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

6 months to
27 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 308 248 222
Rank change year-on-year -60 -26 +137
Contract jobs citing Pharmaceutical 306 312 473
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.80% 1.00% 1.07%
As % of the General category 1.35% 1.62% 1.81%
Number of daily rates quoted 196 176 324
10th Percentile £350 £350 £272
25th Percentile £456 £450 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £525
Median % change year-on-year - +4.76% +4.48%
75th Percentile £654 £638 £582
90th Percentile £763 £700 £675
UK excluding London median daily rate £552 £525 £510
% change year-on-year +5.19% +2.94% +13.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 10 23 26
10th Percentile £18.57 £19.00 £17.49
25th Percentile £26.47 £24.18 £20.00
Median hourly rate £75.00 £32.50 £25.50
Median % change year-on-year +130.77% +27.45% +59.38%
75th Percentile £97.50 £35.00 £48.75
90th Percentile - £89.05 £60.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £18.87 £32.50 £21.50
% change year-on-year -41.94% +51.16% +53.57%

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 22,609 19,273 26,097
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 59.39% 61.99% 58.79%
Number of daily rates quoted 14,209 11,476 16,945
10th Percentile £285 £282 £265
25th Percentile £401 £410 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £535
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -1.87% -2.73%
75th Percentile £625 £650 £650
90th Percentile £738 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £486 £500
% change year-on-year -2.16% -2.90% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,377 632 1,490
10th Percentile £13.80 £15.62 £13.25
25th Percentile £16.35 £20.00 £15.32
Median hourly rate £22.85 £27.50 £26.00
Median % change year-on-year -16.91% +5.77% +4.00%
75th Percentile £47.50 £53.75 £55.47
90th Percentile £70.00 £73.73 £68.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.30 £26.50 £25.00
% change year-on-year -19.62% +6.00% +11.56%

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 27 January 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 27 January 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Pharmaceutical in the UK

Pharmaceutical
Top 15 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 27 January 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 -89 227 £537 -2.36% 332
Work from Home -1 120 £525 -4.55% 156
London +23 105 £613 -2.00% 50
UK excluding London -121 94 £552 +5.19% 322
East of England -40 32 £488 -7.14% 56
North of England -97 28 £575 +4.55% 68
South East -19 25 £565 +165.76% 96
North West -62 25 £588 +6.82% 30
South West - 5 £700 - 43
Scotland +9 3 £550 +54.93% 10
East Midlands -28 2 £525 -12.50% 22
Yorkshire -49 2 £325 -5.25% 29
Midlands -57 2 £525 -12.50% 38
Wales -3 1 £183 - 15
North East -18 1 - - 9

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 7 (2.29%) Confluence
2 6 (1.96%) Apache Airflow
3 5 (1.63%) Apache Spark
4 3 (0.98%) CMS
4 3 (0.98%) SharePoint
5 1 (0.33%) Headless CMS
5 1 (0.33%) Mendix
5 1 (0.33%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 15 (4.90%) Microsoft Office
2 6 (1.96%) Microsoft Excel
3 2 (0.65%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 2 (0.65%) Spreadsheet
3 2 (0.65%) Weka
4 1 (0.33%) Adobe After Effects
4 1 (0.33%) Adobe Illustrator
4 1 (0.33%) InDesign
4 1 (0.33%) Microsoft Project
4 1 (0.33%) MS Visio
4 1 (0.33%) Photoshop
Business Applications
1 76 (24.84%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (2.29%) SAP MM
2 7 (2.29%) SAP PM
2 7 (2.29%) SAP QM
3 6 (1.96%) SAP CO
3 6 (1.96%) SAP PP
4 5 (1.63%) SAP EWM
4 5 (1.63%) SAP FI
4 5 (1.63%) SAP FI/CO
4 5 (1.63%) SAP MDG
5 4 (1.31%) SAP WM
6 3 (0.98%) Dynamics CRM
6 3 (0.98%) SAP IBP
6 3 (0.98%) SAP SD
7 2 (0.65%) PRMS
7 2 (0.65%) SAP ERP
7 2 (0.65%) SAP SCM
8 1 (0.33%) Oracle ERP
8 1 (0.33%) SAP PP-PI
8 1 (0.33%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 38 (12.42%) AWS
2 35 (11.44%) Azure
3 27 (8.82%) GCP
4 20 (6.54%) Power Platform
5 18 (5.88%) GitHub
6 14 (4.58%) Microsoft 365
6 14 (4.58%) Snowflake
7 12 (3.92%) Cloud Run
8 6 (1.96%) GitHub Actions
8 6 (1.96%) Google Kubernetes Engine
9 5 (1.63%) dbt
9 5 (1.63%) Veeva
10 4 (1.31%) Figma
10 4 (1.31%) IaaS
10 4 (1.31%) SaaS
11 3 (0.98%) Azure Synapse Analytics
12 2 (0.65%) Azure Data Factory
12 2 (0.65%) Azure Pipelines
12 2 (0.65%) Collibra
12 2 (0.65%) Microsoft Purview
Communications & Networking
1 6 (1.96%) Network Security
2 4 (1.31%) Firewall
2 4 (1.31%) Wireless
3 3 (0.98%) Ethernet
3 3 (0.98%) Modbus
3 3 (0.98%) RS-485
4 2 (0.65%) BGP
4 2 (0.65%) OSPF
5 1 (0.33%) Cisco ICM
5 1 (0.33%) DHCP
5 1 (0.33%) DNS
5 1 (0.33%) RFID
5 1 (0.33%) SD-WAN
5 1 (0.33%) SMS
5 1 (0.33%) TCP/IP
5 1 (0.33%) Telepresence
5 1 (0.33%) VPN
5 1 (0.33%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (6.54%) Power BI
2 16 (5.23%) Data Lake
3 9 (2.94%) Data Warehouse
4 5 (1.63%) BigQuery
4 5 (1.63%) Electronic Patient Records
5 4 (1.31%) Metadata
5 4 (1.31%) SAP HANA
6 3 (0.98%) Tableau
7 2 (0.65%) Ataccama
7 2 (0.65%) Neo4j
7 2 (0.65%) NoSQL
7 2 (0.65%) SAP Data Services
8 1 (0.33%) Amazon RDS
8 1 (0.33%) Azure SQL Database
8 1 (0.33%) Big Data
8 1 (0.33%) MongoDB
8 1 (0.33%) Power Query
8 1 (0.33%) QlikView
8 1 (0.33%) Snowflake Schema
8 1 (0.33%) Spotfire
Development Applications
1 20 (6.54%) Git
2 16 (5.23%) JIRA
3 5 (1.63%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.98%) Cypress.io
5 2 (0.65%) CircleCI
5 2 (0.65%) GitLab
5 2 (0.65%) LSMW
5 2 (0.65%) Selenium
6 1 (0.33%) Hudson
6 1 (0.33%) Oracle APEX
6 1 (0.33%) Oracle Forms
6 1 (0.33%) PHPUnit
6 1 (0.33%) SoapUI
6 1 (0.33%) Zephyr
General
1 77 (25.16%) Social Skills
2 66 (21.57%) Manufacturing
3 56 (18.30%) Finance
4 23 (7.52%) Analytical Skills
5 13 (4.25%) Influencing Skills
6 12 (3.92%) Marketing
7 11 (3.59%) Aerospace
8 10 (3.27%) Documentation Skills
9 7 (2.29%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 7 (2.29%) Public Sector
10 4 (1.31%) Organisational Skills
10 4 (1.31%) Retail
11 3 (0.98%) Digital Health
11 3 (0.98%) Health Technology
11 3 (0.98%) Wearables
12 2 (0.65%) Banking
12 2 (0.65%) Digital Healthcare
12 2 (0.65%) Legal
12 2 (0.65%) Presentation Skills
13 1 (0.33%) Dutch Language
Job Titles
1 36 (11.76%) Lead
2 30 (9.80%) Consultant
3 22 (7.19%) SAP Consultant
4 18 (5.88%) Analyst
4 18 (5.88%) Developer
4 18 (5.88%) Project Manager
5 17 (5.56%) Architect
5 17 (5.56%) Senior
6 13 (4.25%) Python Developer
7 10 (3.27%) Data Engineer
7 10 (3.27%) Data Scientist
7 10 (3.27%) Designer
7 10 (3.27%) SAP Manager
7 10 (3.27%) Software Engineer
8 9 (2.94%) Data Analytics Specialist
8 9 (2.94%) Full-Stack Developer
8 9 (2.94%) IT Manager
8 9 (2.94%) SAP Financial Specialist
9 8 (2.61%) Full-Stack Python Developer
9 8 (2.61%) Quality Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (5.88%) FastAPI
1 18 (5.88%) pytest
2 13 (4.25%) React
2 13 (4.25%) SAP Fiori
3 11 (3.59%) LangGraph
4 6 (1.96%) Playwright
5 3 (0.98%) MACH
5 3 (0.98%) pydantic
5 3 (0.98%) RESTful
6 2 (0.65%) CSS
6 2 (0.65%) EDI
6 2 (0.65%) IDoc
6 2 (0.65%) Jest
6 2 (0.65%) Next.js
6 2 (0.65%) REST
6 2 (0.65%) SailPoint
6 2 (0.65%) SAP PI
6 2 (0.65%) SOAP
7 1 (0.33%) Middleware
7 1 (0.33%) XML Messaging
Miscellaneous
1 54 (17.65%) Life Science
2 20 (6.54%) Genomics
3 17 (5.56%) Cloud Native
4 14 (4.58%) FMCG
5 11 (3.59%) Onboarding
6 9 (2.94%) Product Ownership
7 8 (2.61%) NHS
8 7 (2.29%) Operational Technology
9 6 (1.96%) Data Structures
9 6 (1.96%) Hybrid Cloud
10 5 (1.63%) Greenfield Project
10 5 (1.63%) LIMS
11 4 (1.31%) Biopharmaceutical
11 4 (1.31%) Data Protection Act
11 4 (1.31%) Enterprise Software
11 4 (1.31%) Legacy Systems
11 4 (1.31%) Management Information System
11 4 (1.31%) Mobile App
11 4 (1.31%) SCADA
11 4 (1.31%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 14 (4.58%) Windows
2 6 (1.96%) Apple iOS
3 4 (1.31%) Mac OS
3 4 (1.31%) Windows 10
4 3 (0.98%) Android
4 3 (0.98%) Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 52 (16.99%) Stakeholder Management
2 51 (16.67%) Agile
2 51 (16.67%) AI
3 41 (13.40%) ERP
4 39 (12.75%) Analytics
4 39 (12.75%) Machine Learning
5 36 (11.76%) Continuous Improvement
5 36 (11.76%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 35 (11.44%) Validation
7 33 (10.78%) DevOps
7 33 (10.78%) Migration
7 33 (10.78%) Problem-Solving
8 24 (7.84%) Roadmaps
9 23 (7.52%) Biotechnology
9 23 (7.52%) Change Management
9 23 (7.52%) Decision-Making
9 23 (7.52%) Test Automation
10 22 (7.19%) Data Governance
11 21 (6.86%) Matrix Organization
12 20 (6.54%) User Experience
Programming Languages
1 59 (19.28%) Python
2 23 (7.52%) SQL
3 14 (4.58%) TypeScript
4 11 (3.59%) R
5 8 (2.61%) Java
5 8 (2.61%) JavaScript
6 2 (0.65%) ABAP
6 2 (0.65%) Bash
6 2 (0.65%) Ruby
7 1 (0.33%) Ladder Logic
7 1 (0.33%) PHP
7 1 (0.33%) PL/SQL
7 1 (0.33%) Scala
7 1 (0.33%) SHACL
Qualifications
1 50 (16.34%) Degree
2 14 (4.58%) Master's Degree
3 10 (3.27%) ACCA
3 10 (3.27%) CIMA
4 9 (2.94%) A+ Certification
4 9 (2.94%) PMI Certification
4 9 (2.94%) PMP
5 8 (2.61%) Security Cleared
6 6 (1.96%) SC Cleared
7 4 (1.31%) BPSS Clearance
8 3 (0.98%) Computer Science Degree
9 2 (0.65%) CISSP
9 2 (0.65%) CompTIA Security+
9 2 (0.65%) Six Sigma Green Belt
10 1 (0.33%) CCSA
10 1 (0.33%) Cisco Certification
10 1 (0.33%) ECDL
10 1 (0.33%) MBA
10 1 (0.33%) Microsoft Certification
10 1 (0.33%) SAP Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (8.82%) GxP
2 16 (5.23%) GMP
3 14 (4.58%) QA
4 10 (3.27%) Data Quality
5 8 (2.61%) GDPR
6 4 (1.31%) Accessibility
6 4 (1.31%) PMO
6 4 (1.31%) Sarbanes-Oxley
7 3 (0.98%) 21 CFR Part 11
7 3 (0.98%) SLA
8 1 (0.33%) GAMP
8 1 (0.33%) GRC
8 1 (0.33%) HL7
8 1 (0.33%) IEC 62304
8 1 (0.33%) IFRS
8 1 (0.33%) ISO 13485
8 1 (0.33%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 1 (0.33%) ITGC
8 1 (0.33%) MiFID
8 1 (0.33%) SNOMED CT
System Software
1 25 (8.17%) Docker
2 4 (1.31%) Slurm Workload Manager
3 2 (0.65%) GPFS
3 2 (0.65%) Lustre
4 1 (0.33%) Active Directory
4 1 (0.33%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 18 (5.88%) Kubernetes
2 8 (2.61%) Terraform
3 4 (1.31%) Ansible
4 3 (0.98%) SCCM
5 2 (0.65%) HP ALM
5 2 (0.65%) Microsoft Intune
5 2 (0.65%) Packer
5 2 (0.65%) Puppet
5 2 (0.65%) Salt
6 1 (0.33%) Cisco UCCE
6 1 (0.33%) Cisco UCCX
6 1 (0.33%) NetBackup
6 1 (0.33%) RSA Archer
6 1 (0.33%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
6 1 (0.33%) TeamSite
Vendors
1 104 (33.99%) SAP
2 36 (11.76%) Microsoft
3 22 (7.19%) Google
4 8 (2.61%) Ariba
5 7 (2.29%) SOTI
6 6 (1.96%) Oracle
6 6 (1.96%) Salesforce
6 6 (1.96%) ServiceNow
7 4 (1.31%) Cisco
7 4 (1.31%) HP
7 4 (1.31%) Palo Alto
8 3 (0.98%) Cerner
8 3 (0.98%) IBM
8 3 (0.98%) LabWare
8 3 (0.98%) MEDITECH
8 3 (0.98%) Zscaler
9 2 (0.65%) Adobe
9 2 (0.65%) Apple
9 2 (0.65%) Siemens
9 2 (0.65%) Veritas