange

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 25 (5.41%) SharePoint
2 24 (5.19%) Microsoft Exchange
3 1 (0.22%) Confluence
3 1 (0.22%) IIS
3 1 (0.22%) Skype for Business
3 1 (0.22%) Tomcat
Applications
1 35 (7.58%) Microsoft Office
2 8 (1.73%) Microsoft Excel
3 3 (0.65%) Spreadsheet
4 1 (0.22%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 6 (1.30%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.22%) Pegasus Opera
2 1 (0.22%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 144 (31.17%) Microsoft 365
2 46 (9.96%) Azure
3 24 (5.19%) Entra ID
4 20 (4.33%) Google Workspace
5 10 (2.16%) OneDrive
6 6 (1.30%) AWS
6 6 (1.30%) Azure Stack
7 4 (0.87%) Slack
8 3 (0.65%) IaaS
8 3 (0.65%) PaaS
8 3 (0.65%) Power Platform
8 3 (0.65%) SaaS
9 2 (0.43%) AWS IoT
9 2 (0.43%) Azure Sentinel
9 2 (0.43%) Google Drive
9 2 (0.43%) Mimecast
10 1 (0.22%) Microsoft Copilot
10 1 (0.22%) Microsoft Purview
10 1 (0.22%) Power Automate
10 1 (0.22%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 31 (6.71%) TCP/IP
2 30 (6.49%) Firewall
3 23 (4.98%) DNS
4 21 (4.55%) DHCP
4 21 (4.55%) VPN
5 19 (4.11%) Wi-Fi
6 16 (3.46%) LAN
6 16 (3.46%) Network Security
7 13 (2.81%) WAN
7 13 (2.81%) Wireless
8 12 (2.60%) ATM
9 9 (1.95%) VLAN
9 9 (1.95%) VoIP
10 7 (1.52%) PABX
11 5 (1.08%) Remote Desktop
11 5 (1.08%) SAN
12 4 (0.87%) IP Telephony
13 3 (0.65%) Ethernet
13 3 (0.65%) NAS
14 2 (0.43%) Broadband
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (1.08%) SQL Server
2 2 (0.43%) Power BI
3 1 (0.22%) Electronic Patient Records
3 1 (0.22%) Metadata
3 1 (0.22%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 5 (1.08%) JIRA
2 1 (0.22%) Hudson
General
1 190 (41.13%) Social Skills
2 33 (7.14%) Finance
3 28 (6.06%) Manufacturing
4 27 (5.84%) Public Sector
5 20 (4.33%) Organisational Skills
6 19 (4.11%) Marketing
6 19 (4.11%) Telecoms
7 18 (3.90%) Banking
7 18 (3.90%) Electronics
8 17 (3.68%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 9 (1.95%) Aerospace
10 6 (1.30%) Analytical Skills
11 4 (0.87%) Retail
12 3 (0.65%) Documentation Skills
12 3 (0.65%) Investment Banking
12 3 (0.65%) Law
12 3 (0.65%) Local Government
12 3 (0.65%) Pharmaceutical
13 2 (0.43%) Front Office
13 2 (0.43%) Legal
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 2 (0.43%) Middleware
2 1 (0.22%) JSON
2 1 (0.22%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 36 (7.79%) Driving Licence
2 19 (4.11%) Self-Motivation
3 18 (3.90%) Smartphone
4 17 (3.68%) Onboarding
5 16 (3.46%) EPoS
6 15 (3.25%) Operational Technology
7 11 (2.38%) Data Centre
8 10 (2.16%) Legacy Systems
9 6 (1.30%) Hybrid Cloud
9 6 (1.30%) iPhone
9 6 (1.30%) Video Conferencing
10 4 (0.87%) Management Information System
11 3 (0.65%) CCTV
11 3 (0.65%) Enterprise Software
11 3 (0.65%) Replication
11 3 (0.65%) SCADA
12 2 (0.43%) 3D Printing
12 2 (0.43%) Analytical Mindset
12 2 (0.43%) Digital Signage
12 2 (0.43%) IoT
Operating Systems
1 198 (42.86%) Windows
2 107 (23.16%) Windows 10
3 26 (5.63%) Android
4 23 (4.98%) Mac OS
5 22 (4.76%) Windows Server
6 21 (4.55%) Apple iOS
7 18 (3.90%) Linux
8 12 (2.60%) Windows 7
9 3 (0.65%) Mac OS X
9 3 (0.65%) VMS
10 2 (0.43%) Solaris
10 2 (0.43%) Unix
10 2 (0.43%) Windows 8
10 2 (0.43%) Windows Server 2019
11 1 (0.22%) CentOS
11 1 (0.22%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 85 (18.40%) Customer Service
2 84 (18.18%) Migration
3 63 (13.64%) Workflow
4 60 (12.99%) Problem-Solving
5 58 (12.55%) Asset Management
5 58 (12.55%) Workflow Management
6 40 (8.66%) ITIL
7 28 (6.06%) ITSM
8 27 (5.84%) Cybersecurity
9 23 (4.98%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 20 (4.33%) Break/Fix
10 20 (4.33%) Business Intelligence
11 18 (3.90%) Digital Marketing
11 18 (3.90%) Programme Management
12 17 (3.68%) Logistics
13 15 (3.25%) Ticket Management
14 13 (2.81%) Service Management
14 13 (2.81%) User Experience
15 12 (2.60%) Business Continuity
16 11 (2.38%) Service Delivery
Programming Languages
1 21 (4.55%) PowerShell
2 4 (0.87%) SQL
3 3 (0.65%) Python
4 1 (0.22%) Bash
4 1 (0.22%) C
4 1 (0.22%) Java
Qualifications
1 133 (28.79%) Security Cleared
2 129 (27.92%) SC Cleared
3 24 (5.19%) DBS Check
4 10 (2.16%) Degree
4 10 (2.16%) Network+ Certification
5 9 (1.95%) DV Cleared
6 7 (1.52%) A+ Certification
7 6 (1.30%) Azure Certification
7 6 (1.30%) Cisco Certification
7 6 (1.30%) Microsoft Certification
8 5 (1.08%) CCNA
9 4 (0.87%) BPSS Clearance
10 3 (0.65%) CCNP
10 3 (0.65%) MCSE
11 2 (0.43%) Computer Science Degree
11 2 (0.43%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 1 (0.22%) BC Cleared
12 1 (0.22%) ISACA
12 1 (0.22%) MCP
12 1 (0.22%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (3.68%) SLA
2 3 (0.65%) GDPR
3 2 (0.43%) Cyber Essentials
4 1 (0.22%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
4 1 (0.22%) ISO/IEC 27001
System Software
1 119 (25.76%) Active Directory
2 16 (3.46%) VMware Infrastructure
3 9 (1.95%) Hyper-V
4 6 (1.30%) Virtual Desktop
4 6 (1.30%) Virtual Machines
5 3 (0.65%) Firmware
6 2 (0.43%) VMware Workstation
6 2 (0.43%) vSphere
7 1 (0.22%) BitLocker
7 1 (0.22%) Terminal Services
7 1 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 44 (9.52%) Microsoft Intune
2 34 (7.36%) SCCM
3 15 (3.25%) Jamf Pro
4 5 (1.08%) WSUS
5 2 (0.43%) Ansible
5 2 (0.43%) Autotask
5 2 (0.43%) SCOM
5 2 (0.43%) Single Sign-On
6 1 (0.22%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 1 (0.22%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 145 (31.39%) Microsoft
2 39 (8.44%) ServiceNow
3 25 (5.41%) Apple
3 25 (5.41%) Cisco
4 23 (4.98%) HP
4 23 (4.98%) VMware
5 21 (4.55%) Dell
6 20 (4.33%) Google
6 20 (4.33%) SAP
7 9 (1.95%) Citrix
8 7 (1.52%) Remedy
9 6 (1.30%) Okta
10 4 (0.87%) Sophos
11 3 (0.65%) Bloomberg
11 3 (0.65%) CheckPoint
11 3 (0.65%) CrowdStrike
11 3 (0.65%) Datto
11 3 (0.65%) IBM
11 3 (0.65%) Reuters
11 3 (0.65%) Veeam