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 19 February 2026.

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

6 months to
19 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 150 272 184
Rank change year-on-year +122 -88 +50
Contract jobs requiring an IT Support 759 283 572
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.86% 0.92% 1.30%
As % of the Job Titles category 2.03% 0.99% 1.39%
Number of daily rates quoted 394 145 352
10th Percentile £143 £151 £133
25th Percentile £156 £180 £150
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £188 £200 £200
Median % change year-on-year -6.25% - +6.67%
75th Percentile £213 £250 £244
90th Percentile £288 £331 £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 174 36 114
10th Percentile £12.50 £16.75 £11.50
25th Percentile £15.79 £18.43 £12.92
Median hourly rate £18.79 £23.70 £17.50
Median % change year-on-year -20.72% +35.40% -5.41%
75th Percentile £21.00 £24.30 £22.29
90th Percentile £23.75 £35.00 £25.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £18.50 £23.59 £15.46
% change year-on-year -21.58% +52.59% -12.75%

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 37,333 28,630 41,042
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 91.70% 92.94% 93.08%
Number of daily rates quoted 23,462 17,805 26,973
10th Percentile £305 £288 £275
25th Percentile £406 £406 £410
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £638 £638
90th Percentile £719 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £478 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +0.63% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,275 814 2,320
10th Percentile £14.61 £16.25 £13.15
25th Percentile £18.87 £21.46 £16.50
Median hourly rate £31.18 £34.00 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year -8.31% -2.86% -9.09%
75th Percentile £63.32 £63.75 £60.75
90th Percentile £73.75 £75.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £30.00 £32.50 £35.25
% change year-on-year -7.69% -7.80% -0.48%

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 19 February 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 19 February 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 19 February 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 +120 680 £188 -6.25% 382
UK excluding London +91 611 £178 -8.97% 380
North of England +48 172 £175 -12.50% 80
London +7 135 £200 -11.11% 67
East of England +46 123 £203 +12.50% 62
South East +39 109 £195 -18.03% 136
North West +36 90 £175 -7.28% 40
Midlands -34 78 £175 - 38
Work from Home -3 74 £190 -15.56% 77
South West -3 60 £160 -20.00% 46
Yorkshire -12 51 £190 -28.57% 36
East Midlands 0 47 £200 +14.00% 16
Scotland +36 41 £200 +4.17% 20
North East +12 31 £125 - 7
West Midlands -51 31 £175 +2.94% 21
Wales +5 20 £160 -20.00% 7
Northern Ireland +1 8 - - 3

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

For the 6 months to 19 February 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.

1 379 (49.93%) Windows
2 344 (45.32%) Microsoft
3 318 (41.90%) Microsoft 365
4 268 (35.31%) Customer Service
5 237 (31.23%) Active Directory
6 158 (20.82%) Windows 10
7 136 (17.92%) Problem-Solving
8 125 (16.47%) ITIL
9 121 (15.94%) Security Cleared
10 110 (14.49%) SC Cleared
11 99 (13.04%) Microsoft Office
12 94 (12.38%) ServiceNow
13 81 (10.67%) SLA
14 79 (10.41%) Azure
15 78 (10.28%) Android
15 78 (10.28%) Asset Management
16 74 (9.75%) Microsoft Intune
17 71 (9.35%) ITSM
18 68 (8.96%) Time Management
19 67 (8.83%) Wi-Fi
20 63 (8.30%) Mac OS
21 60 (7.91%) Degree
22 54 (7.11%) Business Intelligence
23 52 (6.85%) DNS
23 52 (6.85%) VPN
24 51 (6.72%) Apple
24 51 (6.72%) Cisco
24 51 (6.72%) Entra ID
24 51 (6.72%) SharePoint
25 49 (6.46%) 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 51 (6.72%) SharePoint
2 31 (4.08%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.40%) Confluence
4 1 (0.13%) HCL Notes
Applications
1 99 (13.04%) Microsoft Office
2 37 (4.87%) Spreadsheet
3 22 (2.90%) Microsoft Excel
4 4 (0.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 7 (0.92%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.13%) assyst
2 1 (0.13%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 318 (41.90%) Microsoft 365
2 79 (10.41%) Azure
3 51 (6.72%) Entra ID
4 32 (4.22%) Google Workspace
5 29 (3.82%) OneDrive
6 16 (2.11%) SaaS
7 9 (1.19%) Azure DevOps
8 7 (0.92%) 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 67 (8.83%) Wi-Fi
2 52 (6.85%) DNS
2 52 (6.85%) VPN
3 47 (6.19%) DHCP
4 37 (4.87%) LAN
4 37 (4.87%) Wireless
5 32 (4.22%) TCP/IP
6 27 (3.56%) Firewall
7 23 (3.03%) WAN
8 15 (1.98%) Network Security
9 11 (1.45%) Cisco IOS
9 11 (1.45%) Unified Communications
10 10 (1.32%) Skype
10 10 (1.32%) VLAN
11 9 (1.19%) VoIP
12 8 (1.05%) Internet
12 8 (1.05%) Remote Desktop
13 7 (0.92%) PABX
14 6 (0.79%) WLAN
15 5 (0.66%) SAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 4 (0.53%) Oracle Database
1 4 (0.53%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.13%) Electronic Patient Records
2 1 (0.13%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 33 (4.35%) JIRA
2 3 (0.40%) Chocolatey
3 1 (0.13%) Hudson
3 1 (0.13%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 377 (49.67%) Social Skills
2 77 (10.14%) Manufacturing
3 75 (9.88%) Organisational Skills
4 74 (9.75%) Finance
5 56 (7.38%) Public Sector
6 43 (5.67%) Telecoms
7 41 (5.40%) Marketing
8 40 (5.27%) Electronics
9 33 (4.35%) Analytical Skills
10 20 (2.64%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 17 (2.24%) Banking
12 9 (1.19%) Law
13 8 (1.05%) Documentation Skills
13 8 (1.05%) Pharmaceutical
14 7 (0.92%) Investment Banking
15 6 (0.79%) Aerospace
15 6 (0.79%) Front Office
16 5 (0.66%) Financial Institution
17 3 (0.40%) Legal
18 2 (0.26%) Publishing
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 6 (0.79%) X-Windows
2 4 (0.53%) .NET
2 4 (0.53%) .NET Core
2 4 (0.53%) .NET Framework
2 4 (0.53%) CSS
2 4 (0.53%) HTML
2 4 (0.53%) React
3 2 (0.26%) Microsoft Graph
3 2 (0.26%) Middleware
3 2 (0.26%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 63 (8.30%) Onboarding
2 33 (4.35%) Data Centre
3 32 (4.22%) Enterprise Software
4 29 (3.82%) Self-Motivation
5 28 (3.69%) Driving Licence
6 19 (2.50%) Video Conferencing
7 13 (1.71%) Management Information System
7 13 (1.71%) NHS
7 13 (1.71%) Smartphone
8 11 (1.45%) Virtual Team
9 8 (1.05%) Legacy Systems
9 8 (1.05%) Mobile App
10 7 (0.92%) Life Science
11 6 (0.79%) Team-Oriented Environment
12 5 (0.66%) BYOD
12 5 (0.66%) iPhone
12 5 (0.66%) Low-Code
13 4 (0.53%) Analytical Mindset
13 4 (0.53%) Blackberry
13 4 (0.53%) Greenfield Project
Operating Systems
1 379 (49.93%) Windows
2 158 (20.82%) Windows 10
3 78 (10.28%) Android
4 63 (8.30%) Mac OS
5 42 (5.53%) Apple iOS
6 32 (4.22%) Linux
7 28 (3.69%) Windows Server
8 10 (1.32%) Windows Server 2016
9 9 (1.19%) Windows Server 2019
10 8 (1.05%) Windows 7
11 7 (0.92%) Mac OS X
12 4 (0.53%) Windows 8
13 2 (0.26%) Windows Server 2003
13 2 (0.26%) Windows Server 2012
14 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 268 (35.31%) Customer Service
2 136 (17.92%) Problem-Solving
3 125 (16.47%) ITIL
4 78 (10.28%) Asset Management
5 71 (9.35%) ITSM
6 68 (8.96%) Time Management
7 54 (7.11%) Business Intelligence
8 46 (6.06%) Service Delivery
9 42 (5.53%) Service Management
10 41 (5.40%) Programme Management
11 40 (5.27%) Digital Marketing
12 39 (5.14%) Cybersecurity
13 36 (4.74%) Migration
14 35 (4.61%) Continuous Improvement
15 32 (4.22%) User Experience
16 28 (3.69%) Problem Management
17 26 (3.43%) Incident Management
18 23 (3.03%) Computer Science
19 22 (2.90%) Change Management
19 22 (2.90%) Workflow
Programming Languages
1 20 (2.64%) PowerShell
2 9 (1.19%) C#
3 8 (1.05%) SQL
4 6 (0.79%) Python
5 4 (0.53%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 121 (15.94%) Security Cleared
2 110 (14.49%) SC Cleared
3 60 (7.91%) Degree
4 25 (3.29%) A+ Certification
5 21 (2.77%) Microsoft Certification
6 11 (1.45%) Computer Science Degree
7 10 (1.32%) ITIL Certification
8 8 (1.05%) Microsoft Certified Professional
9 7 (0.92%) CCNA
9 7 (0.92%) Cisco Certification
9 7 (0.92%) DV Cleared
9 7 (0.92%) Network+ Certification
10 6 (0.79%) HND
10 6 (0.79%) MCSE
11 5 (0.66%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
11 5 (0.66%) MCDST
12 4 (0.53%) DBS Check
12 4 (0.53%) HNC
13 2 (0.26%) ACTC
13 2 (0.26%) BPSS Clearance
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 81 (10.67%) SLA
2 4 (0.53%) Cyber Essentials
2 4 (0.53%) GDPR
2 4 (0.53%) PMO
3 1 (0.13%) Actionable Recommendations
System Software
1 237 (31.23%) Active Directory
2 12 (1.58%) VMware Infrastructure
3 7 (0.92%) Hyper-V
4 3 (0.40%) Virtual Desktop
4 3 (0.40%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (0.26%) Firmware
6 1 (0.13%) VMware Workstation
6 1 (0.13%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 74 (9.75%) Microsoft Intune
2 49 (6.46%) SCCM
3 22 (2.90%) Jamf Pro
4 8 (1.05%) ServiceCenter
5 3 (0.40%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 3 (0.40%) WSUS
6 1 (0.13%) FortiGate
6 1 (0.13%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
Vendors
1 344 (45.32%) Microsoft
2 94 (12.38%) ServiceNow
3 51 (6.72%) Apple
3 51 (6.72%) Cisco
4 46 (6.06%) HP
5 44 (5.80%) Dell
6 43 (5.67%) SAP
7 18 (2.37%) Google
8 17 (2.24%) VMware
9 8 (1.05%) Citrix
9 8 (1.05%) Remedy
10 7 (0.92%) Autodesk
10 7 (0.92%) Mitel
10 7 (0.92%) SOTI
11 5 (0.66%) Bloomberg
11 5 (0.66%) Datto
11 5 (0.66%) iManage
11 5 (0.66%) Oracle
11 5 (0.66%) Palo Alto
12 4 (0.53%) Barracuda Networks