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

6 months to
15 Feb 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 300 198 275
Rank change year-on-year -102 +77 +136
Contract jobs citing Local Government 333 415 373
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.83% 1.34% 0.83%
As % of the General category 1.42% 2.17% 1.42%
Number of daily rates quoted 217 224 264
10th Percentile £350 £298 £275
25th Percentile £406 £399 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £463 £475
Median % change year-on-year +8.11% -2.63% +5.56%
75th Percentile £600 £538 £575
90th Percentile £693 £600 £638
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £450 £475
% change year-on-year - -5.26% +11.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 46 40 69
10th Percentile £20.18 £19.90 £15.05
25th Percentile £22.89 £21.89 £16.00
Median hourly rate £30.00 £28.60 £22.00
Median % change year-on-year +4.90% +30.00% -4.97%
75th Percentile £44.94 £33.75 £28.44
90th Percentile £57.50 £37.27 £38.28
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.85 £29.62 £18.00
% change year-on-year -22.84% +64.53% -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 23,451 19,163 26,334
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 58.69% 62.00% 58.71%
Number of daily rates quoted 14,684 11,535 16,994
10th Percentile £293 £285 £266
25th Percentile £403 £408 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £625 £649 £650
90th Percentile £738 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £479 £500
% change year-on-year -0.84% -4.20% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,446 605 1,635
10th Percentile £13.70 £15.62 £13.00
25th Percentile £16.36 £20.12 £15.00
Median hourly rate £22.85 £29.00 £25.25
Median % change year-on-year -21.21% +14.85% -4.72%
75th Percentile £50.00 £57.50 £53.75
90th Percentile £71.75 £75.00 £67.71
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.80 £27.00 £24.00
% change year-on-year -19.26% +12.50% -3.19%

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 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 15 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 15 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 -112 298 £500 +10.99% 217
UK excluding London -109 163 £450 - 183
London -48 141 £550 +15.79% 62
Work from Home -43 93 £500 +5.26% 103
Midlands -24 62 £413 -20.67% 44
West Midlands -25 35 £406 -22.62% 31
North of England -85 28 £450 -5.26% 36
East Midlands -8 26 £463 -11.06% 12
South West -62 26 £475 +7.95% 28
North West -46 21 £450 -5.26% 23
East of England -26 19 £425 -8.06% 14
South East -53 14 £400 -11.11% 42
Scotland +9 11 £500 -16.67% 6
Yorkshire -69 5 £675 +38.46% 8
Wales +1 3 - - 17
North East -14 2 £500 +66.67% 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 16 (4.80%) SharePoint
2 4 (1.20%) CMS
2 4 (1.20%) Microsoft Exchange
3 2 (0.60%) ArcGIS
3 2 (0.60%) Confluence
4 1 (0.30%) Drupal
Applications
1 16 (4.80%) Microsoft Excel
2 8 (2.40%) Microsoft Office
3 4 (1.20%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 4 (1.20%) Microsoft Project
4 2 (0.60%) MS Visio
4 2 (0.60%) Spreadsheet
4 2 (0.60%) Trello
Business Applications
1 29 (8.71%) SAP S/4HANA
2 14 (4.20%) NEC Housing
3 6 (1.80%) SAP ERP
4 4 (1.20%) iTrent
5 3 (0.90%) Oracle Applications
6 2 (0.60%) Oracle ERP
6 2 (0.60%) SAP HR
6 2 (0.60%) Unit4 Business World
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%) SAP CO
7 1 (0.30%) SAP FI
7 1 (0.30%) SAP FI/CO
7 1 (0.30%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 38 (11.41%) Azure
2 22 (6.61%) Power Platform
3 17 (5.11%) Microsoft 365
4 15 (4.50%) SaaS
5 14 (4.20%) AWS
6 7 (2.10%) Entra ID
6 7 (2.10%) Microsoft Copilot
6 7 (2.10%) SuccessFactors
7 5 (1.50%) OCI
8 4 (1.20%) Azure DevOps
8 4 (1.20%) IaaS
8 4 (1.20%) PowerApps
9 3 (0.90%) Amazon EKS
9 3 (0.90%) Dynamics 365
9 3 (0.90%) PaaS
9 3 (0.90%) Power Automate
10 2 (0.60%) Azure Monitor
10 2 (0.60%) Azure Sentinel
10 2 (0.60%) Microsoft Purview
10 2 (0.60%) Miro
Communications & Networking
1 13 (3.90%) Firewall
2 8 (2.40%) Wi-Fi
3 7 (2.10%) LAN
3 7 (2.10%) WAN
4 6 (1.80%) Wireless
5 4 (1.20%) Broadband
5 4 (1.20%) DNS
5 4 (1.20%) Network Security
5 4 (1.20%) SAN
5 4 (1.20%) TCP/IP
5 4 (1.20%) VLAN
6 3 (0.90%) DHCP
6 3 (0.90%) SD-WAN
7 2 (0.60%) Internet
7 2 (0.60%) VPN
7 2 (0.60%) WLAN
8 1 (0.30%) Cisco ASA
8 1 (0.30%) Ethernet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (6.01%) Power BI
2 10 (3.00%) Oracle Reports
3 7 (2.10%) GIS
3 7 (2.10%) SQL Server
4 4 (1.20%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 4 (1.20%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 3 (0.90%) Geospatial Data
5 3 (0.90%) OLTP
6 2 (0.60%) BusinessObjects
6 2 (0.60%) Data Lake
6 2 (0.60%) MS Access
6 2 (0.60%) Oracle Database
6 2 (0.60%) PostgreSQL
7 1 (0.30%) Metadata
7 1 (0.30%) Power Query
7 1 (0.30%) QGIS
7 1 (0.30%) SAP BW
7 1 (0.30%) SAP HANA
7 1 (0.30%) Semantic Layer
7 1 (0.30%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 5 (1.50%) JIRA
2 3 (0.90%) GitLab
3 1 (0.30%) JUnit
3 1 (0.30%) Oracle APEX
3 1 (0.30%) Selenium
3 1 (0.30%) SpecFlow
General
1 143 (42.94%) Public Sector
2 101 (30.33%) Finance
3 84 (25.23%) Social Skills
4 22 (6.61%) Analytical Skills
5 17 (5.11%) Fire and Rescue
6 13 (3.90%) Influencing Skills
7 11 (3.30%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 10 (3.00%) Legal
9 8 (2.40%) Organisational Skills
10 7 (2.10%) Back Office
10 7 (2.10%) Law
11 5 (1.50%) Police
11 5 (1.50%) Social Housing
12 3 (0.90%) Marketing
13 2 (0.60%) General Ledger
13 2 (0.60%) Welsh Language
14 1 (0.30%) Documentation Skills
14 1 (0.30%) Front Office
14 1 (0.30%) Social Science
Job Titles
1 50 (15.02%) Senior
2 49 (14.71%) Analyst
3 37 (11.11%) Lead
4 27 (8.11%) Business Analyst
5 25 (7.51%) Project Manager
6 19 (5.71%) Architect
7 18 (5.41%) Accountant
7 18 (5.41%) Systems Accountant
8 14 (4.20%) Applications Support
9 13 (3.90%) Support Officer
10 12 (3.60%) Consultant
11 11 (3.30%) Developer
11 11 (3.30%) Programme Manager
11 11 (3.30%) Project Officer
12 9 (2.70%) Solutions Architect
13 8 (2.40%) Administrator
13 8 (2.40%) Financial Analyst
13 8 (2.40%) Project Accountant
13 8 (2.40%) Senior Analyst
13 8 (2.40%) Senior Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (3.00%) EDI
1 10 (3.00%) Oracle Fusion
2 5 (1.50%) Middleware
3 2 (0.60%) CSS
3 2 (0.60%) HTML
3 2 (0.60%) REST
4 1 (0.30%) FHIR
4 1 (0.30%) Node.js
4 1 (0.30%) OAuth
4 1 (0.30%) RESTful
4 1 (0.30%) SPFx
4 1 (0.30%) Spring
4 1 (0.30%) Spring Boot
4 1 (0.30%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 31 (9.31%) Management Information System
2 19 (5.71%) Public Cloud
3 16 (4.80%) Legacy Systems
4 10 (3.00%) Data Structures
5 8 (2.40%) NHS
6 7 (2.10%) Product Ownership
7 6 (1.80%) Driving Licence
8 5 (1.50%) Data Centre
8 5 (1.50%) Onboarding
9 4 (1.20%) Enterprise Cloud
9 4 (1.20%) Enterprise Software
10 3 (0.90%) Data Protection Act
10 3 (0.90%) Legacy Code
10 3 (0.90%) Team-Oriented Environment
10 3 (0.90%) Virtual Team
11 2 (0.60%) PKI
11 2 (0.60%) Security Posture
11 2 (0.60%) Self-Motivation
11 2 (0.60%) Taxonomies
12 1 (0.30%) IoT
Operating Systems
1 17 (5.11%) Windows
2 5 (1.50%) Linux
2 5 (1.50%) Windows Server
3 1 (0.30%) Android
3 1 (0.30%) VMS
3 1 (0.30%) Windows 10
Processes & Methodologies
1 59 (17.72%) ERP
2 55 (16.52%) Stakeholder Engagement
2 55 (16.52%) Stakeholder Management
3 43 (12.91%) Migration
4 41 (12.31%) Agile
5 38 (11.41%) Decision-Making
6 37 (11.11%) Change Management
7 35 (10.51%) Project Management
8 34 (10.21%) Continuous Improvement
9 30 (9.01%) Problem-Solving
9 30 (9.01%) Roadmaps
10 26 (7.81%) User Acceptance Testing
11 24 (7.21%) Service Delivery
12 23 (6.91%) Business Intelligence
13 20 (6.01%) Business Case
13 20 (6.01%) Data Migration
13 20 (6.01%) Project Delivery
14 19 (5.71%) Business Analysis
14 19 (5.71%) Data Protection
14 19 (5.71%) Project Governance
Programming Languages
1 31 (9.31%) SQL
2 5 (1.50%) PL/SQL
3 3 (0.90%) Data Analysis Expressions
3 3 (0.90%) ProC
3 3 (0.90%) Python
3 3 (0.90%) Shell Script
4 2 (0.60%) C#
4 2 (0.60%) PowerShell
5 1 (0.30%) Bash
5 1 (0.30%) Bicep
5 1 (0.30%) C
5 1 (0.30%) Java
5 1 (0.30%) Korn
5 1 (0.30%) R
5 1 (0.30%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 15 (4.50%) Degree
2 11 (3.30%) BPSS Clearance
3 9 (2.70%) Security Cleared
4 8 (2.40%) DBS Check
5 7 (2.10%) SC Cleared
6 5 (1.50%) CCNA
6 5 (1.50%) Cisco Certification
6 5 (1.50%) NVQ Level 3
7 4 (1.20%) CCNP
7 4 (1.20%) CIPFA
7 4 (1.20%) SAP Certification
8 3 (0.90%) CCAB
8 3 (0.90%) ISTQB
8 3 (0.90%) JNCIA
8 3 (0.90%) JNCIP
8 3 (0.90%) JNCIS
9 2 (0.60%) CISM
9 2 (0.60%) CISSP
9 2 (0.60%) HND
9 2 (0.60%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (5.11%) Data Quality
2 10 (3.00%) Accessibility
3 9 (2.70%) GDPR
3 9 (2.70%) PMO
4 5 (1.50%) Actionable Recommendations
4 5 (1.50%) QA
5 3 (0.90%) Disclosure Scotland
5 3 (0.90%) SLA
5 3 (0.90%) WCAG
6 1 (0.30%) Cyber Essentials
6 1 (0.30%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 1 (0.30%) NIST
6 1 (0.30%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 11 (3.30%) Hyper-V
2 8 (2.40%) Active Directory
3 5 (1.50%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.30%) Docker
4 1 (0.30%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 6 (1.80%) Microsoft Intune
2 5 (1.50%) FortiGate
3 3 (0.90%) Prometheus
3 3 (0.90%) SCCM
4 2 (0.60%) Single Sign-On
5 1 (0.30%) CSIRT
5 1 (0.30%) Kubernetes
5 1 (0.30%) QRadar
5 1 (0.30%) Terraform
Vendors
1 41 (12.31%) SAP
2 38 (11.41%) Microsoft
3 30 (9.01%) Oracle
4 14 (4.20%) NEC
4 14 (4.20%) VMware
5 6 (1.80%) Liquidlogic
5 6 (1.80%) Palo Alto
6 4 (1.20%) Cisco
7 3 (0.90%) Ariba
7 3 (0.90%) Dynatrace
7 3 (0.90%) ESRI
7 3 (0.90%) HP
7 3 (0.90%) Juniper
7 3 (0.90%) Workday
8 2 (0.60%) Citrix
8 2 (0.60%) Civica
8 2 (0.60%) Fortinet
8 2 (0.60%) Meraki
8 2 (0.60%) ServiceNow
9 1 (0.30%) Barracuda Networks
251 Local Government jobs Nationwide