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 5 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
5 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 292 199 274
Rank change year-on-year -93 +75 +134
Contract jobs citing Local Government 339 424 368
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.87% 1.36% 0.83%
As % of the General category 1.46% 2.20% 1.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 216 226 264
10th Percentile £350 £298 £267
25th Percentile £406 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £464
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% +2.43% +3.06%
75th Percentile £600 £538 £550
90th Percentile £694 £600 £638
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £450 £475
% change year-on-year +5.50% -5.21% +11.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 53 42 68
10th Percentile £20.42 £20.20 £14.89
25th Percentile £25.00 £22.27 £16.00
Median hourly rate £30.00 £28.80 £21.56
Median % change year-on-year +4.17% +33.60% -6.88%
75th Percentile £44.94 £33.75 £27.36
90th Percentile £57.50 £37.94 £38.28
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.85 £30.00 £18.00
% change year-on-year -23.83% +66.67% -20.72%

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 23,143 19,316 26,116
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 59.12% 62.03% 58.72%
Number of daily rates quoted 14,519 11,556 16,932
10th Percentile £290 £281 £265
25th Percentile £401 £409 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £530
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -0.94% -3.64%
75th Percentile £625 £650 £650
90th Percentile £731 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £481 £500
% change year-on-year -1.14% -3.90% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,414 622 1,614
10th Percentile £13.72 £15.62 £13.00
25th Percentile £16.35 £20.12 £15.03
Median hourly rate £22.83 £29.00 £25.61
Median % change year-on-year -21.28% +13.26% -0.04%
75th Percentile £49.50 £54.69 £55.00
90th Percentile £70.00 £74.65 £67.87
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.51 £27.06 £24.65
% change year-on-year -20.52% +9.79% +6.48%

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 5 February 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 5 February 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 5 February 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 -110 297 £500 +7.87% 218
UK excluding London -102 159 £475 +5.50% 187
London -64 141 £550 +15.79% 61
Work from Home -29 104 £500 +5.26% 97
Midlands -35 56 £406 -21.88% 47
North of England -75 34 £500 +5.26% 36
West Midlands -29 30 £406 -22.62% 36
North West -39 26 £475 - 18
East Midlands -7 25 £395 -24.04% 10
South West -56 25 £463 +5.11% 25
East of England -24 17 £425 - 20
Scotland +18 12 £500 -2.44% 5
South East -51 12 £400 -11.11% 44
Yorkshire -57 6 £675 +35.00% 10
Wales +4 3 - - 13
North East -14 2 £500 +66.67% 9

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 17 (5.01%) SharePoint
2 4 (1.18%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.88%) CMS
4 2 (0.59%) ArcGIS
4 2 (0.59%) Confluence
5 1 (0.29%) Drupal
Applications
1 18 (5.31%) Microsoft Excel
2 8 (2.36%) Microsoft Office
3 4 (1.18%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 4 (1.18%) Microsoft Project
4 2 (0.59%) MS Visio
4 2 (0.59%) Spreadsheet
4 2 (0.59%) Trello
Business Applications
1 27 (7.96%) SAP S/4HANA
2 10 (2.95%) NEC Housing
3 6 (1.77%) SAP ERP
4 5 (1.47%) iTrent
5 3 (0.88%) Oracle Applications
5 3 (0.88%) Unit4 Business World
6 2 (0.59%) Oracle ERP
6 2 (0.59%) SAP HR
6 2 (0.59%) SAP Payroll
7 1 (0.29%) ContrOCC
7 1 (0.29%) Dynamics CRM
7 1 (0.29%) IntelliMatch
7 1 (0.29%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.29%) Oracle EBS R12
7 1 (0.29%) Oracle Payables
7 1 (0.29%) Primavera
7 1 (0.29%) SAP CO
7 1 (0.29%) SAP FI
7 1 (0.29%) SAP FI/CO
Cloud Services
1 39 (11.50%) Azure
2 26 (7.67%) Power Platform
3 16 (4.72%) Microsoft 365
4 14 (4.13%) AWS
4 14 (4.13%) SaaS
5 8 (2.36%) SuccessFactors
6 7 (2.06%) Entra ID
6 7 (2.06%) Microsoft Copilot
7 5 (1.47%) OCI
8 4 (1.18%) Azure DevOps
8 4 (1.18%) IaaS
8 4 (1.18%) PowerApps
9 3 (0.88%) Amazon EKS
9 3 (0.88%) Azure Sentinel
9 3 (0.88%) Dynamics 365
9 3 (0.88%) PaaS
9 3 (0.88%) Power Automate
10 2 (0.59%) Azure Monitor
10 2 (0.59%) Microsoft Purview
10 2 (0.59%) Miro
Communications & Networking
1 14 (4.13%) Firewall
2 9 (2.65%) WAN
2 9 (2.65%) Wi-Fi
3 7 (2.06%) LAN
4 6 (1.77%) SAN
4 6 (1.77%) TCP/IP
4 6 (1.77%) Wireless
5 4 (1.18%) Network Security
6 3 (0.88%) Broadband
6 3 (0.88%) DNS
6 3 (0.88%) SD-WAN
6 3 (0.88%) VLAN
7 2 (0.59%) DHCP
7 2 (0.59%) Internet
7 2 (0.59%) VPN
7 2 (0.59%) WLAN
8 1 (0.29%) Cisco ASA
8 1 (0.29%) Ethernet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 24 (7.08%) Power BI
2 10 (2.95%) Oracle Reports
3 9 (2.65%) GIS
3 9 (2.65%) SQL Server
4 4 (1.18%) OLTP
4 4 (1.18%) PostgreSQL
4 4 (1.18%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 3 (0.88%) Geospatial Data
5 3 (0.88%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 3 (0.88%) Star Schema
6 2 (0.59%) BusinessObjects
6 2 (0.59%) Data Lake
6 2 (0.59%) Data Vault
6 2 (0.59%) MS Access
6 2 (0.59%) Oracle Database
6 2 (0.59%) Power Query
7 1 (0.29%) Crystal Reports
7 1 (0.29%) Data Warehouse
7 1 (0.29%) SAP BW
7 1 (0.29%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 5 (1.47%) JIRA
2 3 (0.88%) GitLab
2 3 (0.88%) Oracle APEX
3 1 (0.29%) Selenium
3 1 (0.29%) SpecFlow
General
1 137 (40.41%) Public Sector
2 93 (27.43%) Finance
3 79 (23.30%) Social Skills
4 20 (5.90%) Analytical Skills
5 19 (5.60%) Fire and Rescue
6 13 (3.83%) Influencing Skills
7 12 (3.54%) Organisational Skills
8 11 (3.24%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 10 (2.95%) Law
9 10 (2.95%) Legal
10 7 (2.06%) Back Office
11 5 (1.47%) Police
12 4 (1.18%) Social Housing
13 3 (0.88%) Marketing
14 2 (0.59%) General Ledger
14 2 (0.59%) Telecoms
14 2 (0.59%) Welsh Language
15 1 (0.29%) Front Office
15 1 (0.29%) Retail
15 1 (0.29%) Social Science
Job Titles
1 47 (13.86%) Analyst
2 45 (13.27%) Senior
3 39 (11.50%) Lead
4 25 (7.37%) Project Manager
5 24 (7.08%) Business Analyst
6 20 (5.90%) Architect
7 16 (4.72%) Applications Support
8 14 (4.13%) Consultant
9 13 (3.83%) Support Officer
10 12 (3.54%) Accountant
10 12 (3.54%) Developer
10 12 (3.54%) Systems Accountant
11 11 (3.24%) Programme Manager
11 11 (3.24%) Project Officer
12 8 (2.36%) Data Manager
12 8 (2.36%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 8 (2.36%) Migration Specialist
12 8 (2.36%) Senior Manager
12 8 (2.36%) Solutions Architect
12 8 (2.36%) Systems Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (2.95%) EDI
2 8 (2.36%) Oracle Fusion
3 6 (1.77%) Middleware
4 2 (0.59%) REST
5 1 (0.29%) CSS
5 1 (0.29%) FHIR
5 1 (0.29%) HTML
5 1 (0.29%) Node.js
5 1 (0.29%) OAuth
5 1 (0.29%) SPFx
5 1 (0.29%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 27 (7.96%) Management Information System
2 18 (5.31%) Public Cloud
3 15 (4.42%) Legacy Systems
4 7 (2.06%) Data Centre
4 7 (2.06%) Data Structures
4 7 (2.06%) Driving Licence
5 6 (1.77%) NHS
6 5 (1.47%) Product Ownership
7 4 (1.18%) Enterprise Cloud
7 4 (1.18%) Enterprise Software
7 4 (1.18%) Onboarding
8 3 (0.88%) Clustering
8 3 (0.88%) Data Protection Act
8 3 (0.88%) Legacy Code
8 3 (0.88%) Team-Oriented Environment
8 3 (0.88%) Virtual Team
9 2 (0.59%) Housing Association
9 2 (0.59%) IVR
9 2 (0.59%) PKI
9 2 (0.59%) Security Posture
Operating Systems
1 16 (4.72%) Windows
2 5 (1.47%) Linux
2 5 (1.47%) Windows Server
3 1 (0.29%) Android
3 1 (0.29%) VMS
3 1 (0.29%) Windows 10
Processes & Methodologies
1 57 (16.81%) Stakeholder Engagement
2 55 (16.22%) ERP
3 50 (14.75%) Stakeholder Management
4 40 (11.80%) Agile
5 39 (11.50%) Decision-Making
5 39 (11.50%) Migration
6 38 (11.21%) Project Management
7 35 (10.32%) Change Management
8 30 (8.85%) Roadmaps
9 29 (8.55%) Continuous Improvement
9 29 (8.55%) Problem-Solving
10 27 (7.96%) Business Intelligence
11 26 (7.67%) User Acceptance Testing
12 23 (6.78%) Service Delivery
13 21 (6.19%) Data Migration
14 19 (5.60%) Business Analysis
14 19 (5.60%) Business Case
14 19 (5.60%) Project Governance
15 18 (5.31%) Data Modelling
15 18 (5.31%) PRINCE2
Programming Languages
1 34 (10.03%) SQL
2 5 (1.47%) PL/SQL
3 3 (0.88%) Data Analysis Expressions
3 3 (0.88%) ProC
3 3 (0.88%) Python
3 3 (0.88%) Shell Script
4 2 (0.59%) C#
4 2 (0.59%) PowerShell
5 1 (0.29%) Bash
5 1 (0.29%) Bicep
5 1 (0.29%) C
5 1 (0.29%) Korn
5 1 (0.29%) R
Qualifications
1 19 (5.60%) Degree
2 10 (2.95%) DBS Check
3 8 (2.36%) BPSS Clearance
4 6 (1.77%) Security Cleared
5 5 (1.47%) NVQ Level 3
6 4 (1.18%) CCNA
6 4 (1.18%) CIPFA
6 4 (1.18%) Cisco Certification
6 4 (1.18%) Computer Science Degree
6 4 (1.18%) HND
6 4 (1.18%) SC Cleared
7 3 (0.88%) CCAB
7 3 (0.88%) CCNP
7 3 (0.88%) CISM
7 3 (0.88%) CISSP
7 3 (0.88%) ISTQB
7 3 (0.88%) JNCIA
7 3 (0.88%) JNCIP
7 3 (0.88%) JNCIS
7 3 (0.88%) SAP Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (4.72%) Data Quality
2 9 (2.65%) PMO
3 8 (2.36%) GDPR
4 7 (2.06%) Accessibility
5 5 (1.47%) Actionable Recommendations
6 4 (1.18%) QA
6 4 (1.18%) SLA
7 3 (0.88%) Disclosure Scotland
8 2 (0.59%) Cyber Essentials
8 2 (0.59%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 2 (0.59%) NIST
8 2 (0.59%) WCAG
9 1 (0.29%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 13 (3.83%) Hyper-V
2 7 (2.06%) Active Directory
3 5 (1.47%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.29%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 7 (2.06%) FortiGate
2 6 (1.77%) Microsoft Intune
3 3 (0.88%) Prometheus
4 2 (0.59%) CSIRT
4 2 (0.59%) QRadar
4 2 (0.59%) SCCM
4 2 (0.59%) Single Sign-On
5 1 (0.29%) Terraform
Vendors
1 42 (12.39%) Microsoft
2 40 (11.80%) SAP
3 32 (9.44%) Oracle
4 16 (4.72%) VMware
5 11 (3.24%) NEC
6 7 (2.06%) Palo Alto
7 6 (1.77%) Liquidlogic
8 5 (1.47%) HP
9 3 (0.88%) Capita
9 3 (0.88%) Cisco
9 3 (0.88%) Dynatrace
9 3 (0.88%) ESRI
9 3 (0.88%) Fortinet
9 3 (0.88%) Juniper
9 3 (0.88%) Workday
10 2 (0.59%) Citrix
10 2 (0.59%) Meraki
10 2 (0.59%) ServiceNow
10 2 (0.59%) Splunk
11 1 (0.29%) ForgeRock