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

6 months to
25 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 253 265 209
Rank change year-on-year +12 -56 +118
Contract jobs citing Local Government 573 345 454
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.04% 1.05% 1.18%
As % of the General category 1.87% 1.65% 2.03%
Number of daily rates quoted 412 228 245
10th Percentile £312 £250 £300
25th Percentile £400 £388 £363
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 £625
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £450 £450
% change year-on-year +16.67% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 73 64 32
10th Percentile £14.44 £20.71 £21.03
25th Percentile £16.70 £28.36 £23.58
Median hourly rate £20.62 £33.45 £27.26
Median % change year-on-year -38.36% +22.69% +23.63%
75th Percentile £27.74 £57.50 £34.20
90th Percentile £31.98 £58.75 £53.01
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.39 £27.06 £25.93
% change year-on-year -24.64% +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 30,662 20,930 22,344
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 55.88% 63.43% 58.20%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,938 13,003 13,276
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 £490
% change year-on-year +5.26% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,585 1,216 1,061
10th Percentile £13.50 £13.50 £14.73
25th Percentile £16.25 £16.17 £17.25
Median hourly rate £29.50 £25.15 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year +17.30% -28.14% +27.27%
75th Percentile £54.50 £47.22 £60.00
90th Percentile £77.50 £67.00 £71.25
UK excluding London median hourly rate £29.96 £21.39 £35.00
% change year-on-year +40.07% -38.89% +29.63%

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 25 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 25 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 25 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 +2 515 £525 +10.53% 668
UK excluding London +15 285 £525 +16.67% 424
London -40 225 £525 +10.53% 291
Work from Home -22 179 £500 +5.26% 322
Midlands +24 80 £500 +25.00% 83
South East -31 71 £637 +45.60% 101
West Midlands +17 60 £513 +2.50% 58
North of England -36 57 £383 -15.00% 114
South West -37 37 £625 +56.25% 47
East of England -9 30 £370 +36.67% 29
Yorkshire -19 29 £513 +32.26% 40
North West -47 27 £340 -24.44% 59
East Midlands +2 19 £500 +73.91% 25
Scotland -27 9 £650 +30.00% 20
Wales -11 4 £425 - 24
North East -43 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 25 (4.36%) SharePoint
2 8 (1.40%) Oracle Workflow
3 6 (1.05%) Apache Airflow
3 6 (1.05%) CMS
4 4 (0.70%) Confluence
4 4 (0.70%) OpenEdge
5 3 (0.52%) Drupal
5 3 (0.52%) Microsoft Exchange
5 3 (0.52%) WordPress
6 2 (0.35%) Apache Spark
7 1 (0.17%) Apache
7 1 (0.17%) govService
7 1 (0.17%) Jupyter
7 1 (0.17%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 28 (4.89%) Microsoft Excel
2 13 (2.27%) Microsoft Office
3 10 (1.75%) Spreadsheet
4 9 (1.57%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.52%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.35%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.35%) Trello
7 1 (0.17%) Gliffy
Business Applications
1 17 (2.97%) NEC Housing
1 17 (2.97%) Oracle Receivables
2 15 (2.62%) ContrOCC
3 14 (2.44%) Oracle Payables
3 14 (2.44%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
4 13 (2.27%) Oracle General Ledger
5 7 (1.22%) Dynamics CRM
5 7 (1.22%) SAP S/4HANA
6 5 (0.87%) iTrent
7 4 (0.70%) SAP ERP
8 2 (0.35%) MIS ActiveH
8 2 (0.35%) SAP CO
8 2 (0.35%) SAP FI
8 2 (0.35%) SAP FI/CO
8 2 (0.35%) SAP Payroll
8 2 (0.35%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
9 1 (0.17%) Oracle EBS
9 1 (0.17%) Payment Gateway
9 1 (0.17%) SAP MM
9 1 (0.17%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 60 (10.47%) Azure
2 51 (8.90%) Power Platform
3 29 (5.06%) AWS
4 20 (3.49%) Microsoft 365
5 17 (2.97%) GCP
5 17 (2.97%) SaaS
6 16 (2.79%) Entra ID
7 12 (2.09%) Azure DevOps
7 12 (2.09%) Dynamics 365
8 11 (1.92%) GitHub
8 11 (1.92%) Miro
9 8 (1.40%) Lucidchart
9 8 (1.40%) PowerApps
10 7 (1.22%) GitHub Actions
10 7 (1.22%) Google Workspace
10 7 (1.22%) Microsoft Purview
10 7 (1.22%) Power Automate
11 6 (1.05%) Azure Key Vault
11 6 (1.05%) Azure Synapse Analytics
11 6 (1.05%) OCI
Communications & Networking
1 16 (2.79%) Firewall
2 11 (1.92%) DNS
3 8 (1.40%) Network Security
4 6 (1.05%) VPN
5 5 (0.87%) DHCP
5 5 (0.87%) LAN
5 5 (0.87%) WAN
6 4 (0.70%) Wi-Fi
7 3 (0.52%) Broadband
7 3 (0.52%) 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 (0.17%) SSL
9 1 (0.17%) Unified Communications
Database & Business Intelligence
1 48 (8.38%) Power BI
2 11 (1.92%) Oracle Reports
3 10 (1.75%) SQL Server
4 8 (1.40%) Metadata
5 7 (1.22%) Data Warehouse
6 6 (1.05%) BusinessObjects
6 6 (1.05%) NoSQL
6 6 (1.05%) Power Query
6 6 (1.05%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 5 (0.87%) GIS
8 4 (0.70%) Amazon RDS
9 3 (0.52%) Apache Hudi
9 3 (0.52%) Azure SQL Database
9 3 (0.52%) PostgreSQL
10 2 (0.35%) Amazon Aurora
10 2 (0.35%) Big Data
10 2 (0.35%) MongoDB
10 2 (0.35%) Redis
10 2 (0.35%) Star Schema
10 2 (0.35%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 10 (1.75%) Jenkins
2 9 (1.57%) JIRA
3 4 (0.70%) GitLab
4 3 (0.52%) Git
5 2 (0.35%) Bitbucket
5 2 (0.35%) Cypress.io
5 2 (0.35%) Mocha
6 1 (0.17%) Capybara
6 1 (0.17%) Oracle APEX
6 1 (0.17%) RSpec
General
1 262 (45.72%) Public Sector
2 187 (32.64%) Social Skills
3 147 (25.65%) Finance
4 98 (17.10%) Analytical Skills
5 46 (8.03%) Organisational Skills
6 27 (4.71%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 24 (4.19%) Influencing Skills
8 23 (4.01%) Legal
9 20 (3.49%) Social Housing
10 11 (1.92%) Police
11 9 (1.57%) Manufacturing
12 8 (1.40%) Back Office
12 8 (1.40%) Documentation Skills
12 8 (1.40%) Fire and Rescue
12 8 (1.40%) Retail
13 6 (1.05%) Publishing
14 5 (0.87%) Banking
15 4 (0.70%) General Ledger
15 4 (0.70%) Presentation Skills
16 3 (0.52%) Law
Job Titles
1 78 (13.61%) Senior
2 77 (13.44%) Analyst
3 72 (12.57%) Lead
4 38 (6.63%) Business Analyst
5 37 (6.46%) Architect
6 32 (5.58%) Developer
7 29 (5.06%) Consultant
8 28 (4.89%) Project Manager
9 27 (4.71%) Support Officer
10 24 (4.19%) Senior Analyst
11 17 (2.97%) Transformation Manager
12 16 (2.79%) Finance Manager
13 15 (2.62%) Data Analyst
14 14 (2.44%) Administrator
14 14 (2.44%) Applications Support
14 14 (2.44%) Designer
14 14 (2.44%) Team Leader
15 12 (2.09%) Information Officer
16 11 (1.92%) Senior Business Analyst
16 11 (1.92%) Systems Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 33 (5.76%) Oracle Fusion
2 16 (2.79%) Terraform
3 14 (2.44%) RESTful
4 6 (1.05%) SAP Fiori
5 5 (0.87%) .NET
5 5 (0.87%) HTML
5 5 (0.87%) REST
6 4 (0.70%) Play Framework
7 3 (0.52%) ARM Templates
7 3 (0.52%) ASP.NET
7 3 (0.52%) ASP.NET Core
7 3 (0.52%) CSS
8 2 (0.35%) Chai
8 2 (0.35%) Express.js
8 2 (0.35%) FHIR
8 2 (0.35%) Jest
8 2 (0.35%) JWT
8 2 (0.35%) Nunjucks
8 2 (0.35%) PySpark
8 2 (0.35%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 40 (6.98%) Management Information System
2 23 (4.01%) Analytical Mindset
3 21 (3.66%) Freedom of Information
4 19 (3.32%) NHS
5 15 (2.62%) Product Ownership
6 13 (2.27%) Onboarding
7 12 (2.09%) Legacy Systems
8 11 (1.92%) Enterprise Software
8 11 (1.92%) Housing Association
9 10 (1.75%) Cloud Native
10 5 (0.87%) Hybrid Cloud
10 5 (0.87%) Public Cloud
11 4 (0.70%) Distributed Systems
11 4 (0.70%) Security Posture
12 3 (0.52%) Cyberattack
12 3 (0.52%) Data Protection Act
12 3 (0.52%) e-Learning
12 3 (0.52%) Manufacturing Execution System
12 3 (0.52%) Mobile App
13 2 (0.35%) Clustering
Operating Systems
1 15 (2.62%) Windows
2 6 (1.05%) Windows 10
3 5 (0.87%) Windows Server
4 3 (0.52%) Linux
5 2 (0.35%) 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
1 126 (21.99%) Stakeholder Management
2 115 (20.07%) Stakeholder Engagement
3 111 (19.37%) Agile
4 87 (15.18%) Decision-Making
5 83 (14.49%) Continuous Improvement
6 64 (11.17%) Service Delivery
7 57 (9.95%) Migration
7 57 (9.95%) Problem-Solving
8 52 (9.08%) Business Intelligence
9 47 (8.20%) Business Analysis
10 45 (7.85%) Data Protection
10 45 (7.85%) Validation
11 44 (7.68%) Project Delivery
11 44 (7.68%) Roadmaps
12 41 (7.16%) Collaborative Working
13 40 (6.98%) AI
13 40 (6.98%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
14 39 (6.81%) Data Governance
14 39 (6.81%) DevOps
15 37 (6.46%) Case Management
Programming Languages
1 48 (8.38%) SQL
2 13 (2.27%) Python
3 11 (1.92%) JavaScript
4 9 (1.57%) PowerShell
5 8 (1.40%) Data Analysis Expressions
6 7 (1.22%) Java
7 4 (0.70%) C#
7 4 (0.70%) Scala
7 4 (0.70%) TypeScript
8 3 (0.52%) ABAP
8 3 (0.52%) Bicep
8 3 (0.52%) Go
9 2 (0.35%) T-SQL
10 1 (0.17%) Bash
10 1 (0.17%) Groovy
10 1 (0.17%) Kusto Query Language
10 1 (0.17%) PL/SQL
10 1 (0.17%) R
10 1 (0.17%) Ruby
10 1 (0.17%) Swift
Qualifications
1 53 (9.25%) Security Cleared
2 46 (8.03%) SC Cleared
3 28 (4.89%) Degree
4 13 (2.27%) BPSS Clearance
5 9 (1.57%) DBS Check
5 9 (1.57%) DV Cleared
6 6 (1.05%) Cisco Certification
7 5 (0.87%) Azure Certification
7 5 (0.87%) CISSP
7 5 (0.87%) ITIL Certification
7 5 (0.87%) Microsoft Certification
8 4 (0.70%) CCNP
9 3 (0.52%) AWS Certification
9 3 (0.52%) CCAB
9 3 (0.52%) CCNA
9 3 (0.52%) CIMA
9 3 (0.52%) CIPFA
9 3 (0.52%) CISM
10 2 (0.35%) (ISC)2 CCSP
10 2 (0.35%) Computer Science Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 56 (9.77%) Data Quality
2 47 (8.20%) GDPR
3 29 (5.06%) Accessibility
3 29 (5.06%) PMO
4 19 (3.32%) QA
5 15 (2.62%) NCSC
6 12 (2.09%) SLA
7 10 (1.75%) WCAG
8 9 (1.57%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 7 (1.22%) Cyber Essentials
10 4 (0.70%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 4 (0.70%) Disclosure Scotland
10 4 (0.70%) IFRS
10 4 (0.70%) NIST
11 2 (0.35%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 2 (0.35%) PCI DSS
12 1 (0.17%) Actionable Recommendations
12 1 (0.17%) Government Security Classifications
12 1 (0.17%) GRC
12 1 (0.17%) SOC 2
System Software
1 13 (2.27%) Docker
2 12 (2.09%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.35%) Hyper-V
3 2 (0.35%) Virtual Machines
3 2 (0.35%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.17%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 13 (2.27%) Kubernetes
2 6 (1.05%) Grafana
3 5 (0.87%) Kibana
3 5 (0.87%) Microsoft Intune
4 2 (0.35%) Failover Clustering
4 2 (0.35%) Single Sign-On
4 2 (0.35%) VxRail
5 1 (0.17%) Ansible
5 1 (0.17%) Argo
5 1 (0.17%) Prometheus
5 1 (0.17%) SCCM
Vendors
1 87 (15.18%) Microsoft
2 45 (7.85%) Oracle
3 24 (4.19%) SAP
4 18 (3.14%) Liquidlogic
4 18 (3.14%) NEC
5 16 (2.79%) Google
6 14 (2.44%) Civica
6 14 (2.44%) ServiceNow
7 9 (1.57%) Northgate
8 7 (1.22%) Databricks
8 7 (1.22%) Orchard
9 6 (1.05%) Palo Alto
10 4 (0.70%) Cisco
10 4 (0.70%) Splunk
11 3 (0.52%) Infoblox
11 3 (0.52%) Juniper
11 3 (0.52%) Kronos
11 3 (0.52%) Sitecore
11 3 (0.52%) VMware
12 2 (0.35%) F5