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 10 October 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 245 256 197
Rank change year-on-year +11 -59 +127
Contract jobs citing Local Government 585 339 476
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.07% 1.02% 1.26%
As % of the General category 1.90% 1.62% 2.14%
Number of daily rates quoted 420 220 249
10th Percentile £311 £268 £300
25th Percentile £400 £393 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £475 £450
Median % change year-on-year +10.53% +5.56% -
75th Percentile £614 £568 £538
90th Percentile £738 £653 £605
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £459 £450
% change year-on-year +14.40% +1.98% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 70 66 36
10th Percentile £13.90 £20.75 £20.47
25th Percentile £16.62 £29.00 £23.37
Median hourly rate £20.62 £34.00 £31.37
Median % change year-on-year -39.37% +8.38% +56.30%
75th Percentile £28.00 £57.50 £34.20
90th Percentile £31.94 £58.75 £49.04
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.10 £25.06 £31.12
% change year-on-year -19.78% -19.49% +55.06%

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 30,832 20,956 22,240
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 56.48% 63.27% 58.64%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,899 13,033 13,139
10th Percentile £313 £275 £281
25th Percentile £420 £400 £411
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 £740 £738 £763
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £480
% change year-on-year +5.26% -1.04% -4.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,749 1,247 954
10th Percentile £13.46 £13.51 £14.73
25th Percentile £16.01 £16.17 £17.00
Median hourly rate £27.50 £25.00 £32.50
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -23.08% +18.18%
75th Percentile £53.75 £45.00 £60.00
90th Percentile £77.50 £67.00 £72.20
UK excluding London median hourly rate £27.50 £21.39 £31.97
% change year-on-year +28.56% -33.09% +21.79%

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 10 October 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 10 October 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 10 October 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 +11 519 £525 +10.53% 792
UK excluding London +29 281 £525 +14.40% 472
London -24 236 £525 +10.53% 345
Work from Home -23 175 £500 +5.26% 324
Midlands +24 77 £500 +25.00% 77
South East -25 74 £600 +37.14% 123
West Midlands +8 57 £375 -37.50% 50
North of England -52 57 £383 -15.00% 140
South West -29 32 £638 +55.49% 56
Yorkshire -12 29 £550 +41.94% 54
East of England -12 29 £370 -26.00% 42
North West -44 27 £340 -24.44% 71
East Midlands 0 19 £500 +73.91% 27
Scotland -17 11 £600 +20.00% 15
Wales -9 4 £425 - 26
North East -43 1 - - 18

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 29 (4.96%) SharePoint
2 8 (1.37%) Oracle Workflow
3 7 (1.20%) Apache Airflow
3 7 (1.20%) CMS
4 5 (0.85%) Confluence
5 4 (0.68%) Microsoft Exchange
6 3 (0.51%) WordPress
7 2 (0.34%) Apache Spark
7 2 (0.34%) Drupal
7 2 (0.34%) OpenEdge
8 1 (0.17%) Apache
8 1 (0.17%) govService
8 1 (0.17%) Jupyter
8 1 (0.17%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 33 (5.64%) Microsoft Excel
2 15 (2.56%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (1.54%) MS Visio
3 9 (1.54%) Spreadsheet
4 3 (0.51%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.34%) Trello
6 1 (0.17%) Gliffy
Business Applications
1 15 (2.56%) NEC Housing
2 14 (2.39%) Oracle Receivables
3 13 (2.22%) ContrOCC
4 11 (1.88%) Oracle Payables
4 11 (1.88%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 10 (1.71%) Oracle General Ledger
6 7 (1.20%) SAP S/4HANA
7 6 (1.03%) Dynamics CRM
8 5 (0.85%) iTrent
9 4 (0.68%) SAP ERP
10 3 (0.51%) SystmOne
10 3 (0.51%) Unit4 Business World
11 2 (0.34%) MIS ActiveH
11 2 (0.34%) SAP CO
11 2 (0.34%) SAP FI
11 2 (0.34%) SAP FI/CO
11 2 (0.34%) SAP Payroll
11 2 (0.34%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
12 1 (0.17%) Orchard Housing
12 1 (0.17%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 63 (10.77%) Azure
2 51 (8.72%) Power Platform
3 32 (5.47%) AWS
4 22 (3.76%) Microsoft 365
5 17 (2.91%) Entra ID
5 17 (2.91%) GCP
5 17 (2.91%) SaaS
6 14 (2.39%) Azure DevOps
7 13 (2.22%) GitHub
8 11 (1.88%) Dynamics 365
8 11 (1.88%) Miro
9 9 (1.54%) GitHub Actions
9 9 (1.54%) Google Workspace
10 8 (1.37%) Lucidchart
10 8 (1.37%) Microsoft Purview
10 8 (1.37%) Power Automate
10 8 (1.37%) PowerApps
11 7 (1.20%) Azure Key Vault
12 6 (1.03%) Azure Synapse Analytics
12 6 (1.03%) OCI
Communications & Networking
1 16 (2.74%) Firewall
2 11 (1.88%) DNS
3 7 (1.20%) Network Security
4 6 (1.03%) VPN
5 5 (0.85%) DHCP
5 5 (0.85%) LAN
5 5 (0.85%) WAN
6 4 (0.68%) Wi-Fi
7 3 (0.51%) Broadband
7 3 (0.51%) TCP/IP
8 2 (0.34%) PSTN
8 2 (0.34%) Remote Desktop
8 2 (0.34%) VSAN
9 1 (0.17%) Intranet
9 1 (0.17%) SSL
9 1 (0.17%) Unified Communications
Database & Business Intelligence
1 48 (8.21%) Power BI
2 8 (1.37%) Metadata
2 8 (1.37%) SQL Server
3 7 (1.20%) Data Warehouse
4 6 (1.03%) BusinessObjects
4 6 (1.03%) NoSQL
4 6 (1.03%) Oracle Reports
4 6 (1.03%) Power Query
5 5 (0.85%) GIS
5 5 (0.85%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 4 (0.68%) Amazon RDS
6 4 (0.68%) Azure SQL Database
7 3 (0.51%) Apache Hudi
7 3 (0.51%) PostgreSQL
8 2 (0.34%) Amazon Aurora
8 2 (0.34%) Big Data
8 2 (0.34%) MongoDB
8 2 (0.34%) Redis
8 2 (0.34%) Spatial Data
8 2 (0.34%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 11 (1.88%) Jenkins
2 10 (1.71%) JIRA
3 4 (0.68%) Cypress.io
3 4 (0.68%) GitLab
4 3 (0.51%) Git
5 2 (0.34%) Bitbucket
5 2 (0.34%) Mocha
5 2 (0.34%) MSI
5 2 (0.34%) Postman
5 2 (0.34%) Selenium
6 1 (0.17%) Capybara
6 1 (0.17%) Oracle APEX
6 1 (0.17%) RSpec
General
1 269 (45.98%) Public Sector
2 196 (33.50%) Social Skills
3 152 (25.98%) Finance
4 109 (18.63%) Analytical Skills
5 46 (7.86%) Organisational Skills
6 27 (4.62%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 25 (4.27%) Influencing Skills
8 23 (3.93%) Legal
9 20 (3.42%) Social Housing
10 12 (2.05%) Manufacturing
11 11 (1.88%) Police
12 8 (1.37%) Back Office
12 8 (1.37%) Fire and Rescue
12 8 (1.37%) Retail
13 7 (1.20%) Documentation Skills
14 6 (1.03%) Publishing
15 5 (0.85%) Banking
16 4 (0.68%) General Ledger
16 4 (0.68%) Presentation Skills
17 3 (0.51%) Billing
Job Titles
1 79 (13.50%) Senior
2 74 (12.65%) Analyst
2 74 (12.65%) Lead
3 41 (7.01%) Architect
4 37 (6.32%) Business Analyst
5 34 (5.81%) Consultant
6 31 (5.30%) Developer
7 30 (5.13%) Support Officer
8 29 (4.96%) Project Manager
9 21 (3.59%) Senior Analyst
10 17 (2.91%) Administrator
11 16 (2.74%) Transformation Manager
12 15 (2.56%) Applications Support
12 15 (2.56%) Designer
12 15 (2.56%) Team Leader
13 13 (2.22%) Data Analyst
13 13 (2.22%) Finance Manager
14 12 (2.05%) Information Officer
15 11 (1.88%) Senior Business Analyst
16 10 (1.71%) Programme Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 29 (4.96%) Oracle Fusion
2 17 (2.91%) Terraform
3 15 (2.56%) RESTful
4 6 (1.03%) .NET
5 5 (0.85%) HTML
5 5 (0.85%) Play Framework
5 5 (0.85%) REST
5 5 (0.85%) SAP Fiori
6 4 (0.68%) ASP.NET
7 3 (0.51%) ARM Templates
7 3 (0.51%) ASP.NET Core
7 3 (0.51%) CSS
8 2 (0.34%) Chai
8 2 (0.34%) Express.js
8 2 (0.34%) FHIR
8 2 (0.34%) Jest
8 2 (0.34%) JWT
8 2 (0.34%) Node.js
8 2 (0.34%) Nunjucks
8 2 (0.34%) PySpark
Miscellaneous
1 45 (7.69%) Management Information System
2 28 (4.79%) Analytical Mindset
3 23 (3.93%) Freedom of Information
4 17 (2.91%) NHS
4 17 (2.91%) Product Ownership
5 14 (2.39%) Enterprise Software
6 12 (2.05%) Housing Association
6 12 (2.05%) Onboarding
7 11 (1.88%) Cloud Native
7 11 (1.88%) Legacy Systems
8 7 (1.20%) Manufacturing Execution System
9 5 (0.85%) Hybrid Cloud
9 5 (0.85%) Public Cloud
10 4 (0.68%) Distributed Systems
11 3 (0.51%) Cyberattack
11 3 (0.51%) e-Learning
11 3 (0.51%) Freedom of Information Act
11 3 (0.51%) Mobile App
11 3 (0.51%) Security Posture
11 3 (0.51%) SystemC
Operating Systems
1 18 (3.08%) Windows
2 8 (1.37%) Windows 10
3 5 (0.85%) Windows Server
4 3 (0.51%) Linux
5 2 (0.34%) 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
1 130 (22.22%) Stakeholder Management
2 122 (20.85%) Agile
3 112 (19.15%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 86 (14.70%) Decision-Making
5 85 (14.53%) Continuous Improvement
6 60 (10.26%) Migration
6 60 (10.26%) Problem-Solving
6 60 (10.26%) Service Delivery
7 55 (9.40%) Business Analysis
8 52 (8.89%) Business Intelligence
9 46 (7.86%) DevOps
9 46 (7.86%) Validation
10 45 (7.69%) AI
10 45 (7.69%) Data Protection
10 45 (7.69%) Project Delivery
10 45 (7.69%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
11 43 (7.35%) Roadmaps
12 38 (6.50%) Collaborative Working
12 38 (6.50%) Customer Service
12 38 (6.50%) Service Design
Programming Languages
1 48 (8.21%) SQL
2 15 (2.56%) Python
3 12 (2.05%) JavaScript
4 10 (1.71%) PowerShell
5 8 (1.37%) Data Analysis Expressions
6 7 (1.20%) C#
6 7 (1.20%) Java
7 5 (0.85%) Scala
8 4 (0.68%) TypeScript
9 3 (0.51%) Bicep
9 3 (0.51%) Go
10 2 (0.34%) ABAP
10 2 (0.34%) Ruby
10 2 (0.34%) T-SQL
11 1 (0.17%) Groovy
11 1 (0.17%) Kusto Query Language
11 1 (0.17%) PL/SQL
11 1 (0.17%) Swift
11 1 (0.17%) VB
11 1 (0.17%) VBA
Qualifications
1 60 (10.26%) Security Cleared
2 52 (8.89%) SC Cleared
3 30 (5.13%) Degree
4 16 (2.74%) BPSS Clearance
5 9 (1.54%) DBS Check
5 9 (1.54%) DV Cleared
6 7 (1.20%) CCAB
7 6 (1.03%) Cisco Certification
7 6 (1.03%) Microsoft Certification
8 5 (0.85%) Azure Certification
8 5 (0.85%) CISSP
8 5 (0.85%) ITIL Certification
9 4 (0.68%) AWS Certification
9 4 (0.68%) CCNP
10 3 (0.51%) CCNA
10 3 (0.51%) CIMA
10 3 (0.51%) CIPFA
10 3 (0.51%) CISM
11 2 (0.34%) ACCA
11 2 (0.34%) CCSP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 56 (9.57%) Data Quality
2 47 (8.03%) GDPR
3 31 (5.30%) Accessibility
4 30 (5.13%) PMO
5 19 (3.25%) QA
6 14 (2.39%) NCSC
7 12 (2.05%) SLA
8 10 (1.71%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 10 (1.71%) WCAG
9 7 (1.20%) Cyber Essentials
10 5 (0.85%) Disclosure Scotland
11 4 (0.68%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 4 (0.68%) IFRS
11 4 (0.68%) NIST
12 2 (0.34%) GRC
12 2 (0.34%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 2 (0.34%) PCI DSS
12 2 (0.34%) SOC 2
13 1 (0.17%) Actionable Recommendations
13 1 (0.17%) Government Security Classifications
System Software
1 15 (2.56%) Docker
2 13 (2.22%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.34%) Hyper-V
3 2 (0.34%) Virtual Machines
3 2 (0.34%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.17%) Firmware
4 1 (0.17%) Microsoft App-V
Systems Management
1 14 (2.39%) Kubernetes
2 7 (1.20%) Grafana
2 7 (1.20%) Microsoft Intune
3 6 (1.03%) Kibana
4 3 (0.51%) Single Sign-On
5 2 (0.34%) Failover Clustering
5 2 (0.34%) VxRail
6 1 (0.17%) Ansible
6 1 (0.17%) Argo
6 1 (0.17%) Prometheus
6 1 (0.17%) SCCM
Vendors
1 93 (15.90%) Microsoft
2 39 (6.67%) Oracle
3 22 (3.76%) SAP
4 19 (3.25%) Liquidlogic
5 18 (3.08%) Google
6 16 (2.74%) NEC
7 14 (2.39%) ServiceNow
8 11 (1.88%) Civica
9 9 (1.54%) Northgate
10 7 (1.20%) Databricks
11 6 (1.03%) Palo Alto
12 5 (0.85%) Orchard
13 4 (0.68%) Cisco
13 4 (0.68%) Splunk
14 3 (0.51%) Infoblox
14 3 (0.51%) Juniper
14 3 (0.51%) Kronos
14 3 (0.51%) Sitecore
14 3 (0.51%) VMware
15 2 (0.34%) F5