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 20 October 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 20 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 352 | 254 | 281 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -98 | +27 | +1 |
| Contract jobs citing Pharmaceutical | 363 | 352 | 311 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 0.66% | 1.06% | 0.84% |
| As % of the General category | 1.15% | 1.68% | 1.43% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 166 | 232 | 165 |
| 10th Percentile | £241 | £400 | £400 |
| 25th Percentile | £400 | £500 | £463 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £513 | £575 | £550 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -10.87% | +4.55% | +8.37% |
| 75th Percentile | £650 | £688 | £625 |
| 90th Percentile | £775 | £761 | £675 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £450 | £582 | £545 |
| % change year-on-year | -22.65% | +6.74% | +7.92% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 61 | 13 | 19 |
| 10th Percentile | £16.38 | - | £21.25 |
| 25th Percentile | £21.25 | £18.87 | £25.09 |
| Median hourly rate | £42.00 | £51.80 | £32.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -18.91% | +59.37% | +62.50% |
| 75th Percentile | £53.75 | £97.50 | £40.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £86.25 | - | £56.00 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £38.72 | £18.87 | £32.50 |
| % change year-on-year | +105.19% | -41.94% | +62.50% |
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.
| 6 months to 20 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills | 31,524 | 20,919 | 21,785 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK | 57.25% | 63.05% | 58.77% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 18,305 | 13,022 | 12,835 |
| 10th Percentile | £313 | £275 | £286 |
| 25th Percentile | £420 | £400 | £410 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -4.76% | -4.55% |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £625 | £649 |
| 90th Percentile | £740 | £738 | £763 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £475 | £480 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.26% | -1.04% | -4.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 2,904 | 1,269 | 880 |
| 10th Percentile | £13.45 | £13.56 | £15.00 |
| 25th Percentile | £16.00 | £16.17 | £17.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £27.08 | £24.34 | £31.31 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +11.24% | -22.26% | +13.85% |
| 75th Percentile | £53.75 | £43.75 | £58.56 |
| 90th Percentile | £77.50 | £67.25 | £71.25 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £26.90 | £21.18 | £29.50 |
| % change year-on-year | +27.04% | -28.22% | +13.46% |
Pharmaceutical Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Pharmaceutical relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
Pharmaceutical Daily Rate Trend
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 20 October 2026.
Pharmaceutical Hourly Rate Trend
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 20 October 2026.
Pharmaceutical 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 Pharmaceutical within the UK over the 6 months to 20 October 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 | -109 | 291 | £500 | -13.04% | 559 |
| Work from Home | -37 | 156 | £560 | +6.67% | 231 |
| London | -61 | 142 | £525 | -8.70% | 221 |
| UK excluding London | -94 | 141 | £450 | -22.65% | 356 |
| North of England | -71 | 40 | £438 | -35.19% | 77 |
| South East | -51 | 34 | £460 | -20.83% | 67 |
| East of England | -52 | 24 | £438 | -24.57% | 64 |
| North West | -65 | 22 | £475 | -29.63% | 57 |
| Midlands | -28 | 17 | £850 | +61.90% | 65 |
| South West | -31 | 14 | £334 | -55.50% | 37 |
| West Midlands | - | 12 | £850 | - | 42 |
| Yorkshire | -29 | 10 | £475 | +46.15% | 14 |
| North East | -36 | 8 | £200 | - | 7 |
| Scotland | -19 | 7 | £515 | -6.36% | 20 |
| Wales | -7 | 5 | £175 | -21.88% | 15 |
| East Midlands | -12 | 3 | £750 | +42.86% | 23 |
Pharmaceutical Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
General
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Social Skills | 33.3% | 121 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | 24.0% | 87 |
| 3 | Finance | 16.8% | 61 |
| 4 | Analytical Skills | 15.7% | 57 |
| 5 | Legal | 5.5% | 20 |
| 6 | Retail | 4.4% | 16 |
| 7 | Banking | 3.9% | 14 |
| 8 | Marketing | 3.6% | 13 |
| 9 | Organisational Skills | 3.3% | 12 |
| 10 | Presentation Skills | 2.5% | 9 |
| 10 | Public Sector | 2.5% | 9 |
| 12 | Documentation Skills | 2.2% | 8 |
| 12 | Inclusion and Diversity | 2.2% | 8 |
| 14 | German Language | 1.4% | 5 |
| 14 | Influencing Skills | 1.4% | 5 |
| 16 | Digital Health | 1.1% | 4 |
| 16 | Health Technology | 1.1% | 4 |
| 16 | Italian Language | 1.1% | 4 |
| 16 | Law | 1.1% | 4 |
| 20 | Aerospace | 0.8% | 3 |