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 12 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
12 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 297 195 285
Rank change year-on-year -102 +90 +129
Contract jobs citing Local Government 331 413 367
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.83% 1.33% 0.83%
As % of the General category 1.41% 2.15% 1.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 214 223 261
10th Percentile £322 £300 £275
25th Percentile £400 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £470 £475
Median % change year-on-year +6.38% -1.05% +5.56%
75th Percentile £600 £538 £565
90th Percentile £696 £600 £638
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £451 £475
% change year-on-year -0.11% -5.16% +11.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 46 39 68
10th Percentile £20.18 £19.99 £14.89
25th Percentile £22.89 £22.27 £16.00
Median hourly rate £30.00 £28.60 £21.56
Median % change year-on-year +4.90% +32.67% -6.88%
75th Percentile £44.94 £33.75 £28.76
90th Percentile £57.50 £37.78 £38.28
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.85 £30.20 £17.82
% change year-on-year -24.34% +69.47% -21.52%

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 23,425 19,190 25,973
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 58.82% 61.95% 58.63%
Number of daily rates quoted 14,675 11,532 16,769
10th Percentile £290 £281 £265
25th Percentile £402 £408 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £625 £648 £650
90th Percentile £738 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £480 £500
% change year-on-year -1.04% -4.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,429 610 1,620
10th Percentile £13.69 £15.62 £13.00
25th Percentile £16.35 £20.12 £15.00
Median hourly rate £22.81 £29.00 £25.25
Median % change year-on-year -21.34% +14.85% -2.88%
75th Percentile £50.00 £57.50 £53.75
90th Percentile £71.60 £75.00 £67.59
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.80 £27.13 £24.00
% change year-on-year -19.63% +13.02% -1.03%

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 12 February 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 12 February 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 12 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 -109 295 £500 +8.34% 198
UK excluding London -100 161 £450 -0.11% 179
London -60 140 £550 +15.79% 51
Work from Home -45 92 £500 +5.26% 90
Midlands -27 61 £413 -20.67% 44
West Midlands -35 33 £406 -22.62% 32
North of England -83 28 £450 -5.26% 36
East Midlands -4 27 £425 -18.27% 11
South West -58 25 £463 +2.78% 27
North West -39 21 £450 -5.26% 20
East of England -28 18 £425 -8.06% 13
South East -51 15 £400 -11.11% 42
Scotland +14 11 £500 -16.67% 6
Yorkshire -62 5 £675 +35.00% 9
Wales +1 3 - - 16
North East -16 2 £500 +66.67% 8

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 16 (4.83%) SharePoint
2 4 (1.21%) CMS
2 4 (1.21%) Microsoft Exchange
3 2 (0.60%) ArcGIS
3 2 (0.60%) Confluence
4 1 (0.30%) Drupal
Applications
1 16 (4.83%) Microsoft Excel
2 8 (2.42%) Microsoft Office
3 4 (1.21%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 4 (1.21%) Microsoft Project
4 2 (0.60%) MS Visio
4 2 (0.60%) Spreadsheet
4 2 (0.60%) Trello
Business Applications
1 27 (8.16%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (3.93%) NEC Housing
3 6 (1.81%) SAP ERP
4 4 (1.21%) iTrent
5 3 (0.91%) Oracle Applications
5 3 (0.91%) Unit4 Business World
6 2 (0.60%) Oracle ERP
6 2 (0.60%) SAP HR
7 1 (0.30%) ContrOCC
7 1 (0.30%) Dynamics CRM
7 1 (0.30%) IntelliMatch
7 1 (0.30%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.30%) Oracle EBS R12
7 1 (0.30%) Oracle Payables
7 1 (0.30%) Primavera
7 1 (0.30%) SAP CO
7 1 (0.30%) SAP FI
7 1 (0.30%) SAP FI/CO
7 1 (0.30%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 37 (11.18%) Azure
2 22 (6.65%) Power Platform
3 17 (5.14%) Microsoft 365
4 15 (4.53%) SaaS
5 14 (4.23%) AWS
6 7 (2.11%) Entra ID
6 7 (2.11%) Microsoft Copilot
6 7 (2.11%) SuccessFactors
7 5 (1.51%) OCI
8 4 (1.21%) Azure DevOps
8 4 (1.21%) IaaS
8 4 (1.21%) PowerApps
9 3 (0.91%) Amazon EKS
9 3 (0.91%) Azure Sentinel
9 3 (0.91%) Dynamics 365
9 3 (0.91%) PaaS
9 3 (0.91%) Power Automate
10 2 (0.60%) Azure Monitor
10 2 (0.60%) Microsoft Purview
10 2 (0.60%) Miro
Communications & Networking
1 13 (3.93%) Firewall
2 8 (2.42%) Wi-Fi
3 7 (2.11%) LAN
3 7 (2.11%) WAN
4 6 (1.81%) Wireless
5 4 (1.21%) Broadband
5 4 (1.21%) DNS
5 4 (1.21%) Network Security
5 4 (1.21%) SAN
5 4 (1.21%) TCP/IP
5 4 (1.21%) VLAN
6 3 (0.91%) DHCP
6 3 (0.91%) SD-WAN
7 2 (0.60%) Internet
7 2 (0.60%) VPN
7 2 (0.60%) WLAN
8 1 (0.30%) Cisco ASA
8 1 (0.30%) Ethernet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (6.04%) Power BI
2 9 (2.72%) Oracle Reports
3 7 (2.11%) GIS
3 7 (2.11%) SQL Server
4 4 (1.21%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 4 (1.21%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 3 (0.91%) Geospatial Data
5 3 (0.91%) OLTP
6 2 (0.60%) BusinessObjects
6 2 (0.60%) Data Lake
6 2 (0.60%) MS Access
6 2 (0.60%) Oracle Database
6 2 (0.60%) PostgreSQL
6 2 (0.60%) Power Query
7 1 (0.30%) Crystal Reports
7 1 (0.30%) Data Mining
7 1 (0.30%) QGIS
7 1 (0.30%) SAP BW
7 1 (0.30%) SAP HANA
7 1 (0.30%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 5 (1.51%) JIRA
2 3 (0.91%) GitLab
3 1 (0.30%) Oracle APEX
3 1 (0.30%) Selenium
3 1 (0.30%) SpecFlow
General
1 141 (42.60%) Public Sector
2 96 (29.00%) Finance
3 83 (25.08%) Social Skills
4 21 (6.34%) Analytical Skills
5 19 (5.74%) Fire and Rescue
6 13 (3.93%) Influencing Skills
7 11 (3.32%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 10 (3.02%) Legal
9 9 (2.72%) Organisational Skills
10 8 (2.42%) Law
11 7 (2.11%) Back Office
12 5 (1.51%) Police
12 5 (1.51%) Social Housing
13 3 (0.91%) Marketing
14 2 (0.60%) General Ledger
14 2 (0.60%) Telecoms
14 2 (0.60%) Welsh Language
15 1 (0.30%) Documentation Skills
15 1 (0.30%) Front Office
15 1 (0.30%) Social Science
Job Titles
1 49 (14.80%) Senior
2 47 (14.20%) Analyst
3 38 (11.48%) Lead
4 25 (7.55%) Business Analyst
5 23 (6.95%) Project Manager
6 18 (5.44%) Architect
7 16 (4.83%) Accountant
7 16 (4.83%) Systems Accountant
8 14 (4.23%) Applications Support
9 13 (3.93%) Support Officer
10 12 (3.63%) Consultant
11 11 (3.32%) Programme Manager
11 11 (3.32%) Project Officer
12 10 (3.02%) Developer
13 8 (2.42%) Administrator
13 8 (2.42%) Network Engineer
13 8 (2.42%) Project Accountant
13 8 (2.42%) Senior Analyst
13 8 (2.42%) Senior Manager
13 8 (2.42%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (3.02%) EDI
2 9 (2.72%) Oracle Fusion
3 5 (1.51%) Middleware
4 2 (0.60%) CSS
4 2 (0.60%) HTML
4 2 (0.60%) REST
5 1 (0.30%) FHIR
5 1 (0.30%) Node.js
5 1 (0.30%) OAuth
5 1 (0.30%) SPFx
5 1 (0.30%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 29 (8.76%) Management Information System
2 19 (5.74%) Public Cloud
3 14 (4.23%) Legacy Systems
4 9 (2.72%) Data Structures
5 8 (2.42%) Driving Licence
6 6 (1.81%) NHS
7 5 (1.51%) Data Centre
7 5 (1.51%) Product Ownership
8 4 (1.21%) Enterprise Cloud
8 4 (1.21%) Enterprise Software
8 4 (1.21%) Onboarding
9 3 (0.91%) Data Protection Act
9 3 (0.91%) Housing Association
9 3 (0.91%) Legacy Code
9 3 (0.91%) Team-Oriented Environment
9 3 (0.91%) Virtual Team
10 2 (0.60%) CCTV
10 2 (0.60%) PKI
10 2 (0.60%) Security Posture
10 2 (0.60%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 17 (5.14%) Windows
2 5 (1.51%) Linux
2 5 (1.51%) Windows Server
3 1 (0.30%) Android
3 1 (0.30%) VMS
3 1 (0.30%) Windows 10
Processes & Methodologies
1 56 (16.92%) ERP
2 54 (16.31%) Stakeholder Engagement
3 51 (15.41%) Stakeholder Management
4 41 (12.39%) Migration
5 39 (11.78%) Agile
5 39 (11.78%) Decision-Making
6 36 (10.88%) Project Management
7 35 (10.57%) Change Management
8 31 (9.37%) Continuous Improvement
8 31 (9.37%) Roadmaps
9 29 (8.76%) Problem-Solving
10 26 (7.85%) User Acceptance Testing
11 25 (7.55%) Service Delivery
12 23 (6.95%) Business Intelligence
13 20 (6.04%) Data Migration
14 19 (5.74%) Business Analysis
14 19 (5.74%) Business Case
14 19 (5.74%) Project Delivery
14 19 (5.74%) Project Governance
15 18 (5.44%) AI
Programming Languages
1 30 (9.06%) SQL
2 5 (1.51%) PL/SQL
3 3 (0.91%) Data Analysis Expressions
3 3 (0.91%) ProC
3 3 (0.91%) Python
3 3 (0.91%) Shell Script
4 2 (0.60%) C#
4 2 (0.60%) PowerShell
5 1 (0.30%) Bash
5 1 (0.30%) Bicep
5 1 (0.30%) C
5 1 (0.30%) Korn
5 1 (0.30%) R
5 1 (0.30%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 15 (4.53%) Degree
2 11 (3.32%) BPSS Clearance
3 10 (3.02%) DBS Check
4 9 (2.72%) Security Cleared
5 7 (2.11%) SC Cleared
6 5 (1.51%) CCNA
6 5 (1.51%) Cisco Certification
6 5 (1.51%) NVQ Level 3
7 4 (1.21%) CCNP
7 4 (1.21%) CIPFA
7 4 (1.21%) SAP Certification
8 3 (0.91%) CCAB
8 3 (0.91%) CISM
8 3 (0.91%) CISSP
8 3 (0.91%) ISTQB
8 3 (0.91%) JNCIA
8 3 (0.91%) JNCIP
8 3 (0.91%) JNCIS
9 2 (0.60%) Computer Science Degree
9 2 (0.60%) DV Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (4.83%) Data Quality
2 9 (2.72%) GDPR
2 9 (2.72%) PMO
3 8 (2.42%) Accessibility
4 5 (1.51%) Actionable Recommendations
5 4 (1.21%) QA
6 3 (0.91%) Disclosure Scotland
6 3 (0.91%) SLA
6 3 (0.91%) WCAG
7 2 (0.60%) Cyber Essentials
7 2 (0.60%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 2 (0.60%) NIST
8 1 (0.30%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 11 (3.32%) Hyper-V
2 8 (2.42%) Active Directory
3 5 (1.51%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.30%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 6 (1.81%) Microsoft Intune
2 5 (1.51%) FortiGate
3 3 (0.91%) Prometheus
3 3 (0.91%) SCCM
4 2 (0.60%) CSIRT
4 2 (0.60%) QRadar
4 2 (0.60%) Single Sign-On
5 1 (0.30%) Terraform
Vendors
1 40 (12.08%) Microsoft
2 39 (11.78%) SAP
3 29 (8.76%) Oracle
4 14 (4.23%) VMware
5 13 (3.93%) NEC
6 6 (1.81%) Liquidlogic
6 6 (1.81%) Palo Alto
7 4 (1.21%) Cisco
8 3 (0.91%) Dynatrace
8 3 (0.91%) ESRI
8 3 (0.91%) Fortinet
8 3 (0.91%) HP
8 3 (0.91%) Juniper
8 3 (0.91%) Workday
9 2 (0.60%) Citrix
9 2 (0.60%) Civica
9 2 (0.60%) Meraki
9 2 (0.60%) ServiceNow
9 2 (0.60%) Splunk
10 1 (0.30%) Avaya