Local Government Contract Job Trends

Local Government (Local Authority, Local Council)
UK

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Local Government in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Local Government over the 6 months leading up to 4 April 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 307 235 252
Rank change year-on-year -72 +17 +146
Contract jobs citing Local Government 374 339 415
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.83% 1.16% 0.94%
As % of the General category 1.48% 1.84% 1.62%
Number of daily rates quoted 257 214 300
10th Percentile £350 £300 £324
25th Percentile £413 £400 £408
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £475
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% - +5.56%
75th Percentile £600 £547 £575
90th Percentile £668 £600 £644
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £450 £475
% change year-on-year +11.11% -5.26% +18.75%
Number of hourly rates quoted 42 53 71
10th Percentile £17.47 £17.24 £15.39
25th Percentile £21.95 £20.45 £17.16
Median hourly rate £25.38 £26.12 £24.26
Median % change year-on-year -2.83% +7.69% +8.96%
75th Percentile £27.31 £31.00 £31.71
90th Percentile £43.63 £34.75 £38.28
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.06 £25.00 £18.35
% change year-on-year +0.24% +36.24% -17.84%

All General Skills
UK

Local Government falls under the General Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring general skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 25,320 18,411 25,671
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 56.07% 62.99% 58.18%
Number of daily rates quoted 15,770 11,794 16,301
10th Percentile £303 £300 £270
25th Percentile £406 £408 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £623 £643 £650
90th Percentile £738 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £500
% change year-on-year - -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,559 729 1,862
10th Percentile £13.72 £14.74 £12.78
25th Percentile £17.23 £18.51 £15.39
Median hourly rate £25.77 £29.00 £26.37
Median % change year-on-year -11.14% +9.97% -24.66%
75th Percentile £59.25 £57.62 £50.00
90th Percentile £78.75 £75.00 £65.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £24.55 £27.35 £25.22
% change year-on-year -10.24% +8.47% -21.57%

Local Government
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Local Government relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Local Government job vacancy trend in the UK

Local Government
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Local Government.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Local Government

Local Government
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Local Government over the 6 months to 4 April 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Local Government in the UK

Local Government
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Local Government.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Local Government

Local Government
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Local Government over the 6 months to 4 April 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Local Government in the UK

Local Government
Top 16 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Local Government within the UK over the 6 months to 4 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 -74 352 £500 +5.26% 193
UK excluding London -62 195 £500 +11.11% 156
London -59 163 £525 +5.00% 53
Work from Home -21 127 £500 +5.26% 70
Midlands -5 94 £513 -1.44% 35
West Midlands -10 58 £525 - 25
North of England -78 36 £488 +2.63% 42
East Midlands -6 33 £500 -3.85% 10
North West -33 29 £375 -23.08% 22
South West -42 27 £500 +22.25% 22
East of England -31 18 £425 -8.06% 15
South East -63 11 £400 -11.11% 39
Scotland +6 7 £500 +25.00% 3
Yorkshire -72 5 £663 +35.90% 17
Wales -12 2 - - 4
North East -14 2 £500 +66.67% 4

Local Government
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 18 (4.81%) SharePoint
2 3 (0.80%) CMS
2 3 (0.80%) Confluence
3 2 (0.53%) ArcGIS
3 2 (0.53%) OpenEdge
4 1 (0.27%) Drupal
4 1 (0.27%) govService
4 1 (0.27%) IBM HTTP Server
4 1 (0.27%) Microsoft Exchange
Applications
1 19 (5.08%) Microsoft Excel
2 9 (2.41%) Microsoft Office
3 5 (1.34%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 3 (0.80%) Spreadsheet
4 3 (0.80%) Trello
5 2 (0.53%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.53%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 28 (7.49%) SAP S/4HANA
2 17 (4.55%) NEC Housing
3 6 (1.60%) ContrOCC
4 5 (1.34%) iTrent
4 5 (1.34%) Oracle Payables
5 4 (1.07%) Oracle Financials
5 4 (1.07%) Oracle General Ledger
5 4 (1.07%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 4 (1.07%) Oracle Receivables
5 4 (1.07%) SAP ERP
6 3 (0.80%) Oracle Applications
6 3 (0.80%) SAP HR
7 2 (0.53%) Dynamics CRM
7 2 (0.53%) Unit4 Business World
8 1 (0.27%) Oracle EBS
8 1 (0.27%) Oracle ERP
8 1 (0.27%) SAP CO
8 1 (0.27%) SAP FI
8 1 (0.27%) SAP FI/CO
8 1 (0.27%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 44 (11.76%) Azure
2 26 (6.95%) Microsoft 365
3 20 (5.35%) Power Platform
4 16 (4.28%) SaaS
5 12 (3.21%) AWS
5 12 (3.21%) Dynamics 365
6 10 (2.67%) Microsoft Copilot
7 9 (2.41%) SuccessFactors
8 8 (2.14%) Azure DevOps
9 7 (1.87%) Entra ID
10 5 (1.34%) OCI
11 4 (1.07%) OneDrive
11 4 (1.07%) Power Automate
11 4 (1.07%) PowerApps
12 3 (0.80%) Amazon EKS
12 3 (0.80%) Azure Sentinel
12 3 (0.80%) IaaS
12 3 (0.80%) Microsoft Purview
12 3 (0.80%) Miro
13 2 (0.53%) Azure Monitor
Communications & Networking
1 11 (2.94%) Firewall
2 6 (1.60%) LAN
2 6 (1.60%) WAN
3 5 (1.34%) Broadband
3 5 (1.34%) DNS
3 5 (1.34%) Wi-Fi
3 5 (1.34%) Wireless
4 4 (1.07%) DHCP
4 4 (1.07%) Network Security
5 3 (0.80%) SD-WAN
5 3 (0.80%) VPN
6 2 (0.53%) Internet
6 2 (0.53%) WLAN
7 1 (0.27%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (5.35%) Oracle Reports
2 17 (4.55%) Power BI
3 9 (2.41%) SQL Server
4 8 (2.14%) GIS
5 3 (0.80%) Geospatial Data
5 3 (0.80%) OLTP
5 3 (0.80%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 2 (0.53%) Data Lake
6 2 (0.53%) MS Access
6 2 (0.53%) Oracle Database
6 2 (0.53%) Spatial Data
6 2 (0.53%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 1 (0.27%) Data Mining
7 1 (0.27%) Metadata
7 1 (0.27%) QGIS
7 1 (0.27%) SAP BW
7 1 (0.27%) SAP HANA
7 1 (0.27%) Semantic Layer
7 1 (0.27%) Star Schema
7 1 (0.27%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 7 (1.87%) JIRA
2 3 (0.80%) GitLab
3 1 (0.27%) JUnit
General
1 176 (47.06%) Public Sector
2 128 (34.22%) Finance
3 102 (27.27%) Social Skills
4 31 (8.29%) Analytical Skills
5 17 (4.55%) Fire and Rescue
5 17 (4.55%) Influencing Skills
6 13 (3.48%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 13 (3.48%) Legal
7 8 (2.14%) Organisational Skills
8 7 (1.87%) Back Office
8 7 (1.87%) Social Housing
9 5 (1.34%) Police
10 3 (0.80%) Marketing
11 2 (0.53%) Documentation Skills
11 2 (0.53%) General Ledger
11 2 (0.53%) Welsh Language
12 1 (0.27%) Front Office
12 1 (0.27%) Presentation Skills
12 1 (0.27%) Retail
12 1 (0.27%) Social Science
Job Titles
1 56 (14.97%) Senior
2 50 (13.37%) Analyst
3 42 (11.23%) Lead
4 29 (7.75%) Accountant
4 29 (7.75%) Systems Accountant
5 28 (7.49%) Business Analyst
6 25 (6.68%) Architect
6 25 (6.68%) Project Manager
7 22 (5.88%) Developer
8 16 (4.28%) Consultant
9 14 (3.74%) Support Officer
10 13 (3.48%) Applications Support
11 11 (2.94%) Project Officer
11 11 (2.94%) Senior Analyst
11 11 (2.94%) Solutions Architect
12 10 (2.67%) Administrator
12 10 (2.67%) Financial Analyst
12 10 (2.67%) Senior Accountant
12 10 (2.67%) Senior Systems Accountant
12 10 (2.67%) Tester
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (5.88%) Oracle Fusion
2 10 (2.67%) EDI
3 3 (0.80%) Middleware
3 3 (0.80%) REST
4 2 (0.53%) CSS
4 2 (0.53%) HTML
5 1 (0.27%) FHIR
5 1 (0.27%) Node.js
5 1 (0.27%) OAuth
5 1 (0.27%) RESTful
5 1 (0.27%) SPFx
5 1 (0.27%) Spring
5 1 (0.27%) Spring Boot
5 1 (0.27%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 42 (11.23%) Management Information System
2 23 (6.15%) Public Cloud
3 16 (4.28%) Legacy Systems
4 13 (3.48%) Data Structures
5 10 (2.67%) NHS
6 7 (1.87%) Driving Licence
6 7 (1.87%) Product Ownership
7 6 (1.60%) Housing Association
8 5 (1.34%) Freedom of Information
9 4 (1.07%) Enterprise Cloud
9 4 (1.07%) Enterprise Software
9 4 (1.07%) Onboarding
10 3 (0.80%) Data Protection Act
10 3 (0.80%) Legacy Code
10 3 (0.80%) Team-Oriented Environment
10 3 (0.80%) Virtual Team
11 2 (0.53%) Data Centre
11 2 (0.53%) PKI
11 2 (0.53%) Self-Motivation
11 2 (0.53%) Taxonomies
Operating Systems
1 20 (5.35%) Windows
2 6 (1.60%) Windows Server
3 5 (1.34%) Linux
3 5 (1.34%) Windows 10
4 1 (0.27%) Android
4 1 (0.27%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 66 (17.65%) Stakeholder Management
2 64 (17.11%) Stakeholder Engagement
3 60 (16.04%) ERP
4 43 (11.50%) Decision-Making
5 42 (11.23%) Migration
6 40 (10.70%) Continuous Improvement
7 39 (10.43%) Change Management
8 35 (9.36%) Service Delivery
9 33 (8.82%) Agile
10 32 (8.56%) Project Management
10 32 (8.56%) Roadmaps
11 31 (8.29%) User Acceptance Testing
12 30 (8.02%) Problem-Solving
13 29 (7.75%) Digital Transformation Programme
14 25 (6.68%) Data Protection
14 25 (6.68%) Project Delivery
15 22 (5.88%) Cybersecurity
16 20 (5.35%) Analytics
16 20 (5.35%) Business Intelligence
17 19 (5.08%) Business Analysis
Programming Languages
1 28 (7.49%) SQL
2 5 (1.34%) PL/SQL
3 4 (1.07%) PowerShell
4 3 (0.80%) ProC
4 3 (0.80%) Python
4 3 (0.80%) Shell Script
5 2 (0.53%) Data Analysis Expressions
5 2 (0.53%) T-SQL
6 1 (0.27%) Apex Code
6 1 (0.27%) Bash
6 1 (0.27%) Bicep
6 1 (0.27%) C
6 1 (0.27%) C#
6 1 (0.27%) Java
6 1 (0.27%) JavaScript
6 1 (0.27%) Korn
6 1 (0.27%) R
Qualifications
1 15 (4.01%) DBS Check
2 13 (3.48%) Degree
3 11 (2.94%) BPSS Clearance
4 8 (2.14%) Security Cleared
5 6 (1.60%) SC Cleared
6 5 (1.34%) NVQ Level 3
6 5 (1.34%) SAP Certification
7 4 (1.07%) CCNA
7 4 (1.07%) CCNP
7 4 (1.07%) CIPFA
7 4 (1.07%) Cisco Certification
7 4 (1.07%) ITIL Certification
8 3 (0.80%) ISTQB
8 3 (0.80%) JNCIA
8 3 (0.80%) JNCIP
8 3 (0.80%) JNCIS
9 2 (0.53%) CCAB
9 2 (0.53%) DV Cleared
9 2 (0.53%) IIBA
9 2 (0.53%) ISEB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (4.55%) Data Quality
2 16 (4.28%) GDPR
3 8 (2.14%) QA
4 7 (1.87%) Accessibility
5 6 (1.60%) PMO
5 6 (1.60%) SLA
6 5 (1.34%) Actionable Recommendations
6 5 (1.34%) PCI DSS
7 3 (0.80%) Cyber Essentials
7 3 (0.80%) NCSC
7 3 (0.80%) PERC
7 3 (0.80%) WCAG
8 2 (0.53%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 1 (0.27%) Disclosure Scotland
9 1 (0.27%) GRC
9 1 (0.27%) ISO/IEC 27001
System Software
1 8 (2.14%) Active Directory
1 8 (2.14%) Hyper-V
2 5 (1.34%) VMware Infrastructure
3 1 (0.27%) Docker
Systems Management
1 4 (1.07%) Microsoft Intune
2 3 (0.80%) Prometheus
3 2 (0.53%) SCCM
4 1 (0.27%) FortiGate
4 1 (0.27%) Kubernetes
4 1 (0.27%) Terraform
Vendors
1 61 (16.31%) Microsoft
2 45 (12.03%) Oracle
3 41 (10.96%) SAP
4 19 (5.08%) NEC
5 10 (2.67%) VMware
6 7 (1.87%) Liquidlogic
7 6 (1.60%) Civica
8 4 (1.07%) Ariba
8 4 (1.07%) Workday
9 3 (0.80%) Dynatrace
9 3 (0.80%) ESRI
9 3 (0.80%) Juniper
10 2 (0.53%) Blue Prism
10 2 (0.53%) Cisco
10 2 (0.53%) Citrix
10 2 (0.53%) OneLogin
10 2 (0.53%) Orchard
10 2 (0.53%) Palo Alto
10 2 (0.53%) Salesforce
10 2 (0.53%) ServiceNow