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 29 May 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
29 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 297 259 251
Rank change year-on-year -38 -8 +129
Contract jobs citing Local Government 409 289 406
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.84% 1.01% 0.95%
As % of the General category 1.55% 1.58% 1.64%
Number of daily rates quoted 293 194 301
10th Percentile £325 £300 £325
25th Percentile £410 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £469 £453
Median % change year-on-year +6.67% +3.59% +0.56%
75th Percentile £600 £550 £565
90th Percentile £688 £638 £638
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £425 £475
% change year-on-year +17.65% -10.53% +18.01%
Number of hourly rates quoted 45 41 61
10th Percentile £16.70 £15.28 £15.39
25th Percentile £20.51 £20.45 £16.00
Median hourly rate £25.38 £27.00 £26.24
Median % change year-on-year -6.00% +2.90% +17.48%
75th Percentile £27.74 £30.40 £34.88
90th Percentile £34.25 £57.50 £42.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.38 £21.49 £21.57
% change year-on-year +18.13% -0.41% -3.09%

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 26,317 18,236 24,705
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 53.80% 63.42% 57.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 15,939 11,561 15,577
10th Percentile £313 £281 £275
25th Percentile £413 £405 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £513 £525
Median % change year-on-year - -2.38% -4.55%
75th Percentile £625 £638 £650
90th Percentile £738 £760 £769
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £475 £490
% change year-on-year +3.58% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,743 807 1,967
10th Percentile £13.76 £13.50 £12.77
25th Percentile £17.69 £16.79 £15.50
Median hourly rate £30.00 £27.50 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year +9.09% -8.33% -7.41%
75th Percentile £60.00 £55.00 £52.50
90th Percentile £80.00 £75.00 £66.84
UK excluding London median hourly rate £29.00 £24.28 £28.13
% change year-on-year +19.46% -13.69% +2.27%

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 29 May 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 29 May 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 29 May 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 -31 395 £500 +6.67% 191
UK excluding London -27 208 £500 +17.65% 166
London -38 187 £505 +6.32% 48
Work from Home +4 135 £500 +9.59% 92
Midlands +15 92 £500 -3.85% 40
West Midlands -3 63 £450 -14.29% 20
East of England -7 30 £425 +41.67% 21
North of England -76 27 £513 +28.13% 39
East Midlands -10 26 £500 -3.85% 20
South West -44 26 £500 +25.00% 27
South East -46 26 £550 +22.22% 39
North West -22 17 £325 -18.75% 19
Yorkshire -66 9 £550 +41.94% 16
Scotland -6 4 £198 -50.63% 7
Wales -10 3 £425 - 3
North East -29 1 £500 -23.08% 6

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 20 (4.89%) SharePoint
2 5 (1.22%) CMS
3 4 (0.98%) OpenEdge
3 4 (0.98%) Oracle Workflow
4 3 (0.73%) Confluence
4 3 (0.73%) Drupal
5 2 (0.49%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.49%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.49%) govService
5 2 (0.49%) Microsoft Exchange
5 2 (0.49%) WordPress
6 1 (0.24%) ArcGIS
6 1 (0.24%) IBM HTTP Server
Applications
1 24 (5.87%) Microsoft Excel
2 9 (2.20%) Microsoft Office
3 6 (1.47%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (1.22%) Spreadsheet
5 3 (0.73%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.49%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.49%) Trello
Business Applications
1 23 (5.62%) SAP S/4HANA
2 20 (4.89%) NEC Housing
3 12 (2.93%) Oracle Receivables
4 10 (2.44%) Oracle General Ledger
4 10 (2.44%) Oracle Payables
4 10 (2.44%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 7 (1.71%) ContrOCC
6 5 (1.22%) Dynamics CRM
7 4 (0.98%) Oracle Financials
7 4 (0.98%) SAP ERP
8 3 (0.73%) iTrent
8 3 (0.73%) Oracle Applications
9 2 (0.49%) Oracle EBS
10 1 (0.24%) Payment Gateway
10 1 (0.24%) SAP CO
10 1 (0.24%) SAP FI
10 1 (0.24%) SAP FI/CO
10 1 (0.24%) SAP HR
10 1 (0.24%) SAP MM
10 1 (0.24%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 39 (9.54%) Azure
2 28 (6.85%) Power Platform
3 27 (6.60%) Microsoft 365
4 19 (4.65%) SaaS
5 15 (3.67%) AWS
6 14 (3.42%) Dynamics 365
7 9 (2.20%) Entra ID
8 7 (1.71%) Microsoft Copilot
9 6 (1.47%) Azure DevOps
9 6 (1.47%) PowerApps
10 5 (1.22%) Power Automate
11 4 (0.98%) Azure Sentinel
11 4 (0.98%) OCI
11 4 (0.98%) SuccessFactors
12 3 (0.73%) Amazon EKS
12 3 (0.73%) Miro
12 3 (0.73%) OneDrive
13 2 (0.49%) Azure Logic Apps
13 2 (0.49%) Azure Monitor
13 2 (0.49%) Azure Service Bus
Communications & Networking
1 8 (1.96%) Firewall
2 6 (1.47%) Network Security
3 5 (1.22%) DHCP
3 5 (1.22%) DNS
4 4 (0.98%) Broadband
4 4 (0.98%) LAN
4 4 (0.98%) VPN
4 4 (0.98%) WAN
5 2 (0.49%) Intranet
5 2 (0.49%) PSTN
5 2 (0.49%) Wi-Fi
6 1 (0.24%) SD-WAN
6 1 (0.24%) Unified Communications
6 1 (0.24%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (5.62%) Power BI
2 19 (4.65%) Oracle Reports
3 9 (2.20%) SQL Server
4 6 (1.47%) GIS
5 3 (0.73%) OLTP
6 2 (0.49%) Amazon Aurora
6 2 (0.49%) Amazon RDS
6 2 (0.49%) Apache Hudi
6 2 (0.49%) Big Data
6 2 (0.49%) BusinessObjects
6 2 (0.49%) Crystal Reports
6 2 (0.49%) MongoDB
6 2 (0.49%) MS Access
6 2 (0.49%) NoSQL
6 2 (0.49%) PostgreSQL
6 2 (0.49%) Presto
6 2 (0.49%) Spatial Data
6 2 (0.49%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 2 (0.49%) Star Schema
7 1 (0.24%) Semantic Layer
Development Applications
1 7 (1.71%) JIRA
2 3 (0.73%) GitLab
3 2 (0.49%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.24%) JUnit
4 1 (0.24%) Oracle APEX
General
1 175 (42.79%) Public Sector
2 128 (31.30%) Finance
3 110 (26.89%) Social Skills
4 35 (8.56%) Analytical Skills
5 22 (5.38%) Legal
6 19 (4.65%) Organisational Skills
7 16 (3.91%) Influencing Skills
8 12 (2.93%) Social Housing
9 8 (1.96%) Fire and Rescue
9 8 (1.96%) Police
9 8 (1.96%) Retail
10 5 (1.22%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 4 (0.98%) Documentation Skills
11 4 (0.98%) Manufacturing
12 3 (0.73%) Back Office
12 3 (0.73%) Marketing
13 2 (0.49%) Banking
13 2 (0.49%) Presentation Skills
14 1 (0.24%) General Ledger
14 1 (0.24%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 53 (12.96%) Analyst
2 52 (12.71%) Senior
3 50 (12.22%) Lead
4 31 (7.58%) Accountant
5 30 (7.33%) Systems Accountant
6 27 (6.60%) Developer
7 25 (6.11%) Business Analyst
8 24 (5.87%) Project Manager
9 22 (5.38%) Architect
10 15 (3.67%) Consultant
11 14 (3.42%) Support Officer
12 12 (2.93%) Finance Manager
13 11 (2.69%) Senior Accountant
13 11 (2.69%) Senior Analyst
13 11 (2.69%) Senior Systems Accountant
13 11 (2.69%) Tester
14 10 (2.44%) Oracle Developer
14 10 (2.44%) Service Manager
14 10 (2.44%) Solutions Architect
14 10 (2.44%) Team Leader
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 32 (7.82%) Oracle Fusion
2 5 (1.22%) Middleware
3 4 (0.98%) CSS
3 4 (0.98%) HTML
3 4 (0.98%) SAP Fiori
4 3 (0.73%) RESTful
5 2 (0.49%) Play Framework
5 2 (0.49%) REST
6 1 (0.24%) .NET
6 1 (0.24%) FHIR
6 1 (0.24%) JSON
6 1 (0.24%) Node.js
6 1 (0.24%) SOAP
6 1 (0.24%) Spring
6 1 (0.24%) Spring Boot
6 1 (0.24%) Web Services
6 1 (0.24%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 34 (8.31%) Management Information System
2 17 (4.16%) Public Cloud
3 16 (3.91%) Legacy Systems
4 14 (3.42%) Data Structures
5 12 (2.93%) NHS
6 10 (2.44%) Freedom of Information
7 8 (1.96%) Housing Association
7 8 (1.96%) Product Ownership
8 7 (1.71%) Driving Licence
8 7 (1.71%) Onboarding
9 5 (1.22%) Enterprise Cloud
9 5 (1.22%) Security Posture
10 4 (0.98%) Enterprise Software
11 3 (0.73%) Cyber Security Posture
11 3 (0.73%) Legacy Code
11 3 (0.73%) Virtual Team
12 2 (0.49%) Cloud Native
12 2 (0.49%) Cyber Threat
12 2 (0.49%) PKI
12 2 (0.49%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 21 (5.13%) Windows
2 7 (1.71%) Linux
2 7 (1.71%) Windows Server
3 5 (1.22%) Windows 10
4 2 (0.49%) Unix
5 1 (0.24%) Android
5 1 (0.24%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 82 (20.05%) Stakeholder Management
2 67 (16.38%) Stakeholder Engagement
3 63 (15.40%) Continuous Improvement
4 51 (12.47%) ERP
5 50 (12.22%) Service Delivery
6 49 (11.98%) Migration
7 48 (11.74%) Decision-Making
8 38 (9.29%) Agile
9 36 (8.80%) Problem-Solving
10 33 (8.07%) Change Management
10 33 (8.07%) Roadmaps
11 31 (7.58%) Digital Transformation Programme
11 31 (7.58%) Project Delivery
12 30 (7.33%) Cybersecurity
13 29 (7.09%) Data Migration
13 29 (7.09%) User Acceptance Testing
14 28 (6.85%) Data Protection
14 28 (6.85%) Validation
15 27 (6.60%) Analytics
16 26 (6.36%) Business Intelligence
Programming Languages
1 29 (7.09%) SQL
2 4 (0.98%) Java
2 4 (0.98%) JavaScript
2 4 (0.98%) PL/SQL
2 4 (0.98%) Python
3 3 (0.73%) ABAP
3 3 (0.73%) Data Analysis Expressions
3 3 (0.73%) PowerShell
3 3 (0.73%) ProC
3 3 (0.73%) Shell Script
4 2 (0.49%) C#
4 2 (0.49%) Scala
4 2 (0.49%) T-SQL
5 1 (0.24%) Apex Code
5 1 (0.24%) Bash
5 1 (0.24%) C
5 1 (0.24%) Korn
5 1 (0.24%) R
5 1 (0.24%) Search Processing Language
Qualifications
1 14 (3.42%) Degree
2 13 (3.18%) DBS Check
3 10 (2.44%) Security Cleared
4 9 (2.20%) BPSS Clearance
5 7 (1.71%) SC Cleared
6 6 (1.47%) NVQ Level 3
7 4 (0.98%) CIPFA
7 4 (0.98%) CISSP
8 3 (0.73%) CISM
8 3 (0.73%) SAP Certification
9 2 (0.49%) CCAB
9 2 (0.49%) Cisco Certification
9 2 (0.49%) DV Cleared
9 2 (0.49%) IIBA
9 2 (0.49%) ISEB
9 2 (0.49%) ISTQB
9 2 (0.49%) ITIL Certification
9 2 (0.49%) PMI Certification
9 2 (0.49%) PMP
9 2 (0.49%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (6.60%) Data Quality
2 25 (6.11%) GDPR
3 12 (2.93%) Accessibility
4 10 (2.44%) QA
5 7 (1.71%) NCSC
5 7 (1.71%) PMO
5 7 (1.71%) SLA
6 6 (1.47%) Cyber Essentials
6 6 (1.47%) PCI DSS
6 6 (1.47%) WCAG
7 4 (0.98%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 3 (0.73%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 3 (0.73%) PERC
9 2 (0.49%) Actionable Recommendations
9 2 (0.49%) GRC
10 1 (0.24%) BS7666
10 1 (0.24%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.24%) IFRS
10 1 (0.24%) NIST
System Software
1 9 (2.20%) Active Directory
2 5 (1.22%) Hyper-V
2 5 (1.22%) VMware Infrastructure
3 3 (0.73%) Docker
4 1 (0.24%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 3 (0.73%) Microsoft Intune
1 3 (0.73%) Prometheus
1 3 (0.73%) Terraform
2 2 (0.49%) Grafana
2 2 (0.49%) Kibana
2 2 (0.49%) Kubernetes
2 2 (0.49%) SCCM
3 1 (0.24%) FortiGate
Vendors
1 70 (17.11%) Microsoft
2 49 (11.98%) Oracle
3 39 (9.54%) SAP
4 21 (5.13%) NEC
5 8 (1.96%) Civica
6 7 (1.71%) Liquidlogic
6 7 (1.71%) VMware
7 4 (0.98%) Ariba
7 4 (0.98%) Orchard
8 3 (0.73%) Dynatrace
8 3 (0.73%) Salesforce
8 3 (0.73%) ServiceNow
8 3 (0.73%) Splunk
9 2 (0.49%) Blue Prism
9 2 (0.49%) Google
9 2 (0.49%) OneLogin
9 2 (0.49%) Palo Alto
9 2 (0.49%) Ribbon
9 2 (0.49%) Sitecore
9 2 (0.49%) UiPath