Mainframes
UK
The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Mainframe in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Mainframe over the 6 months leading up to 19 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 19 Dec 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 435 | 413 | 431 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -22 | +18 | +118 |
| Contract jobs citing Mainframe | 150 | 132 | 175 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 0.41% | 0.39% | 0.40% |
| As % of the Miscellaneous category | 1.16% | 1.21% | 1.25% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 83 | 78 | 84 |
| 10th Percentile | £313 | £379 | £403 |
| 25th Percentile | £350 | £463 | £430 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £450 | £525 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -14.29% | - | -12.50% |
| 75th Percentile | £531 | £575 | £600 |
| 90th Percentile | £760 | £613 | £710 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £364 | £525 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | -30.71% | +5.00% | +23.46% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10th Percentile | - | - | - |
| 25th Percentile | - | - | £68.75 |
| Median hourly rate | - | £44.04 | £72.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | - | -39.26% | - |
| 75th Percentile | - | - | £76.25 |
| 90th Percentile | - | - | - |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | - | £44.04 | - |
All Generic Skills
UK
Mainframe falls under the General and Transferable Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring generic IT skills.
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for generic IT skills | 12,897 | 10,908 | 13,970 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK | 35.02% | 31.91% | 31.64% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 8,055 | 6,528 | 9,313 |
| 10th Percentile | £275 | £269 | £263 |
| 25th Percentile | £406 | £410 | £413 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £505 | £538 | £550 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -6.05% | -2.27% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £625 | £656 | £668 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £775 | £770 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £475 | £500 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | -5.00% | - | - |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 648 | 339 | 495 |
| 10th Percentile | £13.80 | £17.45 | £16.50 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.03 | £22.86 | £20.50 |
| Median hourly rate | £27.21 | £33.00 | £42.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -17.55% | -22.35% | +21.43% |
| 75th Percentile | £59.31 | £64.63 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £74.26 | £78.47 | £77.20 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £27.50 | £32.50 | £45.21 |
| % change year-on-year | -15.38% | -28.11% | +52.12% |
Mainframe
Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Mainframe relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
Mainframe
Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Mainframe.
Mainframe
Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Mainframe over the 6 months to 19 December 2025.
Mainframe
Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Mainframe.
Mainframe
Top 13 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Mainframe within the UK over the 6 months to 19 December 2025. 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 | +4 | 132 | £425 | -19.05% | 8 |
| UK excluding London | -20 | 66 | £364 | -30.71% | 7 |
| London | -1 | 64 | £493 | -1.50% | 4 |
| Work from Home | -13 | 57 | £486 | -7.38% | 7 |
| North of England | -27 | 44 | £350 | -12.50% | 1 |
| Yorkshire | -27 | 28 | £355 | -24.27% | |
| North West | -18 | 16 | £338 | -15.63% | 1 |
| Midlands | -32 | 11 | £447 | -14.86% | 2 |
| East Midlands | -12 | 7 | £437 | -8.91% | |
| South East | -17 | 7 | £1,000 | +90.48% | 1 |
| West Midlands | -30 | 4 | £499 | -13.26% | 2 |
| Scotland | -10 | 2 | £375 | -31.82% | 3 |
| East of England | -20 | 2 | £475 | - |
Mainframe
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:
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