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 1 October 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
1 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 247 258 204
Rank change year-on-year +11 -54 +126
Contract jobs citing Local Government 580 346 460
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.06% 1.05% 1.22%
As % of the General category 1.88% 1.65% 2.08%
Number of daily rates quoted 417 228 247
10th Percentile £307 £250 £300
25th Percentile £400 £392 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £475 £450
Median % change year-on-year +10.53% +5.56% -
75th Percentile £600 £575 £538
90th Percentile £738 £658 £638
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £450 £450
% change year-on-year +16.67% - -2.60%
Number of hourly rates quoted 72 64 32
10th Percentile £14.40 £20.71 £20.27
25th Percentile £16.68 £29.00 £23.13
Median hourly rate £20.62 £33.45 £27.26
Median % change year-on-year -38.36% +22.69% +23.91%
75th Percentile £27.83 £57.50 £33.80
90th Percentile £31.99 £58.75 £43.92
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.39 £27.06 £25.18
% change year-on-year -24.64% +7.45% +25.46%

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 30,797 20,995 22,110
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 56.09% 63.51% 58.44%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,960 13,047 13,078
10th Percentile £313 £275 £281
25th Percentile £420 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £625 £650
90th Percentile £738 £738 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +5.26% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,644 1,219 1,011
10th Percentile £13.50 £13.51 £14.73
25th Percentile £16.25 £16.17 £17.16
Median hourly rate £28.50 £25.15 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year +13.32% -28.14% +27.27%
75th Percentile £53.75 £46.27 £60.00
90th Percentile £77.50 £67.00 £71.25
UK excluding London median hourly rate £29.00 £21.39 £35.00
% change year-on-year +35.58% -38.89% +30.69%

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 1 October 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 1 October 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 1 October 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 +15 518 £525 +10.53% 691
UK excluding London +17 285 £525 +16.67% 466
London -23 229 £525 +10.53% 261
Work from Home -23 178 £500 +5.26% 336
Midlands +18 78 £500 +25.00% 82
South East -18 74 £625 +42.86% 114
West Midlands +18 59 £500 -16.67% 58
North of England -49 58 £383 -15.00% 122
South West -37 36 £625 +56.25% 64
Yorkshire -22 30 £531 +37.10% 45
East of England -4 29 £370 -26.00% 39
North West -42 27 £320 -28.89% 65
East Midlands -3 18 £500 +73.91% 24
Scotland -21 9 £650 +30.00% 22
Wales -12 4 £425 - 28
North East -37 1 - - 14

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 27 (4.66%) SharePoint
2 8 (1.38%) Oracle Workflow
3 7 (1.21%) Apache Airflow
4 6 (1.03%) CMS
5 4 (0.69%) Confluence
6 3 (0.52%) Drupal
6 3 (0.52%) Microsoft Exchange
6 3 (0.52%) OpenEdge
6 3 (0.52%) WordPress
7 2 (0.34%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.17%) Apache
8 1 (0.17%) govService
8 1 (0.17%) Jupyter
8 1 (0.17%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 31 (5.34%) Microsoft Excel
2 14 (2.41%) Microsoft Office
3 10 (1.72%) Spreadsheet
4 9 (1.55%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.52%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.34%) Trello
7 1 (0.17%) Gliffy
Business Applications
1 16 (2.76%) NEC Housing
1 16 (2.76%) Oracle Receivables
2 14 (2.41%) ContrOCC
3 13 (2.24%) Oracle Payables
3 13 (2.24%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
4 12 (2.07%) Oracle General Ledger
5 7 (1.21%) Dynamics CRM
5 7 (1.21%) SAP S/4HANA
6 5 (0.86%) iTrent
7 4 (0.69%) SAP ERP
8 2 (0.34%) MIS ActiveH
8 2 (0.34%) SAP CO
8 2 (0.34%) SAP FI
8 2 (0.34%) SAP FI/CO
8 2 (0.34%) SAP Payroll
8 2 (0.34%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
8 2 (0.34%) SystmOne
8 2 (0.34%) Unit4 Business World
9 1 (0.17%) SAP HR
9 1 (0.17%) SAP MM
Cloud Services
1 60 (10.34%) Azure
2 52 (8.97%) Power Platform
3 31 (5.34%) AWS
4 20 (3.45%) Microsoft 365
5 17 (2.93%) GCP
6 16 (2.76%) Entra ID
6 16 (2.76%) SaaS
7 12 (2.07%) Azure DevOps
7 12 (2.07%) GitHub
8 11 (1.90%) Dynamics 365
8 11 (1.90%) Miro
9 8 (1.38%) GitHub Actions
9 8 (1.38%) Google Workspace
9 8 (1.38%) Lucidchart
9 8 (1.38%) Power Automate
9 8 (1.38%) PowerApps
10 7 (1.21%) Microsoft Purview
11 6 (1.03%) Azure Key Vault
11 6 (1.03%) Azure Synapse Analytics
11 6 (1.03%) OCI
Communications & Networking
1 16 (2.76%) Firewall
2 11 (1.90%) DNS
3 8 (1.38%) Network Security
4 6 (1.03%) VPN
5 5 (0.86%) DHCP
5 5 (0.86%) LAN
5 5 (0.86%) WAN
6 4 (0.69%) Wi-Fi
7 3 (0.52%) Broadband
7 3 (0.52%) TCP/IP
8 2 (0.34%) Intranet
8 2 (0.34%) PSTN
8 2 (0.34%) Remote Desktop
8 2 (0.34%) VSAN
9 1 (0.17%) SSL
9 1 (0.17%) Unified Communications
Database & Business Intelligence
1 49 (8.45%) Power BI
2 10 (1.72%) Oracle Reports
3 9 (1.55%) SQL Server
4 8 (1.38%) Metadata
5 7 (1.21%) Data Warehouse
6 6 (1.03%) BusinessObjects
6 6 (1.03%) NoSQL
6 6 (1.03%) Power Query
6 6 (1.03%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 5 (0.86%) GIS
8 4 (0.69%) Amazon RDS
9 3 (0.52%) Apache Hudi
9 3 (0.52%) Azure SQL Database
9 3 (0.52%) PostgreSQL
10 2 (0.34%) Amazon Aurora
10 2 (0.34%) Big Data
10 2 (0.34%) MongoDB
10 2 (0.34%) Redis
10 2 (0.34%) Star Schema
10 2 (0.34%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 11 (1.90%) Jenkins
2 9 (1.55%) JIRA
3 4 (0.69%) GitLab
4 3 (0.52%) Git
5 2 (0.34%) Bitbucket
5 2 (0.34%) Cypress.io
5 2 (0.34%) Mocha
5 2 (0.34%) MSI
6 1 (0.17%) Capybara
6 1 (0.17%) Oracle APEX
6 1 (0.17%) RSpec
General
1 266 (45.86%) Public Sector
2 192 (33.10%) Social Skills
3 151 (26.03%) Finance
4 105 (18.10%) Analytical Skills
5 47 (8.10%) Organisational Skills
6 27 (4.66%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 24 (4.14%) Influencing Skills
8 23 (3.97%) Legal
9 20 (3.45%) Social Housing
10 11 (1.90%) Police
11 9 (1.55%) Back Office
11 9 (1.55%) Manufacturing
12 8 (1.38%) Fire and Rescue
12 8 (1.38%) Retail
13 7 (1.21%) Documentation Skills
14 6 (1.03%) Publishing
15 5 (0.86%) Banking
16 4 (0.69%) General Ledger
16 4 (0.69%) Presentation Skills
17 3 (0.52%) Law
Job Titles
1 79 (13.62%) Senior
2 78 (13.45%) Analyst
3 73 (12.59%) Lead
4 38 (6.55%) Architect
5 37 (6.38%) Business Analyst
6 31 (5.34%) Developer
7 29 (5.00%) Consultant
8 28 (4.83%) Support Officer
9 27 (4.66%) Project Manager
10 23 (3.97%) Senior Analyst
11 17 (2.93%) Transformation Manager
12 15 (2.59%) Administrator
12 15 (2.59%) Applications Support
12 15 (2.59%) Data Analyst
12 15 (2.59%) Designer
12 15 (2.59%) Finance Manager
12 15 (2.59%) Team Leader
13 12 (2.07%) Information Officer
14 11 (1.90%) Senior Business Analyst
15 10 (1.72%) Service Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 32 (5.52%) Oracle Fusion
2 17 (2.93%) Terraform
3 14 (2.41%) RESTful
4 6 (1.03%) SAP Fiori
5 5 (0.86%) .NET
5 5 (0.86%) HTML
5 5 (0.86%) Play Framework
5 5 (0.86%) REST
6 3 (0.52%) ARM Templates
6 3 (0.52%) ASP.NET
6 3 (0.52%) ASP.NET Core
6 3 (0.52%) CSS
7 2 (0.34%) Chai
7 2 (0.34%) Express.js
7 2 (0.34%) FHIR
7 2 (0.34%) Jest
7 2 (0.34%) JWT
7 2 (0.34%) Node.js
7 2 (0.34%) Nunjucks
7 2 (0.34%) PySpark
Miscellaneous
1 44 (7.59%) Management Information System
2 25 (4.31%) Analytical Mindset
3 23 (3.97%) Freedom of Information
4 19 (3.28%) NHS
5 16 (2.76%) Product Ownership
6 13 (2.24%) Onboarding
7 12 (2.07%) Enterprise Software
7 12 (2.07%) Legacy Systems
8 10 (1.72%) Cloud Native
8 10 (1.72%) Housing Association
9 5 (0.86%) Hybrid Cloud
9 5 (0.86%) Public Cloud
10 4 (0.69%) Distributed Systems
10 4 (0.69%) Security Posture
11 3 (0.52%) Cyberattack
11 3 (0.52%) Data Protection Act
11 3 (0.52%) e-Learning
11 3 (0.52%) Manufacturing Execution System
11 3 (0.52%) Mobile App
12 2 (0.34%) Freedom of Information Act
Operating Systems
1 18 (3.10%) Windows
2 8 (1.38%) Windows 10
3 5 (0.86%) Windows Server
4 3 (0.52%) Linux
5 2 (0.34%) Unix
6 1 (0.17%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.17%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.17%) VMS
6 1 (0.17%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 127 (21.90%) Stakeholder Management
2 114 (19.66%) Agile
2 114 (19.66%) Stakeholder Engagement
3 89 (15.34%) Decision-Making
4 85 (14.66%) Continuous Improvement
5 64 (11.03%) Service Delivery
6 60 (10.34%) Migration
7 58 (10.00%) Problem-Solving
8 53 (9.14%) Business Intelligence
9 50 (8.62%) Business Analysis
10 46 (7.93%) Data Protection
11 45 (7.76%) Validation
12 44 (7.59%) Roadmaps
13 43 (7.41%) Project Delivery
14 42 (7.24%) AI
14 42 (7.24%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
15 41 (7.07%) DevOps
16 39 (6.72%) Collaborative Working
16 39 (6.72%) Data Governance
17 38 (6.55%) Customer Service
Programming Languages
1 51 (8.79%) SQL
2 14 (2.41%) Python
3 12 (2.07%) JavaScript
4 9 (1.55%) PowerShell
5 8 (1.38%) Data Analysis Expressions
6 7 (1.21%) Java
7 5 (0.86%) Scala
8 4 (0.69%) C#
8 4 (0.69%) TypeScript
9 3 (0.52%) ABAP
9 3 (0.52%) Bicep
9 3 (0.52%) Go
10 2 (0.34%) T-SQL
11 1 (0.17%) Bash
11 1 (0.17%) Groovy
11 1 (0.17%) Kusto Query Language
11 1 (0.17%) PL/SQL
11 1 (0.17%) R
11 1 (0.17%) Ruby
11 1 (0.17%) Swift
Qualifications
1 55 (9.48%) Security Cleared
2 48 (8.28%) SC Cleared
3 29 (5.00%) Degree
4 13 (2.24%) BPSS Clearance
5 9 (1.55%) DV Cleared
6 8 (1.38%) DBS Check
7 6 (1.03%) Cisco Certification
7 6 (1.03%) Microsoft Certification
8 5 (0.86%) Azure Certification
8 5 (0.86%) CCAB
8 5 (0.86%) CISSP
8 5 (0.86%) ITIL Certification
9 4 (0.69%) AWS Certification
9 4 (0.69%) CCNP
10 3 (0.52%) CCNA
10 3 (0.52%) CIMA
10 3 (0.52%) CIPFA
10 3 (0.52%) CISM
11 2 (0.34%) CIPD
11 2 (0.34%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 57 (9.83%) Data Quality
2 48 (8.28%) GDPR
3 30 (5.17%) Accessibility
3 30 (5.17%) PMO
4 18 (3.10%) QA
5 15 (2.59%) NCSC
6 12 (2.07%) SLA
7 11 (1.90%) WCAG
8 10 (1.72%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 7 (1.21%) Cyber Essentials
10 4 (0.69%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 4 (0.69%) Disclosure Scotland
10 4 (0.69%) IFRS
10 4 (0.69%) NIST
11 2 (0.34%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 2 (0.34%) PCI DSS
11 2 (0.34%) SOC 2
12 1 (0.17%) Actionable Recommendations
12 1 (0.17%) Government Security Classifications
12 1 (0.17%) GRC
System Software
1 15 (2.59%) Docker
2 12 (2.07%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.34%) Hyper-V
3 2 (0.34%) Virtual Machines
3 2 (0.34%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.17%) Firmware
4 1 (0.17%) Microsoft App-V
Systems Management
1 14 (2.41%) Kubernetes
2 7 (1.21%) Grafana
2 7 (1.21%) Microsoft Intune
3 6 (1.03%) Kibana
4 2 (0.34%) Failover Clustering
4 2 (0.34%) Single Sign-On
4 2 (0.34%) VxRail
5 1 (0.17%) Ansible
5 1 (0.17%) Argo
5 1 (0.17%) Prometheus
5 1 (0.17%) SCCM
Vendors
1 89 (15.34%) Microsoft
2 44 (7.59%) Oracle
3 24 (4.14%) SAP
4 19 (3.28%) Liquidlogic
5 17 (2.93%) Google
5 17 (2.93%) NEC
6 14 (2.41%) ServiceNow
7 13 (2.24%) Civica
8 9 (1.55%) Northgate
9 7 (1.21%) Databricks
10 6 (1.03%) Orchard
10 6 (1.03%) Palo Alto
11 4 (0.69%) Cisco
11 4 (0.69%) Splunk
12 3 (0.52%) Infoblox
12 3 (0.52%) Juniper
12 3 (0.52%) Kronos
12 3 (0.52%) Sitecore
12 3 (0.52%) VMware
13 2 (0.34%) F5