Pharmaceutical Contract Job Trends

Pharmaceutical (Pharma)
UK

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Pharmaceutical in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Pharmaceutical over the 6 months leading up to 18 March 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
18 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 311 230 204
Rank change year-on-year -81 -26 +148
Contract jobs citing Pharmaceutical 325 348 506
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.75% 1.19% 1.14%
As % of the General category 1.32% 1.89% 1.95%
Number of daily rates quoted 210 224 331
10th Percentile £350 £353 £355
25th Percentile £389 £450 £463
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £550 £525
Median % change year-on-year -6.82% +4.76% +5.00%
75th Percentile £619 £670 £600
90th Percentile £725 £820 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £525 £510
% change year-on-year - +2.94% +13.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 13 21 39
10th Percentile £16.47 £15.00 £17.60
25th Percentile £49.25 £20.00 £20.25
Median hourly rate £70.00 £32.50 £28.50
Median % change year-on-year +115.38% +14.04% -5.00%
75th Percentile £97.50 £33.75 £48.75
90th Percentile - £97.50 £60.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £49.50 £32.50 £21.50
% change year-on-year +52.31% +51.16% +79.17%

All General Skills
UK

Pharmaceutical 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 24,639 18,367 25,993
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 56.94% 62.65% 58.42%
Number of daily rates quoted 15,366 11,681 16,636
10th Percentile £300 £300 £263
25th Percentile £405 £409 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £623 £650 £650
90th Percentile £738 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £490
% change year-on-year - -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,513 669 1,810
10th Percentile £13.69 £15.22 £12.84
25th Percentile £17.00 £20.12 £15.38
Median hourly rate £24.55 £30.00 £26.00
Median % change year-on-year -18.17% +15.38% -23.53%
75th Percentile £56.96 £58.75 £50.00
90th Percentile £76.20 £75.45 £65.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.00 £27.85 £25.00
% change year-on-year -17.41% +11.40% -14.53%

Pharmaceutical
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Pharmaceutical job vacancy trend in the UK

Pharmaceutical
Daily Rate Trend

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

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

Pharmaceutical
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Pharmaceutical over the 6 months to 18 March 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Pharmaceutical in the UK

Pharmaceutical
Hourly Rate Trend

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

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

Pharmaceutical
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Pharmaceutical over the 6 months to 18 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Pharmaceutical in the UK

Pharmaceutical
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 Pharmaceutical within the UK over the 6 months to 18 March 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 -142 237 £520 -5.45% 213
Work from Home -17 133 £500 -9.09% 98
London -2 116 £533 -25.26% 90
UK excluding London -141 95 £525 - 148
East of England -43 39 £500 -9.09% 16
South East -32 25 £491 +130.94% 50
North of England -113 21 £588 +6.82% 41
North West -81 18 £588 +6.82% 31
South West - 6 £700 - 13
Scotland +7 3 £550 +49.66% 3
North East -16 2 - - 3
Wales -7 1 £183 - 4
Yorkshire -60 1 - - 7

Pharmaceutical
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 6 (1.85%) Apache Airflow
2 5 (1.54%) Apache Spark
2 5 (1.54%) Confluence
2 5 (1.54%) SharePoint
3 2 (0.62%) Mendix
3 2 (0.62%) WinCC
4 1 (0.31%) Adobe Experience Manager
4 1 (0.31%) Anypoint
4 1 (0.31%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 25 (7.69%) Microsoft Office
2 11 (3.38%) Microsoft Excel
3 6 (1.85%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (1.23%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.62%) MS Visio
5 2 (0.62%) Weka
Business Applications
1 73 (22.46%) SAP S/4HANA
2 10 (3.08%) SAP EWM
3 7 (2.15%) SAP PM
4 6 (1.85%) SAP MM
4 6 (1.85%) SAP PP
4 6 (1.85%) SAP QM
4 6 (1.85%) SAP WM
5 4 (1.23%) SAP MDG
6 3 (0.92%) SAP SD
7 2 (0.62%) Dynamics CRM
7 2 (0.62%) Sage X3
7 2 (0.62%) SAP ERP
7 2 (0.62%) SAP SCM
7 2 (0.62%) TrackWise
8 1 (0.31%) NetSuite
8 1 (0.31%) SAP EHS
8 1 (0.31%) SAP LE
8 1 (0.31%) SAP Oil and Gas
8 1 (0.31%) SAP PP-PI
8 1 (0.31%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 39 (12.00%) AWS
2 31 (9.54%) Azure
3 23 (7.08%) GCP
4 15 (4.62%) Power Platform
5 14 (4.31%) Microsoft 365
6 13 (4.00%) GitHub
7 10 (3.08%) SaaS
7 10 (3.08%) Snowflake
8 9 (2.77%) Cloud Run
9 7 (2.15%) dbt
10 5 (1.54%) Figma
11 4 (1.23%) Veeva
12 3 (0.92%) Amazon EKS
12 3 (0.92%) Amazon SageMaker
12 3 (0.92%) Azure AKS
12 3 (0.92%) Azure DevOps
12 3 (0.92%) Dynamics 365
12 3 (0.92%) Google Workspace
13 2 (0.62%) Google Kubernetes Engine
13 2 (0.62%) Microsoft Purview
Communications & Networking
1 5 (1.54%) Firewall
1 5 (1.54%) Network Security
2 4 (1.23%) Wireless
3 3 (0.92%) Ethernet
3 3 (0.92%) Modbus
3 3 (0.92%) RS-485
4 2 (0.62%) BGP
4 2 (0.62%) OSPF
5 1 (0.31%) AMQP
5 1 (0.31%) Cisco ICM
5 1 (0.31%) HTTP
5 1 (0.31%) Junos
5 1 (0.31%) RFID
5 1 (0.31%) SD-WAN
5 1 (0.31%) TCP/IP
5 1 (0.31%) Telepresence
5 1 (0.31%) VLAN
5 1 (0.31%) VPN
5 1 (0.31%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 15 (4.62%) Power BI
2 9 (2.77%) Data Lake
3 8 (2.46%) Data Warehouse
4 5 (1.54%) BigQuery
4 5 (1.54%) Tableau
5 4 (1.23%) Metadata
6 3 (0.92%) Electronic Patient Records
7 2 (0.62%) Neo4j
7 2 (0.62%) Oracle Database
7 2 (0.62%) SAP Data Services
7 2 (0.62%) SAP HANA
7 2 (0.62%) SQL Server
7 2 (0.62%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 1 (0.31%) Azure SQL Database
8 1 (0.31%) Hadoop
8 1 (0.31%) NoSQL
8 1 (0.31%) Oracle Reports
8 1 (0.31%) PostgreSQL
8 1 (0.31%) QlikView
8 1 (0.31%) Snowflake Schema
Development Applications
1 20 (6.15%) Git
2 12 (3.69%) JIRA
3 4 (1.23%) Cypress.io
4 3 (0.92%) MLflow
5 2 (0.62%) GitLab
5 2 (0.62%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.62%) LSMW
5 2 (0.62%) Selenium
6 1 (0.31%) ER Studio
6 1 (0.31%) Hudson
6 1 (0.31%) Oracle APEX
6 1 (0.31%) Oracle Forms
General
1 75 (23.08%) Social Skills
2 68 (20.92%) Manufacturing
3 63 (19.38%) Finance
4 34 (10.46%) Analytical Skills
5 11 (3.38%) Marketing
6 10 (3.08%) Documentation Skills
7 9 (2.77%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 9 (2.77%) Influencing Skills
8 7 (2.15%) Retail
9 6 (1.85%) Organisational Skills
9 6 (1.85%) Public Sector
10 5 (1.54%) Advertising
10 5 (1.54%) Aerospace
10 5 (1.54%) Presentation Skills
11 4 (1.23%) Legal
11 4 (1.23%) Wearables
12 3 (0.92%) Public Speaking
13 2 (0.62%) Banking
13 2 (0.62%) Digital Health
13 2 (0.62%) Health Technology
Job Titles
1 35 (10.77%) Lead
2 24 (7.38%) Senior
3 21 (6.46%) Analyst
4 20 (6.15%) Project Manager
5 19 (5.85%) Consultant
6 17 (5.23%) Developer
7 14 (4.31%) Data Engineer
8 13 (4.00%) Architect
9 12 (3.69%) Business Analyst
9 12 (3.69%) Data Scientist
9 12 (3.69%) SAP Consultant
10 11 (3.38%) Python Developer
11 10 (3.08%) Designer
12 9 (2.77%) Artificial Intelligence Engineer
13 8 (2.46%) Accountant
13 8 (2.46%) IT Manager
13 8 (2.46%) Product Owner
13 8 (2.46%) Quality Manager
13 8 (2.46%) Systems Accountant
14 7 (2.15%) Software Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 13 (4.00%) pytest
2 12 (3.69%) FastAPI
3 8 (2.46%) LangGraph
4 7 (2.15%) Playwright
5 5 (1.54%) React
6 4 (1.23%) IDoc
6 4 (1.23%) PyTorch
6 4 (1.23%) SAP Fiori
7 3 (0.92%) EDI
7 3 (0.92%) Ray
7 3 (0.92%) REST
7 3 (0.92%) TensorFlow
8 2 (0.62%) BAPI
8 2 (0.62%) CSS
8 2 (0.62%) Google JAX
8 2 (0.62%) JAX
8 2 (0.62%) JSON
8 2 (0.62%) Pandas
8 2 (0.62%) SAP PI
8 2 (0.62%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 65 (20.00%) Life Science
2 16 (4.92%) FMCG
2 16 (4.92%) Product Ownership
3 11 (3.38%) Cloud Native
3 11 (3.38%) Data Structures
3 11 (3.38%) Genomics
4 9 (2.77%) LIMS
5 8 (2.46%) Onboarding
5 8 (2.46%) Operational Technology
6 7 (2.15%) Data Protection Act
6 7 (2.15%) NHS
6 7 (2.15%) Self-Motivation
7 6 (1.85%) Enterprise Software
7 6 (1.85%) Legacy Systems
8 5 (1.54%) Greenfield Project
8 5 (1.54%) SCADA
9 4 (1.23%) CRISPR
9 4 (1.23%) Management Information System
10 3 (0.92%) AI Agents
10 3 (0.92%) Robotics
Operating Systems
1 10 (3.08%) Windows
2 3 (0.92%) Windows 10
3 2 (0.62%) Mac OS
4 1 (0.31%) Apple iOS
4 1 (0.31%) Linux
4 1 (0.31%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 56 (17.23%) AI
2 46 (14.15%) Agile
2 46 (14.15%) Stakeholder Management
3 45 (13.85%) ERP
4 44 (13.54%) Validation
5 38 (11.69%) Machine Learning
6 36 (11.08%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 33 (10.15%) Biotechnology
7 33 (10.15%) Migration
8 31 (9.54%) DevOps
9 30 (9.23%) Analytics
10 28 (8.62%) Problem-Solving
11 26 (8.00%) Continuous Improvement
11 26 (8.00%) Data Science
12 24 (7.38%) Roadmaps
13 23 (7.08%) Workshop Facilitation
14 22 (6.77%) Data Governance
15 21 (6.46%) Data Migration
15 21 (6.46%) Project Management
15 21 (6.46%) Test Automation
Programming Languages
1 60 (18.46%) Python
2 28 (8.62%) SQL
3 11 (3.38%) R
4 6 (1.85%) JavaScript
5 4 (1.23%) ABAP
5 4 (1.23%) TypeScript
6 3 (0.92%) Java
7 2 (0.62%) Bash
8 1 (0.31%) C
8 1 (0.31%) C++
8 1 (0.31%) DataWeave
8 1 (0.31%) Ladder Logic
8 1 (0.31%) PL/SQL
8 1 (0.31%) SHACL
Qualifications
1 46 (14.15%) Degree
2 9 (2.77%) A+ Certification
2 9 (2.77%) ACCA
2 9 (2.77%) CIMA
2 9 (2.77%) Master's Degree
3 5 (1.54%) PMI Certification
3 5 (1.54%) PMP
4 4 (1.23%) Security Cleared
5 3 (0.92%) BPSS Clearance
5 3 (0.92%) HND
6 2 (0.62%) CISSP
6 2 (0.62%) CompTIA Security+
6 2 (0.62%) HNC
6 2 (0.62%) Microsoft Certification
6 2 (0.62%) SC Cleared
7 1 (0.31%) ECDL
7 1 (0.31%) ISTQB
7 1 (0.31%) OCP
7 1 (0.31%) Oracle Certification
7 1 (0.31%) SAP Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 25 (7.69%) GxP
2 16 (4.92%) GMP
2 16 (4.92%) QA
3 9 (2.77%) Data Quality
4 7 (2.15%) GDPR
5 5 (1.54%) PMO
6 4 (1.23%) 21 CFR Part 11
6 4 (1.23%) Accessibility
7 3 (0.92%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 3 (0.92%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 2 (0.62%) GAMP
8 2 (0.62%) GRC
9 1 (0.31%) HL7
9 1 (0.31%) ISO 13485
9 1 (0.31%) ITGC
9 1 (0.31%) MiFID
9 1 (0.31%) NIST
9 1 (0.31%) NIST 800
9 1 (0.31%) SLA
9 1 (0.31%) SNOMED CT
System Software
1 16 (4.92%) Docker
2 2 (0.62%) GPFS
2 2 (0.62%) Lustre
2 2 (0.62%) Slurm Workload Manager
3 1 (0.31%) VMware Infrastructure
3 1 (0.31%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 6 (1.85%) Kubernetes
2 4 (1.23%) Terraform
3 2 (0.62%) Ansible
3 2 (0.62%) Puppet
3 2 (0.62%) Salt
4 1 (0.31%) Cisco UCCE
4 1 (0.31%) Cisco UCCX
4 1 (0.31%) FortiGate
4 1 (0.31%) HP ALM
4 1 (0.31%) Oracle RMAN
4 1 (0.31%) RSA Archer
4 1 (0.31%) SCCM
Vendors
1 99 (30.46%) SAP
2 40 (12.31%) Microsoft
3 19 (5.85%) Google
4 8 (2.46%) Oracle
5 7 (2.15%) Ariba
5 7 (2.15%) SOTI
6 5 (1.54%) Databricks
6 5 (1.54%) LabWare
6 5 (1.54%) Salesforce
7 4 (1.23%) Cisco
7 4 (1.23%) ServiceNow
8 3 (0.92%) Cerner
8 3 (0.92%) Foundry
8 3 (0.92%) HP
8 3 (0.92%) IBM
8 3 (0.92%) MuleSoft
8 3 (0.92%) Palantir
8 3 (0.92%) Siemens
9 2 (0.62%) Palo Alto
9 2 (0.62%) Rockwell