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 24 April 2026.

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

6 months to
24 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 228 203 223
Rank change year-on-year -25 +20 +60
Contract jobs requiring an IT Engineer 522 383 464
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.12% 1.30% 1.06%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.22% 1.40% 1.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 301 253 282
10th Percentile £150 £123 £123
25th Percentile £176 £140 £150
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £200 £188 £203
Median % change year-on-year +6.67% -7.41% +1.25%
75th Percentile £288 £250 £300
90th Percentile £438 £423 £519
UK excluding London median daily rate £200 £165 £190
% change year-on-year +21.21% -13.16% -1.30%
Number of hourly rates quoted 96 56 122
10th Percentile £18.79 £18.20 £12.04
25th Percentile £20.50 £18.51 £15.75
Median hourly rate £23.54 £21.00 £18.00
Median % change year-on-year +12.08% +16.67% +1.58%
75th Percentile £25.15 £24.30 £21.00
90th Percentile £26.39 £25.15 £24.18
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £19.00 £17.50
% change year-on-year +18.42% +8.57% -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 42,897 27,359 40,498
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.32% 92.62% 92.77%
Number of daily rates quoted 26,528 17,903 26,435
10th Percentile £313 £300 £275
25th Percentile £413 £406 £408
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £515 £525
Median % change year-on-year -2.91% -1.90% -2.78%
75th Percentile £613 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £488 £475 £490
% change year-on-year +2.63% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,745 1,021 2,635
10th Percentile £15.00 £14.20 £12.86
25th Percentile £20.35 £18.51 £16.30
Median hourly rate £42.50 £29.23 £35.50
Median % change year-on-year +45.40% -17.66% -21.11%
75th Percentile £65.60 £62.50 £60.00
90th Percentile £78.43 £75.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £44.00 £28.75 £37.50
% change year-on-year +53.04% -23.33% -11.76%

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 24 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 24 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 24 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 -13 457 £200 +5.26% 243
UK excluding London -26 397 £200 +21.21% 265
London -31 121 £275 +15.79% 24
North of England -23 103 £190 -5.00% 51
South East -38 83 £200 +5.26% 64
Midlands -42 57 £188 +33.93% 50
East of England +6 54 £203 +12.50% 44
North West -15 47 £175 -6.67% 31
Yorkshire -32 43 £205 -31.67% 19
South West -46 39 £185 +37.04% 34
Scotland +15 35 £178 -4.70% 10
East Midlands -10 35 £200 +60.00% 31
Wales -9 26 £200 +36.33% 13
West Midlands -65 23 £185 +32.14% 19
Work from Home -49 17 £325 +18.18% 59
North East -9 13 £450 +125.00% 3
Northern Ireland -5 1 - - 10

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

For the 6 months to 24 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.

1 223 (42.72%) Windows
2 199 (38.12%) Microsoft 365
3 184 (35.25%) Microsoft
4 181 (34.67%) Active Directory
5 119 (22.80%) Customer Service
6 114 (21.84%) Windows 10
7 111 (21.26%) Security Cleared
8 103 (19.73%) SC Cleared
9 91 (17.43%) Problem-Solving
10 86 (16.48%) Migration
11 67 (12.84%) Azure
12 55 (10.54%) Workflow
13 52 (9.96%) Dell
13 52 (9.96%) Microsoft Intune
14 51 (9.77%) Break/Fix
14 51 (9.77%) ITIL
14 51 (9.77%) SAN
14 51 (9.77%) Workflow Management
15 48 (9.20%) ServiceNow
16 47 (9.00%) Microsoft Certification
17 45 (8.62%) Wi-Fi
18 44 (8.43%) Network+ Certification
19 43 (8.24%) A+ Certification
19 43 (8.24%) CCNA
19 43 (8.24%) Cisco Certification
20 42 (8.05%) MCSE
21 41 (7.85%) ITSM
22 40 (7.66%) Asset Management
23 38 (7.28%) DNS
24 37 (7.09%) 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 26 (4.98%) Microsoft Exchange
2 22 (4.21%) SharePoint
3 2 (0.38%) Confluence
4 1 (0.19%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 15 (2.87%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (0.57%) Spreadsheet
3 1 (0.19%) Microsoft Excel
Business Applications
1 5 (0.96%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (0.38%) NetSuite
Cloud Services
1 199 (38.12%) Microsoft 365
2 67 (12.84%) Azure
3 35 (6.70%) Entra ID
4 19 (3.64%) Azure DevOps
5 17 (3.26%) SaaS
6 15 (2.87%) OneDrive
7 14 (2.68%) Google Workspace
8 11 (2.11%) PaaS
9 10 (1.92%) AWS
10 9 (1.72%) IaaS
11 5 (0.96%) Datadog
12 4 (0.77%) GitHub
12 4 (0.77%) Nutanix
13 3 (0.57%) Mimecast
13 3 (0.57%) Power Platform
13 3 (0.57%) Rubrik
14 2 (0.38%) AWS IoT
14 2 (0.38%) Azure Sentinel
14 2 (0.38%) PowerApps
15 1 (0.19%) Azure Data Factory
Communications & Networking
1 51 (9.77%) SAN
2 45 (8.62%) Wi-Fi
3 38 (7.28%) DNS
4 36 (6.90%) DHCP
5 33 (6.32%) LAN
6 26 (4.98%) Firewall
6 26 (4.98%) VPN
7 21 (4.02%) TCP/IP
8 20 (3.83%) VLAN
9 19 (3.64%) WAN
10 14 (2.68%) Network Security
11 9 (1.72%) VoIP
12 8 (1.53%) Wireless
13 7 (1.34%) Internet
14 6 (1.15%) WLAN
15 5 (0.96%) IPv4
15 5 (0.96%) IPv6
15 5 (0.96%) Unified Communications
16 4 (0.77%) Skype
17 3 (0.57%) Structured Cabling
Database & Business Intelligence
1 13 (2.49%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.19%) Oracle Reports
2 1 (0.19%) Power BI
2 1 (0.19%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 37 (7.09%) JIRA
2 6 (1.15%) Git
3 5 (0.96%) Chocolatey
4 4 (0.77%) GitLab
General
1 212 (40.61%) Social Skills
2 52 (9.96%) Analytical Skills
3 40 (7.66%) Finance
4 33 (6.32%) Manufacturing
5 30 (5.75%) Banking
6 27 (5.17%) Public Sector
7 19 (3.64%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 13 (2.49%) Telecoms
9 12 (2.30%) Electronics
9 12 (2.30%) Marketing
9 12 (2.30%) Organisational Skills
10 7 (1.34%) Documentation Skills
11 6 (1.15%) Investment Banking
12 3 (0.57%) Financial Institution
12 3 (0.57%) Front Office
12 3 (0.57%) Law
13 2 (0.38%) Aerospace
13 2 (0.38%) Retail
14 1 (0.19%) Japanese Language
14 1 (0.19%) Retail Banking
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 4 (0.77%) React
2 2 (0.38%) Microsoft Graph
3 1 (0.19%) 802.1X
3 1 (0.19%) PySpark
3 1 (0.19%) Redfish
Miscellaneous
1 49 (9.39%) Data Centre
2 41 (7.85%) Analytical Mindset
3 39 (7.47%) Onboarding
4 19 (3.64%) Self-Motivation
5 18 (3.45%) Driving Licence
6 17 (3.26%) Operational Technology
7 15 (2.87%) Virtual Team
8 10 (1.92%) EPoS
9 6 (1.15%) Hybrid Cloud
9 6 (1.15%) SCADA
10 5 (0.96%) Cyber Threat
10 5 (0.96%) Video Conferencing
11 4 (0.77%) IoT
11 4 (0.77%) iPhone
11 4 (0.77%) Renewable Energy
11 4 (0.77%) Smartphone
12 3 (0.57%) Enterprise Software
12 3 (0.57%) Management Information System
13 2 (0.38%) 3D Printing
13 2 (0.38%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 223 (42.72%) Windows
2 114 (21.84%) Windows 10
3 24 (4.60%) Windows Server
4 23 (4.41%) Android
5 19 (3.64%) Mac OS
6 18 (3.45%) Apple iOS
7 12 (2.30%) Linux
8 4 (0.77%) Unix
9 3 (0.57%) Solaris
10 2 (0.38%) Windows Server 2016
11 1 (0.19%) Mac OS X
11 1 (0.19%) Windows 7
11 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 119 (22.80%) Customer Service
2 91 (17.43%) Problem-Solving
3 86 (16.48%) Migration
4 55 (10.54%) Workflow
5 51 (9.77%) Break/Fix
5 51 (9.77%) ITIL
5 51 (9.77%) Workflow Management
6 41 (7.85%) ITSM
7 40 (7.66%) Asset Management
8 31 (5.94%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 27 (5.17%) Cybersecurity
10 26 (4.98%) Change Management
10 26 (4.98%) User Experience
11 24 (4.60%) DevOps
12 21 (4.02%) Disaster Recovery
13 18 (3.45%) Logistics
14 15 (2.87%) Problem Management
15 13 (2.49%) Business Intelligence
16 12 (2.30%) Digital Marketing
16 12 (2.30%) Programme Management
Programming Languages
1 26 (4.98%) PowerShell
2 21 (4.02%) SQL
3 19 (3.64%) C#
4 8 (1.53%) Python
5 4 (0.77%) JavaScript
5 4 (0.77%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 111 (21.26%) Security Cleared
2 103 (19.73%) SC Cleared
3 47 (9.00%) Microsoft Certification
4 44 (8.43%) Network+ Certification
5 43 (8.24%) A+ Certification
5 43 (8.24%) CCNA
5 43 (8.24%) Cisco Certification
6 42 (8.05%) MCSE
7 15 (2.87%) DV Cleared
8 8 (1.53%) Degree
9 3 (0.57%) BPSS Clearance
9 3 (0.57%) DBS Check
10 2 (0.38%) CCNP
11 1 (0.19%) Azure Certification
11 1 (0.19%) HND
11 1 (0.19%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (4.41%) SLA
2 6 (1.15%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 4 (0.77%) Cyber Essentials
4 3 (0.57%) NIST
5 1 (0.19%) Disclosure Scotland
5 1 (0.19%) GDPR
5 1 (0.19%) GxP
5 1 (0.19%) ITGC
5 1 (0.19%) PCI DSS
5 1 (0.19%) QA
System Software
1 181 (34.67%) Active Directory
2 11 (2.11%) VMware Infrastructure
3 10 (1.92%) Hyper-V
4 3 (0.57%) Firmware
4 3 (0.57%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (0.38%) Docker
5 2 (0.38%) vSphere
6 1 (0.19%) Virtual Desktop
6 1 (0.19%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 52 (9.96%) Microsoft Intune
2 30 (5.75%) SCCM
3 14 (2.68%) Jamf Pro
4 8 (1.53%) WSUS
5 4 (0.77%) Ansible
5 4 (0.77%) Kubernetes
6 3 (0.57%) FortiGate
6 3 (0.57%) Terraform
7 2 (0.38%) PaperCut
7 2 (0.38%) Single Sign-On
8 1 (0.19%) Dell DRAC
8 1 (0.19%) SCOM
8 1 (0.19%) ServiceCenter
Vendors
1 184 (35.25%) Microsoft
2 52 (9.96%) Dell
3 48 (9.20%) ServiceNow
4 19 (3.64%) VMware
5 16 (3.07%) Cisco
6 15 (2.87%) HP
7 13 (2.49%) Apple
7 13 (2.49%) SAP
8 12 (2.30%) Google
9 10 (1.92%) Citrix
10 8 (1.53%) Fortinet
10 8 (1.53%) Tenable
11 7 (1.34%) Veeam
12 5 (0.96%) AppDynamics
12 5 (0.96%) Dynatrace
12 5 (0.96%) Remedy
13 2 (0.38%) Arista
13 2 (0.38%) Bloomberg
13 2 (0.38%) CrowdStrike
13 2 (0.38%) Reuters