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 15 January 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
15 Jan 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 279 186 287
Rank change year-on-year -93 +101 +124
Contract jobs citing Local Government 338 433 331
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.91% 1.36% 0.78%
As % of the General category 1.51% 2.21% 1.33%
Number of daily rates quoted 206 225 243
10th Percentile £363 £287 £253
25th Percentile £413 £400 £396
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £450
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% +5.56% -
75th Percentile £600 £549 £550
90th Percentile £681 £605 £638
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £462 £450
% change year-on-year +8.34% +2.56% +8.43%
Number of hourly rates quoted 62 40 46
10th Percentile £20.76 £20.17 £13.48
25th Percentile £25.81 £22.27 £17.75
Median hourly rate £30.00 £28.71 £22.05
Median % change year-on-year +4.51% +30.18% -4.75%
75th Percentile £52.50 £33.75 £26.95
90th Percentile £57.50 £38.45 £37.31
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.85 £29.62 £18.73
% change year-on-year -22.84% +58.16% -16.16%

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 22,315 19,603 24,900
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 60.15% 61.57% 58.97%
Number of daily rates quoted 14,028 11,680 16,324
10th Percentile £283 £281 £270
25th Percentile £400 £410 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £540
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -2.78% -1.82%
75th Percentile £625 £650 £650
90th Percentile £730 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £480 £500
% change year-on-year -1.04% -4.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,368 653 1,171
10th Percentile £13.80 £15.48 £14.00
25th Percentile £16.37 £19.59 £16.13
Median hourly rate £23.00 £27.50 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year -16.36% -8.33% +20.00%
75th Percentile £45.81 £53.75 £57.42
90th Percentile £70.00 £73.71 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.00 £26.13 £28.96
% change year-on-year -19.62% -9.79% +28.71%

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 15 January 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 15 January 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 15 January 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 -99 287 £500 +7.87% 197
London -47 147 £525 +10.53% 37
UK excluding London -125 145 £500 +8.34% 184
Work from Home -26 104 £500 +5.26% 69
North of England -58 39 £500 +2.56% 51
Midlands -40 32 £506 -0.74% 37
North West -38 28 £500 - 28
South West -60 26 £500 +11.11% 29
West Midlands -34 18 £600 +9.09% 21
East of England -24 17 £425 +9.68% 16
Scotland +11 14 £500 -16.67% 10
East Midlands -22 14 £175 -65.00% 16
South East -36 14 £400 -11.11% 38
Yorkshire -46 9 £675 +38.46% 18
Wales -1 3 - - 8
North East -12 2 £500 +66.67% 7

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 15 (4.44%) SharePoint
2 5 (1.48%) Microsoft Exchange
3 4 (1.18%) ArcGIS
4 3 (0.89%) Confluence
5 2 (0.59%) CMS
Applications
1 23 (6.80%) Microsoft Excel
2 8 (2.37%) Microsoft Office
3 5 (1.48%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 5 (1.48%) Microsoft Project
4 3 (0.89%) Spreadsheet
4 3 (0.89%) Trello
5 2 (0.59%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 19 (5.62%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (2.07%) iTrent
2 7 (2.07%) NEC Housing
3 6 (1.78%) SAP ERP
4 4 (1.18%) Unit4 Business World
5 3 (0.89%) Oracle Applications
5 3 (0.89%) SAP Payroll
6 2 (0.59%) Oracle ERP
6 2 (0.59%) 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%) Workfront
Cloud Services
1 40 (11.83%) Azure
2 25 (7.40%) Power Platform
3 16 (4.73%) Microsoft 365
4 14 (4.14%) AWS
5 10 (2.96%) SaaS
6 8 (2.37%) SuccessFactors
7 7 (2.07%) Microsoft Copilot
8 6 (1.78%) Azure Sentinel
8 6 (1.78%) Entra ID
8 6 (1.78%) OCI
9 5 (1.48%) PowerApps
10 4 (1.18%) Azure DevOps
11 3 (0.89%) Amazon EKS
11 3 (0.89%) Dynamics 365
11 3 (0.89%) IaaS
11 3 (0.89%) Miro
11 3 (0.89%) Power Automate
12 2 (0.59%) Azure Monitor
12 2 (0.59%) Microsoft Purview
12 2 (0.59%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 13 (3.85%) Firewall
2 9 (2.66%) Wi-Fi
3 8 (2.37%) WAN
4 6 (1.78%) LAN
4 6 (1.78%) SAN
4 6 (1.78%) TCP/IP
4 6 (1.78%) Wireless
5 4 (1.18%) Network Security
6 3 (0.89%) Broadband
6 3 (0.89%) DNS
6 3 (0.89%) VLAN
7 2 (0.59%) DHCP
7 2 (0.59%) Internet
7 2 (0.59%) SD-WAN
7 2 (0.59%) VPN
7 2 (0.59%) WLAN
8 1 (0.30%) Cisco ASA
8 1 (0.30%) Ethernet
8 1 (0.30%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (6.80%) Power BI
2 9 (2.66%) GIS
2 9 (2.66%) SQL Server
3 8 (2.37%) Oracle Reports
4 4 (1.18%) Data Vault
4 4 (1.18%) Geospatial Data
4 4 (1.18%) OLTP
4 4 (1.18%) PostgreSQL
4 4 (1.18%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 3 (0.89%) Power Query
5 3 (0.89%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 3 (0.89%) Star Schema
6 2 (0.59%) BusinessObjects
6 2 (0.59%) Data Lake
6 2 (0.59%) Metadata
6 2 (0.59%) Oracle Database
6 2 (0.59%) QGIS
6 2 (0.59%) Tableau
7 1 (0.30%) SAP HANA
7 1 (0.30%) Spatial Data
Development Applications
1 6 (1.78%) JIRA
2 3 (0.89%) GitLab
2 3 (0.89%) Oracle APEX
3 1 (0.30%) Selenium
3 1 (0.30%) SpecFlow
General
1 130 (38.46%) Public Sector
2 73 (21.60%) Finance
3 70 (20.71%) Social Skills
4 24 (7.10%) Analytical Skills
5 18 (5.33%) Law
6 17 (5.03%) Fire and Rescue
7 11 (3.25%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 11 (3.25%) Influencing Skills
7 11 (3.25%) Organisational Skills
8 9 (2.66%) Legal
9 7 (2.07%) Back Office
10 4 (1.18%) Police
10 4 (1.18%) Social Housing
11 2 (0.59%) Marketing
11 2 (0.59%) Retail
11 2 (0.59%) Telecoms
11 2 (0.59%) Welsh Language
12 1 (0.30%) General Ledger
12 1 (0.30%) Publishing
12 1 (0.30%) Social Science
Job Titles
1 56 (16.57%) Analyst
2 42 (12.43%) Senior
3 36 (10.65%) Lead
4 26 (7.69%) Business Analyst
5 25 (7.40%) Project Manager
6 21 (6.21%) Architect
7 17 (5.03%) Consultant
8 14 (4.14%) Applications Support
9 11 (3.25%) Developer
9 11 (3.25%) Project Officer
9 11 (3.25%) Support Officer
10 10 (2.96%) Programme Manager
11 9 (2.66%) Data Architect
11 9 (2.66%) Service Analyst
11 9 (2.66%) Support Analyst
11 9 (2.66%) Systems Manager
12 8 (2.37%) Data Manager
12 8 (2.37%) Implementation Manager
12 8 (2.37%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 8 (2.37%) Migration Specialist
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (2.96%) EDI
2 6 (1.78%) Oracle Fusion
3 5 (1.48%) Middleware
4 2 (0.59%) FHIR
4 2 (0.59%) REST
5 1 (0.30%) .NET
5 1 (0.30%) .NET Core
5 1 (0.30%) CSS
5 1 (0.30%) HTML
5 1 (0.30%) Node.js
5 1 (0.30%) OAuth
5 1 (0.30%) SPFx
5 1 (0.30%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 21 (6.21%) Management Information System
2 13 (3.85%) Legacy Systems
3 11 (3.25%) Public Cloud
4 9 (2.66%) NHS
5 7 (2.07%) Data Centre
6 4 (1.18%) Data Structures
6 4 (1.18%) Driving Licence
6 4 (1.18%) Enterprise Cloud
6 4 (1.18%) Housing Association
6 4 (1.18%) Onboarding
6 4 (1.18%) Product Ownership
7 3 (0.89%) Analytical Mindset
7 3 (0.89%) Clustering
7 3 (0.89%) Data Protection Act
7 3 (0.89%) Legacy Code
7 3 (0.89%) Team-Oriented Environment
8 2 (0.59%) CCTV
8 2 (0.59%) IVR
8 2 (0.59%) PKI
8 2 (0.59%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 10 (2.96%) Windows
2 4 (1.18%) Windows Server
3 2 (0.59%) Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 58 (17.16%) Stakeholder Engagement
2 50 (14.79%) ERP
3 42 (12.43%) Project Management
4 40 (11.83%) Stakeholder Management
5 37 (10.95%) Decision-Making
6 34 (10.06%) Agile
6 34 (10.06%) Change Management
6 34 (10.06%) Migration
7 29 (8.58%) Problem-Solving
8 27 (7.99%) Roadmaps
9 26 (7.69%) Business Intelligence
10 23 (6.80%) Cybersecurity
10 23 (6.80%) Data Migration
11 22 (6.51%) Service Delivery
12 20 (5.92%) Business Analysis
12 20 (5.92%) Continuous Improvement
12 20 (5.92%) PRINCE2
12 20 (5.92%) Risk Management
12 20 (5.92%) User Acceptance Testing
13 18 (5.33%) Project Governance
Programming Languages
1 31 (9.17%) SQL
2 5 (1.48%) PL/SQL
3 4 (1.18%) Python
4 3 (0.89%) C#
4 3 (0.89%) Data Analysis Expressions
4 3 (0.89%) ProC
4 3 (0.89%) Shell Script
5 2 (0.59%) Bicep
5 2 (0.59%) PowerShell
5 2 (0.59%) R
6 1 (0.30%) Bash
6 1 (0.30%) C
6 1 (0.30%) Korn
Qualifications
1 21 (6.21%) Degree
2 11 (3.25%) DBS Check
2 11 (3.25%) Security Cleared
3 8 (2.37%) BPSS Clearance
4 7 (2.07%) CISSP
4 7 (2.07%) HND
4 7 (2.07%) SC Cleared
5 5 (1.48%) CISM
6 4 (1.18%) CCAB
6 4 (1.18%) CCNA
6 4 (1.18%) CISA
6 4 (1.18%) Cisco Certification
6 4 (1.18%) Computer Science Degree
6 4 (1.18%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
7 3 (0.89%) CCNP
7 3 (0.89%) ISTQB
7 3 (0.89%) JNCIA
7 3 (0.89%) JNCIP
7 3 (0.89%) JNCIS
8 2 (0.59%) HNC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 15 (4.44%) Data Quality
2 10 (2.96%) PMO
3 9 (2.66%) GDPR
4 7 (2.07%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 7 (2.07%) SLA
5 6 (1.78%) Cyber Essentials
5 6 (1.78%) QA
6 5 (1.48%) Actionable Recommendations
6 5 (1.48%) NIST
7 4 (1.18%) Accessibility
8 3 (0.89%) Disclosure Scotland
9 1 (0.30%) HL7
9 1 (0.30%) NCSC
9 1 (0.30%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 10 (2.96%) Hyper-V
2 6 (1.78%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.59%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.30%) Docker
4 1 (0.30%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 6 (1.78%) FortiGate
1 6 (1.78%) Microsoft Intune
2 4 (1.18%) CSIRT
2 4 (1.18%) QRadar
3 3 (0.89%) Prometheus
4 2 (0.59%) Single Sign-On
4 2 (0.59%) Terraform
5 1 (0.30%) Kubernetes
5 1 (0.30%) SCCM
Vendors
1 49 (14.50%) Microsoft
2 32 (9.47%) Oracle
3 31 (9.17%) SAP
4 13 (3.85%) VMware
5 8 (2.37%) NEC
6 7 (2.07%) Palo Alto
7 5 (1.48%) Fortinet
7 5 (1.48%) HP
7 5 (1.48%) Liquidlogic
7 5 (1.48%) Splunk
8 4 (1.18%) ESRI
9 3 (0.89%) Capita
9 3 (0.89%) Cisco
9 3 (0.89%) Dynatrace
9 3 (0.89%) Juniper
9 3 (0.89%) ServiceNow
9 3 (0.89%) Workday
10 2 (0.59%) Citrix
10 2 (0.59%) OneLogin
10 2 (0.59%) Proofpoint
224 Local Government jobs Nationwide