NHS Contract Job Trends

National Health Service (NHS)
UK

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term NHS in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited NHS over the 6 months leading up to 13 August 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
13 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 297 378 308
Rank change year-on-year +81 -70 -81
Contract jobs citing NHS 430 180 280
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.81% 0.55% 0.72%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 2.41% 1.56% 2.37%
Number of daily rates quoted 339 125 193
10th Percentile £300 £208 £157
25th Percentile £350 £300 £218
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £463 £425 £350
Median % change year-on-year +8.82% +21.43% +12.00%
75th Percentile £538 £525 £513
90th Percentile £600 £575 £606
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £405 £338
% change year-on-year +11.11% +19.82% +31.77%
Number of hourly rates quoted 11 11 29
10th Percentile £17.20 £13.08 £14.73
25th Percentile £20.93 £14.87 £15.92
Median hourly rate £26.72 £21.25 £21.80
Median % change year-on-year +25.74% -2.52% +13.66%
75th Percentile £39.81 £30.38 £25.60
90th Percentile £60.00 £32.71 £25.83
UK excluding London median hourly rate £26.72 £17.16 £19.45
% change year-on-year +55.76% -11.81% +1.42%

All Generic Skills
UK

NHS 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 17,871 11,569 11,823
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 33.49% 35.13% 30.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 10,838 7,128 7,571
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £425 £406 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year - -4.55% -
75th Percentile £638 £638 £675
90th Percentile £750 £766 £825
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 995 561 607
10th Percentile £15.00 £15.13 £12.45
25th Percentile £19.34 £18.87 £18.31
Median hourly rate £43.50 £29.33 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year +48.31% -34.82% +12.74%
75th Percentile £70.00 £56.00 £67.20
90th Percentile £85.00 £77.50 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.96 £29.27 £45.00
% change year-on-year +50.19% -34.96% +11.59%

NHS
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing NHS relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

NHS job vacancy trend in the UK

NHS
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NHS.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NHS

NHS
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing NHS over the 6 months to 13 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for NHS in the UK

NHS
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NHS.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NHS

NHS
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing NHS over the 6 months to 13 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for NHS in the UK

NHS
Top 18 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing NHS within the UK over the 6 months to 13 August 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 +48 340 £475 +5.56% 684
UK excluding London -15 208 £450 +11.11% 568
London +5 150 £481 +13.24% 173
Work from Home +14 135 £450 +13.92% 210
North of England -6 109 £475 -5.00% 176
Yorkshire +1 83 £500 - 75
Wales +3 31 £313 +2.30% 35
North West -31 24 £350 +62.79% 76
South East -62 20 £456 +14.06% 89
East of England -14 13 £223 -1.90% 78
South West -27 12 £546 +33.23% 92
Midlands -50 12 £400 +14.29% 104
Scotland -7 9 £500 +60.00% 4
West Midlands -41 9 £450 +56.79% 56
East Midlands -15 3 £300 -25.00% 48
North East -41 2 - - 27
Channel Islands - 1 £575 -
Northern Ireland - 1 - -

NHS
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 11 (2.56%) Palantir Foundry
2 7 (1.63%) Confluence
3 6 (1.40%) SharePoint
4 2 (0.47%) CMS
4 2 (0.47%) Microsoft Exchange
5 1 (0.23%) Apache Airflow
5 1 (0.23%) nginx
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 4 (0.93%) Microsoft Excel
2 3 (0.70%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (0.70%) Spreadsheet
3 2 (0.47%) MS Visio
3 2 (0.47%) Trello
4 1 (0.23%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 5 (1.16%) SystmOne
2 4 (0.93%) Dynamics CRM
3 3 (0.70%) Oracle EBS
4 2 (0.47%) Lorenzo
5 1 (0.23%) Cerner Millennium
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle Assets
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle Cash Management
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle Financials
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle General Ledger
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle Payables
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle Receivables
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
Cloud Services
1 73 (16.98%) Azure
2 59 (13.72%) AWS
3 33 (7.67%) Power Platform
4 28 (6.51%) Serverless
5 20 (4.65%) Amazon S3
6 19 (4.42%) AWS Lambda
7 18 (4.19%) GitHub
8 14 (3.26%) PowerApps
9 13 (3.02%) Azure DevOps
9 13 (3.02%) Microsoft 365
10 12 (2.79%) Amazon EC2
10 12 (2.79%) GitHub Actions
11 8 (1.86%) GCP
12 7 (1.63%) Azure Data Factory
12 7 (1.63%) Entra ID
13 6 (1.40%) AWS Step Functions
13 6 (1.40%) Azure Functions
13 6 (1.40%) Azure Key Vault
14 5 (1.16%) Azure Synapse Analytics
14 5 (1.16%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 10 (2.33%) Firewall
1 10 (2.33%) LAN
2 8 (1.86%) WAN
3 5 (1.16%) NGFW
4 4 (0.93%) DNS
4 4 (0.93%) Network Security
4 4 (0.93%) Structured Cabling
4 4 (0.93%) Wireless
5 2 (0.47%) Cisco ISE
5 2 (0.47%) TCP/IP
6 1 (0.23%) DHCP
6 1 (0.23%) VPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 39 (9.07%) Electronic Patient Records
2 17 (3.95%) Power BI
3 16 (3.72%) Data Warehouse
3 16 (3.72%) SQL Server
4 9 (2.09%) Amazon RDS
5 8 (1.86%) DynamoDB
6 6 (1.40%) Amazon Athena
6 6 (1.40%) Azure SQL Database
7 4 (0.93%) BusinessObjects
7 4 (0.93%) Data Lake
7 4 (0.93%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 4 (0.93%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 3 (0.70%) OLAP
8 3 (0.70%) Relational Database
9 2 (0.47%) Amazon Redshift
9 2 (0.47%) Delta Lake
9 2 (0.47%) Geospatial Data
9 2 (0.47%) NoSQL
9 2 (0.47%) Semantic Layer
9 2 (0.47%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 12 (2.79%) Git
2 7 (1.63%) JIRA
3 6 (1.40%) GitLab
4 3 (0.70%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.70%) JMeter
5 2 (0.47%) Cypress.io
5 2 (0.47%) Selenium
6 1 (0.23%) Cucumber
6 1 (0.23%) JUnit
6 1 (0.23%) LoadRunner
6 1 (0.23%) Postman
6 1 (0.23%) SonarQube
General
1 160 (37.21%) Public Sector
2 126 (29.30%) Social Skills
3 31 (7.21%) Analytical Skills
4 28 (6.51%) Finance
5 19 (4.42%) Local Government
6 17 (3.95%) Digital Health
7 15 (3.49%) Influencing Skills
8 9 (2.09%) Digital Healthcare
8 9 (2.09%) Documentation Skills
9 6 (1.40%) Health Technology
9 6 (1.40%) Pharmaceutical
10 4 (0.93%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 4 (0.93%) Law
10 4 (0.93%) Military
10 4 (0.93%) Organisational Skills
11 3 (0.70%) Billing
11 3 (0.70%) Legal
11 3 (0.70%) Marketing
11 3 (0.70%) Social Housing
12 2 (0.47%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 48 (11.16%) Developer
2 46 (10.70%) Senior
3 45 (10.47%) Analyst
4 43 (10.00%) Architect
5 32 (7.44%) Lead
6 30 (6.98%) Business Analyst
7 28 (6.51%) Designer
8 27 (6.28%) Project Manager
9 23 (5.35%) Data Engineer
10 19 (4.42%) User Researcher
11 17 (3.95%) Consultant
12 15 (3.49%) Service Designer
13 14 (3.26%) Data Architect
13 14 (3.26%) Solutions Architect
14 12 (2.79%) Delivery Manager
14 12 (2.79%) Healthcare Manager
14 12 (2.79%) NHS Project Manager
15 10 (2.33%) Senior Manager
16 9 (2.09%) Python Developer
16 9 (2.09%) Senior User Researcher
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 30 (6.98%) FHIR
2 15 (3.49%) REST
3 11 (2.56%) PySpark
3 11 (2.56%) RESTful
4 10 (2.33%) .NET
5 9 (2.09%) Playwright
5 9 (2.09%) React
6 6 (1.40%) Node.js
6 6 (1.40%) Vue
7 5 (1.16%) ADO
7 5 (1.16%) CSS
7 5 (1.16%) HTML
7 5 (1.16%) JSON
7 5 (1.16%) OpenID
8 4 (0.93%) ARM Templates
8 4 (0.93%) OAuth
8 4 (0.93%) OAuth2
8 4 (0.93%) Oracle Fusion
8 4 (0.93%) XML
9 3 (0.70%) Flask
Miscellaneous
1 27 (6.28%) Cloud Native
2 24 (5.58%) Product Ownership
3 18 (4.19%) Onboarding
4 10 (2.33%) Data Structures
5 8 (1.86%) Management Information System
6 7 (1.63%) IoT
6 7 (1.63%) Legacy Systems
7 6 (1.40%) LIMS
8 5 (1.16%) Driving Licence
8 5 (1.16%) Security Posture
9 4 (0.93%) Data Protection Act
9 4 (0.93%) Mobile App
9 4 (0.93%) Replication
10 3 (0.70%) Analytical Mindset
10 3 (0.70%) Data Centre
10 3 (0.70%) Distributed Systems
10 3 (0.70%) Life Science
10 3 (0.70%) Low-Code
11 2 (0.47%) Housing Association
11 2 (0.47%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 8 (1.86%) Windows
2 5 (1.16%) Windows Server
3 3 (0.70%) Linux
4 2 (0.47%) Android
4 2 (0.47%) Apple iOS
4 2 (0.47%) Mac OS
5 1 (0.23%) CentOS
5 1 (0.23%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 1 (0.23%) Ubuntu
5 1 (0.23%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 152 (35.35%) Agile
2 86 (20.00%) Stakeholder Management
3 73 (16.98%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 63 (14.65%) CI/CD
5 51 (11.86%) Analytics
6 48 (11.16%) DevOps
7 45 (10.47%) Continuous Improvement
8 43 (10.00%) Problem-Solving
9 42 (9.77%) Migration
10 41 (9.53%) User Research
11 40 (9.30%) Infrastructure as Code
12 37 (8.60%) Decision-Making
13 35 (8.14%) Digital Transformation Programme
13 35 (8.14%) User-Centered Design (UCD)
14 34 (7.91%) Validation
14 34 (7.91%) Workshop Facilitation
15 32 (7.44%) Service Design
16 31 (7.21%) AI
17 29 (6.74%) Scrum
18 28 (6.51%) Business Intelligence
Programming Languages
1 44 (10.23%) SQL
2 41 (9.53%) Python
3 17 (3.95%) JavaScript
4 15 (3.49%) TypeScript
5 10 (2.33%) Java
6 9 (2.09%) C#
7 7 (1.63%) T-SQL
8 5 (1.16%) Bicep
8 5 (1.16%) PowerShell
9 2 (0.47%) Bash
10 1 (0.23%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 1 (0.23%) Kusto Query Language
10 1 (0.23%) MUMPS
10 1 (0.23%) R
Qualifications
1 43 (10.00%) Security Cleared
2 34 (7.91%) SC Cleared
3 24 (5.58%) BPSS Clearance
4 12 (2.79%) Degree
5 5 (1.16%) AWS Certification
6 4 (0.93%) JNCIP
6 4 (0.93%) JNCIS
6 4 (0.93%) Microsoft Certification
7 3 (0.70%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
7 3 (0.70%) Azure Certification
8 2 (0.47%) Cisco Certification
8 2 (0.47%) DV Cleared
8 2 (0.47%) PMI Certification
8 2 (0.47%) PMP
8 2 (0.47%) Postgraduate
9 1 (0.23%) (ISC)2 CCSP
9 1 (0.23%) DBS Check
9 1 (0.23%) Master's Degree
9 1 (0.23%) Numerate Degree
9 1 (0.23%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (7.21%) Accessibility
2 29 (6.74%) Data Quality
2 29 (6.74%) HL7
3 25 (5.81%) QA
4 21 (4.88%) GDPR
5 17 (3.95%) PMO
5 17 (3.95%) WCAG
6 13 (3.02%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 8 (1.86%) SNOMED CT
8 5 (1.16%) NCSC
9 4 (0.93%) Actionable Recommendations
9 4 (0.93%) DICOM
9 4 (0.93%) Disclosure Scotland
10 3 (0.70%) Cyber Essentials
10 3 (0.70%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 3 (0.70%) IEC 62304
11 2 (0.47%) ISO 13485
11 2 (0.47%) NIST
12 1 (0.23%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 1 (0.23%) IASME
System Software
1 18 (4.19%) Docker
2 8 (1.86%) Active Directory
3 2 (0.47%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.23%) Hyper-V
4 1 (0.23%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 39 (9.07%) Terraform
2 14 (3.26%) Kubernetes
3 2 (0.47%) Grafana
3 2 (0.47%) Jamf Pro
3 2 (0.47%) Microsoft Intune
3 2 (0.47%) Nessus
4 1 (0.23%) Ansible
4 1 (0.23%) Prometheus
4 1 (0.23%) Puppet
Vendors
1 56 (13.02%) Microsoft
2 18 (4.19%) Palantir
3 15 (3.49%) Foundry
4 12 (2.79%) Databricks
5 10 (2.33%) Oracle
6 8 (1.86%) Brio
6 8 (1.86%) ServiceNow
7 7 (1.63%) Google
8 5 (1.16%) Adobe
8 5 (1.16%) Cisco
8 5 (1.16%) InterSystems
8 5 (1.16%) VMware
9 4 (0.93%) Juniper
9 4 (0.93%) Palo Alto
9 4 (0.93%) Splunk
10 3 (0.70%) Cerner
11 2 (0.47%) Blue Prism
11 2 (0.47%) Citrix
11 2 (0.47%) Dynatrace
11 2 (0.47%) SAP