IT Support Contract Job Trends

IT Support
UK

The median IT Support daily rate in the UK is £188, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 5 March 2026.

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

6 months to
5 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 152 271 188
Rank change year-on-year +119 -83 +35
Contract jobs requiring an IT Support 781 270 564
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.83% 0.89% 1.28%
As % of the Job Titles category 2.00% 0.96% 1.38%
Number of daily rates quoted 397 150 357
10th Percentile £146 £153 £128
25th Percentile £156 £180 £150
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £188 £200 £200
Median % change year-on-year -6.25% - +6.67%
75th Percentile £214 £250 £244
90th Percentile £288 £339 £325
UK excluding London median daily rate £178 £195 £198
% change year-on-year -8.97% -1.27% +12.86%
Number of hourly rates quoted 178 36 113
10th Percentile £12.50 £15.99 £11.06
25th Percentile £15.79 £18.20 £12.25
Median hourly rate £18.87 £23.70 £16.00
Median % change year-on-year -20.36% +48.09% -13.51%
75th Percentile £21.00 £28.10 £22.23
90th Percentile £23.75 £35.45 £25.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £18.50 £22.00 £15.00
% change year-on-year -15.91% +46.67% -16.81%

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 39,102 28,091 40,933
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.86% 92.82% 92.95%
Number of daily rates quoted 24,515 17,820 26,884
10th Percentile £310 £290 £275
25th Percentile £409 £406 £407
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £638 £638
90th Percentile £723 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £481 £475 £487
% change year-on-year +1.32% -2.46% -2.60%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,389 852 2,408
10th Percentile £14.64 £16.23 £13.04
25th Percentile £18.87 £21.39 £16.25
Median hourly rate £33.50 £34.00 £34.00
Median % change year-on-year -1.47% - -16.05%
75th Percentile £64.00 £64.57 £60.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £75.23 £71.90
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.50 £32.50 £35.00
% change year-on-year - -7.14% -10.26%

IT Support
Job Vacancy Trend

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

IT Support job vacancy trend in the UK

IT Support
Daily Rate Trend

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

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

IT Support
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing IT Support over the 6 months to 5 March 2026.

Daily rate histogram for IT Support in the UK

IT Support
Hourly Rate Trend

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

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

IT Support
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing IT Support over the 6 months to 5 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for IT Support in the UK

IT Support
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 Support within the UK over the 6 months to 5 March 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 +118 701 £190 -9.52% 413
UK excluding London +82 622 £178 -8.97% 400
North of England +55 170 £175 -12.50% 80
London +18 146 £200 -11.11% 81
East of England +52 130 £203 +12.50% 61
South East +32 117 £200 -20.00% 140
North West +26 85 £175 -7.89% 47
Work from Home +3 78 £190 -15.56% 85
Midlands -28 78 £175 +6.06% 47
South West -8 58 £160 -20.00% 39
Yorkshire -17 55 £190 -28.57% 25
East Midlands -4 47 £200 +14.00% 21
Scotland +43 44 £200 +4.71% 27
West Midlands -47 31 £175 +16.67% 25
North East +18 30 £125 - 10
Wales +3 19 £160 -15.79% 11
Northern Ireland -1 6 - - 4

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

For the 6 months to 5 March 2026, IT Support 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 Support in the job title.

1 387 (49.55%) Windows
2 363 (46.48%) Microsoft
3 333 (42.64%) Microsoft 365
4 278 (35.60%) Customer Service
5 254 (32.52%) Active Directory
6 158 (20.23%) Windows 10
7 133 (17.03%) Problem-Solving
8 125 (16.01%) ITIL
9 116 (14.85%) Security Cleared
10 105 (13.44%) SC Cleared
11 101 (12.93%) ServiceNow
12 97 (12.42%) Microsoft Office
13 88 (11.27%) Azure
14 80 (10.24%) SLA
15 79 (10.12%) Android
16 76 (9.73%) Microsoft Intune
17 75 (9.60%) Asset Management
18 74 (9.48%) Wi-Fi
19 70 (8.96%) Time Management
20 68 (8.71%) ITSM
21 59 (7.55%) Entra ID
22 58 (7.43%) Mac OS
23 55 (7.04%) VPN
24 54 (6.91%) Degree
25 52 (6.66%) DNS
26 51 (6.53%) Cisco
27 50 (6.40%) SharePoint
28 49 (6.27%) Apple
28 49 (6.27%) Dell
28 49 (6.27%) SCCM

IT Support 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 50 (6.40%) SharePoint
2 35 (4.48%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.38%) Confluence
4 2 (0.26%) HCL Notes
Applications
1 97 (12.42%) Microsoft Office
2 36 (4.61%) Spreadsheet
3 21 (2.69%) Microsoft Excel
4 3 (0.38%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 9 (1.15%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.13%) assyst
2 1 (0.13%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 333 (42.64%) Microsoft 365
2 88 (11.27%) Azure
3 59 (7.55%) Entra ID
4 33 (4.23%) Google Workspace
5 29 (3.71%) OneDrive
6 17 (2.18%) Azure DevOps
7 15 (1.92%) SaaS
8 7 (0.90%) Power Platform
9 2 (0.26%) PaaS
9 2 (0.26%) PowerApps
9 2 (0.26%) Slack
10 1 (0.13%) Adobe Creative Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 74 (9.48%) Wi-Fi
2 55 (7.04%) VPN
3 52 (6.66%) DNS
4 47 (6.02%) DHCP
5 39 (4.99%) LAN
6 38 (4.87%) Wireless
7 29 (3.71%) TCP/IP
8 28 (3.59%) Firewall
9 22 (2.82%) WAN
10 15 (1.92%) Network Security
11 11 (1.41%) Cisco IOS
11 11 (1.41%) Unified Communications
11 11 (1.41%) VLAN
12 10 (1.28%) Internet
12 10 (1.28%) Skype
13 9 (1.15%) SAN
13 9 (1.15%) VoIP
14 7 (0.90%) PABX
14 7 (0.90%) Remote Desktop
15 6 (0.77%) WLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 4 (0.51%) Oracle Database
1 4 (0.51%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.13%) Electronic Patient Records
2 1 (0.13%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 43 (5.51%) JIRA
2 3 (0.38%) Chocolatey
3 2 (0.26%) Git
4 1 (0.13%) Hudson
4 1 (0.13%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 378 (48.40%) Social Skills
2 74 (9.48%) Organisational Skills
3 73 (9.35%) Finance
4 71 (9.09%) Manufacturing
5 53 (6.79%) Public Sector
6 40 (5.12%) Telecoms
7 38 (4.87%) Marketing
8 37 (4.74%) Electronics
9 36 (4.61%) Analytical Skills
10 20 (2.56%) Banking
10 20 (2.56%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 10 (1.28%) Law
12 9 (1.15%) Documentation Skills
13 8 (1.02%) Pharmaceutical
14 7 (0.90%) Investment Banking
15 6 (0.77%) Aerospace
15 6 (0.77%) Front Office
16 5 (0.64%) Financial Institution
17 2 (0.26%) Legal
17 2 (0.26%) Publishing
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 6 (0.77%) X-Windows
2 4 (0.51%) .NET
2 4 (0.51%) .NET Core
2 4 (0.51%) .NET Framework
2 4 (0.51%) CSS
2 4 (0.51%) HTML
2 4 (0.51%) React
3 2 (0.26%) Microsoft Graph
3 2 (0.26%) Middleware
3 2 (0.26%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 67 (8.58%) Onboarding
2 37 (4.74%) Data Centre
3 31 (3.97%) Enterprise Software
3 31 (3.97%) Self-Motivation
4 27 (3.46%) Driving Licence
5 18 (2.30%) Video Conferencing
6 13 (1.66%) Smartphone
7 11 (1.41%) Virtual Team
8 10 (1.28%) Management Information System
9 9 (1.15%) NHS
10 8 (1.02%) Analytical Mindset
10 8 (1.02%) Legacy Systems
10 8 (1.02%) Mobile App
11 7 (0.90%) Life Science
12 6 (0.77%) iPhone
12 6 (0.77%) Team-Oriented Environment
13 5 (0.64%) Blackberry
13 5 (0.64%) BYOD
13 5 (0.64%) Low-Code
14 4 (0.51%) Greenfield Project
Operating Systems
1 387 (49.55%) Windows
2 158 (20.23%) Windows 10
3 79 (10.12%) Android
4 58 (7.43%) Mac OS
5 44 (5.63%) Apple iOS
6 32 (4.10%) Linux
7 30 (3.84%) Windows Server
8 8 (1.02%) Windows 7
9 7 (0.90%) Mac OS X
9 7 (0.90%) Windows Server 2016
10 6 (0.77%) Windows Server 2019
11 4 (0.51%) Windows 8
12 2 (0.26%) Windows Server 2003
12 2 (0.26%) Windows Server 2012
13 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 278 (35.60%) Customer Service
2 133 (17.03%) Problem-Solving
3 125 (16.01%) ITIL
4 75 (9.60%) Asset Management
5 70 (8.96%) Time Management
6 68 (8.71%) ITSM
7 48 (6.15%) Business Intelligence
8 42 (5.38%) Service Delivery
9 38 (4.87%) Service Management
10 37 (4.74%) Digital Marketing
10 37 (4.74%) Programme Management
11 36 (4.61%) Continuous Improvement
12 34 (4.35%) Cybersecurity
12 34 (4.35%) Problem Management
13 32 (4.10%) Migration
13 32 (4.10%) User Experience
14 27 (3.46%) Change Management
15 22 (2.82%) Incident Management
16 21 (2.69%) Computer Science
16 21 (2.69%) Logistics
Programming Languages
1 21 (2.69%) PowerShell
2 17 (2.18%) C#
3 16 (2.05%) SQL
4 6 (0.77%) Python
5 4 (0.51%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 116 (14.85%) Security Cleared
2 105 (13.44%) SC Cleared
3 54 (6.91%) Degree
4 26 (3.33%) A+ Certification
5 25 (3.20%) Microsoft Certification
6 11 (1.41%) CCNA
6 11 (1.41%) Cisco Certification
6 11 (1.41%) Computer Science Degree
6 11 (1.41%) Network+ Certification
7 10 (1.28%) ITIL Certification
7 10 (1.28%) MCSE
8 8 (1.02%) DV Cleared
8 8 (1.02%) Microsoft Certified Professional
9 5 (0.64%) HND
9 5 (0.64%) MCDST
10 4 (0.51%) DBS Check
10 4 (0.51%) HNC
11 2 (0.26%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 1 (0.13%) BC Cleared
12 1 (0.13%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 80 (10.24%) SLA
2 4 (0.51%) Cyber Essentials
3 3 (0.38%) PMO
4 2 (0.26%) GDPR
5 1 (0.13%) Actionable Recommendations
System Software
1 254 (32.52%) Active Directory
2 11 (1.41%) VMware Infrastructure
3 9 (1.15%) Hyper-V
4 5 (0.64%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (0.26%) Firmware
5 2 (0.26%) Virtual Desktop
6 1 (0.13%) VMware Workstation
6 1 (0.13%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 76 (9.73%) Microsoft Intune
2 49 (6.27%) SCCM
3 19 (2.43%) Jamf Pro
4 9 (1.15%) ServiceCenter
5 3 (0.38%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 3 (0.38%) WSUS
6 1 (0.13%) FortiGate
Vendors
1 363 (46.48%) Microsoft
2 101 (12.93%) ServiceNow
3 51 (6.53%) Cisco
4 49 (6.27%) Apple
4 49 (6.27%) Dell
5 46 (5.89%) HP
6 40 (5.12%) SAP
7 19 (2.43%) Google
8 16 (2.05%) VMware
9 11 (1.41%) Mitel
10 9 (1.15%) Autodesk
10 9 (1.15%) Remedy
11 7 (0.90%) Citrix
11 7 (0.90%) SOTI
12 5 (0.64%) Avaya
12 5 (0.64%) Bloomberg
12 5 (0.64%) Datto
12 5 (0.64%) iManage
12 5 (0.64%) Meraki
12 5 (0.64%) Palo Alto