IT Graduate Contract Job Trends

IT Graduate
UK

The median IT Graduate daily rate in the UK is £123, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 29 May 2026.

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

6 months to
29 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 637 - 583
Rank change year-on-year - - +99
Contract jobs requiring an IT Graduate 4 0 2
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.008% - 0.005%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.009% - 0.005%
Number of daily rates quoted 4 0 2
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile £121 - £130
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £123 - £140
Median % change year-on-year - - -5.08%
75th Percentile £167 - £150
90th Percentile £244 - -
UK excluding London median daily rate £123 - -

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 45,155 26,550 39,743
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.31% 92.33% 92.80%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,543 17,231 25,865
10th Percentile £325 £290 £280
25th Percentile £413 £405 £410
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £505 £525
Median % change year-on-year +1.49% -3.81% -2.78%
75th Percentile £619 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +5.26% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 3,003 1,045 2,776
10th Percentile £15.01 £14.00 £12.81
25th Percentile £20.50 £17.87 £16.30
Median hourly rate £42.50 £27.99 £37.18
Median % change year-on-year +51.84% -24.72% -17.38%
75th Percentile £66.38 £59.90 £61.30
90th Percentile £78.75 £75.00 £73.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.61 £25.15 £40.00
% change year-on-year +73.38% -37.13% -5.88%

IT Graduate
Job Vacancy Trend

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

IT Graduate job vacancy trend in the UK

IT Graduate
Daily Rate Trend

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

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

IT Graduate
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing IT Graduate over the 6 months to 29 May 2026.

Daily rate histogram for IT Graduate in the UK

IT Graduate
Hourly Rate Trend

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

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

IT Graduate
Top 5 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 Graduate within the UK over the 6 months to 29 May 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 - 4 £123 - 9
South East - 3 £123 - 4
UK excluding London - 3 £123 - 9
London - 1 £280 -
Work from Home - 1 £280 - 2

IT Graduate Skill Set
Top 17 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 29 May 2026, IT Graduate 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 Graduate in the job title.

1 3 (75.00%) Collaborative Working
1 3 (75.00%) Computer Science
1 3 (75.00%) Degree
1 3 (75.00%) Mentoring
1 3 (75.00%) Microsoft
1 3 (75.00%) Microsoft 365
1 3 (75.00%) Problem-Solving
1 3 (75.00%) Windows
2 1 (25.00%) Agile
2 1 (25.00%) BPSS Clearance
2 1 (25.00%) ITIL
2 1 (25.00%) ITSM
2 1 (25.00%) Problem Management
2 1 (25.00%) Project Management
2 1 (25.00%) SC Cleared
2 1 (25.00%) Security Cleared
2 1 (25.00%) Service Management

IT Graduate 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:

Cloud Services
1 3 (75.00%) Microsoft 365
General
1 3 (75.00%) Social Skills
2 1 (25.00%) Public Sector
Operating Systems
1 3 (75.00%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 3 (75.00%) Collaborative Working
1 3 (75.00%) Computer Science
1 3 (75.00%) Mentoring
1 3 (75.00%) Problem-Solving
2 1 (25.00%) Agile
2 1 (25.00%) ITIL
2 1 (25.00%) ITSM
2 1 (25.00%) Problem Management
2 1 (25.00%) Project Management
2 1 (25.00%) Service Management
Qualifications
1 3 (75.00%) Degree
2 1 (25.00%) BPSS Clearance
2 1 (25.00%) SC Cleared
2 1 (25.00%) Security Cleared
Vendors
1 3 (75.00%) Microsoft