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 19 September 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 258 254 207
Rank change year-on-year -4 -47 +114
Contract jobs citing Local Government 565 345 457
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.03% 1.05% 1.19%
As % of the General category 1.84% 1.65% 2.04%
Number of daily rates quoted 407 227 250
10th Percentile £313 £250 £300
25th Percentile £405 £386 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £475 £450
Median % change year-on-year +10.53% +5.56% -
75th Percentile £600 £572 £538
90th Percentile £738 £660 £625
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £450 £450
% change year-on-year +16.67% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 72 63 32
10th Percentile £14.94 £20.69 £21.03
25th Percentile £16.70 £27.73 £23.58
Median hourly rate £20.62 £32.89 £27.26
Median % change year-on-year -37.32% +20.65% +23.35%
75th Percentile £27.74 £57.50 £34.20
90th Percentile £31.99 £58.75 £53.01
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.51 £27.06 £25.93
% change year-on-year -24.19% +4.34% +22.98%

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 30,627 20,972 22,349
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 55.83% 63.65% 58.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,971 13,001 13,375
10th Percentile £313 £275 £281
25th Percentile £419 £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 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,563 1,207 1,105
10th Percentile £13.50 £13.50 £14.71
25th Percentile £16.25 £16.17 £17.08
Median hourly rate £29.96 £25.15 £35.36
Median % change year-on-year +19.13% -28.87% +28.58%
75th Percentile £54.88 £49.13 £60.00
90th Percentile £77.50 £67.50 £70.39
UK excluding London median hourly rate £30.00 £21.30 £35.36
% change year-on-year +40.85% -39.76% +30.56%

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 19 September 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 19 September 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 19 September 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 +20 513 £525 +10.53% 614
UK excluding London +8 283 £525 +16.67% 382
London -26 225 £525 +10.53% 276
Work from Home -30 176 £500 +5.26% 281
Midlands +23 81 £500 +25.00% 78
South East -22 68 £625 +56.25% 84
West Midlands +8 60 £525 +31.25% 54
North of England -49 57 £383 -15.00% 108
South West -36 37 £625 +52.44% 46
East of England 0 31 £370 +36.67% 30
Yorkshire -21 28 £494 +27.42% 30
North West -49 28 £358 -20.56% 64
East Midlands 0 20 £500 +73.91% 24
Scotland -17 9 £650 +30.00% 28
Wales -10 3 £425 - 12
North East -50 1 - - 16

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 26 (4.60%) SharePoint
2 8 (1.42%) Oracle Workflow
3 6 (1.06%) CMS
4 5 (0.88%) Apache Airflow
5 4 (0.71%) Confluence
5 4 (0.71%) OpenEdge
6 3 (0.53%) Drupal
6 3 (0.53%) Microsoft Exchange
6 3 (0.53%) WordPress
7 2 (0.35%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.18%) Apache
8 1 (0.18%) govService
8 1 (0.18%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 27 (4.78%) Microsoft Excel
2 13 (2.30%) Microsoft Office
3 10 (1.77%) Spreadsheet
4 9 (1.59%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.35%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.35%) Trello
7 1 (0.18%) Gliffy
Business Applications
1 18 (3.19%) Oracle Receivables
2 16 (2.83%) ContrOCC
3 15 (2.65%) NEC Housing
3 15 (2.65%) Oracle Payables
3 15 (2.65%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
4 14 (2.48%) Oracle General Ledger
5 8 (1.42%) SAP S/4HANA
6 7 (1.24%) Dynamics CRM
7 5 (0.88%) iTrent
8 4 (0.71%) SAP ERP
9 2 (0.35%) MIS ActiveH
9 2 (0.35%) SAP CO
9 2 (0.35%) SAP FI
9 2 (0.35%) SAP FI/CO
9 2 (0.35%) SAP Payroll
9 2 (0.35%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
10 1 (0.18%) Oracle EBS
10 1 (0.18%) SAP HR
10 1 (0.18%) SAP MM
10 1 (0.18%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 60 (10.62%) Azure
2 47 (8.32%) Power Platform
3 26 (4.60%) AWS
4 23 (4.07%) Microsoft 365
5 18 (3.19%) SaaS
6 17 (3.01%) Entra ID
7 15 (2.65%) GCP
8 13 (2.30%) Dynamics 365
9 12 (2.12%) Azure DevOps
10 11 (1.95%) GitHub
11 10 (1.77%) Miro
12 8 (1.42%) PowerApps
13 7 (1.24%) GitHub Actions
13 7 (1.24%) Microsoft Purview
13 7 (1.24%) OCI
13 7 (1.24%) Power Automate
14 6 (1.06%) Azure Key Vault
14 6 (1.06%) Azure Synapse Analytics
14 6 (1.06%) Google Workspace
14 6 (1.06%) Lucidchart
Communications & Networking
1 19 (3.36%) Firewall
2 12 (2.12%) DNS
3 8 (1.42%) Network Security
4 6 (1.06%) DHCP
4 6 (1.06%) VPN
5 5 (0.88%) LAN
5 5 (0.88%) WAN
6 4 (0.71%) Wi-Fi
7 3 (0.53%) Broadband
7 3 (0.53%) TCP/IP
8 2 (0.35%) Intranet
8 2 (0.35%) PSTN
8 2 (0.35%) Remote Desktop
8 2 (0.35%) VSAN
9 1 (0.18%) SSL
9 1 (0.18%) Unified Communications
Database & Business Intelligence
1 44 (7.79%) Power BI
2 12 (2.12%) Oracle Reports
3 8 (1.42%) Metadata
3 8 (1.42%) SQL Server
4 6 (1.06%) Data Warehouse
4 6 (1.06%) NoSQL
4 6 (1.06%) Power Query
5 5 (0.88%) GIS
5 5 (0.88%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 4 (0.71%) Amazon RDS
6 4 (0.71%) BusinessObjects
7 3 (0.53%) Azure SQL Database
7 3 (0.53%) PostgreSQL
8 2 (0.35%) Big Data
8 2 (0.35%) MongoDB
8 2 (0.35%) Presto
8 2 (0.35%) Redis
8 2 (0.35%) Relational Database
8 2 (0.35%) Spatial Data
8 2 (0.35%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 9 (1.59%) Jenkins
2 8 (1.42%) JIRA
3 4 (0.71%) GitLab
4 3 (0.53%) Git
5 2 (0.35%) Bitbucket
5 2 (0.35%) Cypress.io
5 2 (0.35%) Mocha
6 1 (0.18%) Capybara
6 1 (0.18%) Oracle APEX
6 1 (0.18%) RSpec
General
1 258 (45.66%) Public Sector
2 174 (30.80%) Social Skills
3 149 (26.37%) Finance
4 96 (16.99%) Analytical Skills
5 45 (7.96%) Organisational Skills
6 25 (4.42%) Influencing Skills
7 24 (4.25%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 21 (3.72%) Legal
9 20 (3.54%) Social Housing
10 11 (1.95%) Police
11 9 (1.59%) Manufacturing
11 9 (1.59%) Retail
12 8 (1.42%) Documentation Skills
12 8 (1.42%) Fire and Rescue
13 6 (1.06%) Back Office
14 5 (0.88%) Banking
15 4 (0.71%) General Ledger
15 4 (0.71%) Presentation Skills
15 4 (0.71%) Publishing
16 3 (0.53%) Law
Job Titles
1 77 (13.63%) Analyst
2 75 (13.27%) Senior
3 70 (12.39%) Lead
4 40 (7.08%) Business Analyst
5 36 (6.37%) Architect
6 31 (5.49%) Consultant
6 31 (5.49%) Developer
7 27 (4.78%) Project Manager
8 25 (4.42%) Support Officer
9 24 (4.25%) Senior Analyst
10 17 (3.01%) Finance Manager
11 16 (2.83%) Transformation Manager
12 15 (2.65%) Data Analyst
13 14 (2.48%) Designer
13 14 (2.48%) Team Leader
14 13 (2.30%) Administrator
15 12 (2.12%) Applications Support
15 12 (2.12%) Finance Systems Manager
15 12 (2.12%) Information Officer
16 11 (1.95%) Senior Business Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (6.19%) Oracle Fusion
2 16 (2.83%) Terraform
3 12 (2.12%) RESTful
4 6 (1.06%) SAP Fiori
5 5 (0.88%) .NET
5 5 (0.88%) HTML
5 5 (0.88%) REST
6 4 (0.71%) Play Framework
7 3 (0.53%) ARM Templates
7 3 (0.53%) ASP.NET
7 3 (0.53%) ASP.NET Core
7 3 (0.53%) CSS
8 2 (0.35%) Chai
8 2 (0.35%) FHIR
8 2 (0.35%) JWT
8 2 (0.35%) Middleware
8 2 (0.35%) Nunjucks
8 2 (0.35%) PySpark
8 2 (0.35%) SOAP
8 2 (0.35%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 38 (6.73%) Management Information System
2 21 (3.72%) Analytical Mindset
3 20 (3.54%) Freedom of Information
4 19 (3.36%) NHS
5 15 (2.65%) Product Ownership
6 14 (2.48%) Onboarding
7 12 (2.12%) Legacy Systems
8 10 (1.77%) Cloud Native
8 10 (1.77%) Enterprise Software
8 10 (1.77%) Housing Association
9 6 (1.06%) Public Cloud
10 5 (0.88%) Hybrid Cloud
11 4 (0.71%) Distributed Systems
11 4 (0.71%) Security Posture
12 3 (0.53%) Cyber Threat
12 3 (0.53%) Cyberattack
12 3 (0.53%) Data Protection Act
12 3 (0.53%) Manufacturing Execution System
12 3 (0.53%) Mobile App
13 2 (0.35%) Freedom of Information Act
Operating Systems
1 15 (2.65%) Windows
2 7 (1.24%) Windows 10
3 6 (1.06%) Windows Server
4 3 (0.53%) Linux
5 2 (0.35%) Unix
6 1 (0.18%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.18%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.18%) VMS
6 1 (0.18%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 120 (21.24%) Stakeholder Management
2 117 (20.71%) Stakeholder Engagement
3 104 (18.41%) Agile
4 83 (14.69%) Continuous Improvement
5 82 (14.51%) Decision-Making
6 66 (11.68%) Service Delivery
7 56 (9.91%) Migration
7 56 (9.91%) Problem-Solving
8 48 (8.50%) Business Intelligence
9 45 (7.96%) Business Analysis
10 44 (7.79%) Roadmaps
11 43 (7.61%) Data Protection
11 43 (7.61%) Project Delivery
12 42 (7.43%) Validation
13 41 (7.26%) Collaborative Working
14 38 (6.73%) Case Management
15 37 (6.55%) AI
15 37 (6.55%) DevOps
15 37 (6.55%) ERP
15 37 (6.55%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
Programming Languages
1 44 (7.79%) SQL
2 11 (1.95%) JavaScript
2 11 (1.95%) Python
3 10 (1.77%) PowerShell
4 7 (1.24%) Java
5 6 (1.06%) Data Analysis Expressions
6 4 (0.71%) C#
6 4 (0.71%) Scala
6 4 (0.71%) TypeScript
7 3 (0.53%) ABAP
7 3 (0.53%) Bicep
7 3 (0.53%) Go
8 1 (0.18%) Bash
8 1 (0.18%) Groovy
8 1 (0.18%) Kusto Query Language
8 1 (0.18%) PL/SQL
8 1 (0.18%) Ruby
8 1 (0.18%) Search Processing Language
8 1 (0.18%) Swift
8 1 (0.18%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 51 (9.03%) Security Cleared
2 44 (7.79%) SC Cleared
3 26 (4.60%) Degree
4 11 (1.95%) BPSS Clearance
5 10 (1.77%) DBS Check
6 9 (1.59%) DV Cleared
7 6 (1.06%) Cisco Certification
7 6 (1.06%) CISSP
8 5 (0.88%) Azure Certification
8 5 (0.88%) ITIL Certification
8 5 (0.88%) Microsoft Certification
9 4 (0.71%) CCNP
9 4 (0.71%) CISM
10 3 (0.53%) AWS Certification
10 3 (0.53%) CCNA
10 3 (0.53%) CIMA
10 3 (0.53%) CIPFA
11 2 (0.35%) CBAP
11 2 (0.35%) CIPD
11 2 (0.35%) IIBA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 51 (9.03%) Data Quality
2 47 (8.32%) GDPR
3 28 (4.96%) Accessibility
4 27 (4.78%) PMO
5 18 (3.19%) QA
6 16 (2.83%) NCSC
7 13 (2.30%) SLA
8 10 (1.77%) Cyber Essentials
8 10 (1.77%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 10 (1.77%) WCAG
9 6 (1.06%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 6 (1.06%) PCI DSS
10 4 (0.71%) Disclosure Scotland
10 4 (0.71%) IFRS
10 4 (0.71%) NIST
11 2 (0.35%) GRC
11 2 (0.35%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 1 (0.18%) Government Security Classifications
12 1 (0.18%) JSP 440
12 1 (0.18%) P3O
System Software
1 13 (2.30%) Active Directory
1 13 (2.30%) Docker
2 2 (0.35%) Hyper-V
2 2 (0.35%) Virtual Machines
2 2 (0.35%) VMware Infrastructure
3 1 (0.18%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 13 (2.30%) Kubernetes
2 5 (0.88%) Grafana
2 5 (0.88%) Microsoft Intune
3 4 (0.71%) Kibana
4 2 (0.35%) Failover Clustering
4 2 (0.35%) Single Sign-On
4 2 (0.35%) VxRail
5 1 (0.18%) Ansible
5 1 (0.18%) Argo
5 1 (0.18%) Prometheus
5 1 (0.18%) SCCM
Vendors
1 90 (15.93%) Microsoft
2 48 (8.50%) Oracle
3 25 (4.42%) SAP
4 16 (2.83%) Liquidlogic
5 15 (2.65%) Google
5 15 (2.65%) NEC
6 14 (2.48%) Civica
6 14 (2.48%) ServiceNow
7 7 (1.24%) Databricks
7 7 (1.24%) Orchard
8 6 (1.06%) Palo Alto
9 5 (0.88%) Northgate
10 4 (0.71%) Cisco
10 4 (0.71%) Splunk
11 3 (0.53%) Infoblox
11 3 (0.53%) Juniper
11 3 (0.53%) Kronos
11 3 (0.53%) Sitecore
11 3 (0.53%) VMware
12 2 (0.35%) Ribbon