Programmer Contract Job Trends
Programmer
UK
The median Programmer daily rate in the UK is £488, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 25 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 25 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 611 | 523 | 486 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -88 | -37 | +117 |
| Contract Programmer jobs | 72 | 52 | 78 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 0.13% | 0.15% | 0.21% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.14% | 0.17% | 0.23% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 13 | 12 | 28 |
| 10th Percentile | £370 | £291 | £171 |
| 25th Percentile | £438 | £381 | £250 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £488 | £500 | £475 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -2.50% | +5.26% | +2.70% |
| 75th Percentile | £519 | £572 | £573 |
| 90th Percentile | £560 | £694 | £588 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £514 | £280 | £227 |
| % change year-on-year | +83.57% | +23.59% | -43.36% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 37 | 1 | 29 |
| 10th Percentile | - | - | - |
| 25th Percentile | £26.90 | £43.50 | £16.58 |
| Median hourly rate | £35.00 | £44.00 | £18.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -20.45% | +144.44% | -71.20% |
| 75th Percentile | - | £44.50 | £25.60 |
| 90th Percentile | £40.00 | - | £31.97 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £35.00 | £44.00 | £18.00 |
| % change year-on-year | -20.45% | +144.44% | -61.90% |
All Contract IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 25 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 50,285 | 30,568 | 34,355 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.74% | 90.89% | 92.93% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 29,557 | 19,319 | 20,715 |
| 10th Percentile | £325 | £280 | £300 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £402 | £413 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -4.76% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £621 | £638 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £725 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £475 | £490 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.26% | -3.06% | -2.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 4,194 | 1,701 | 1,345 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.22 | £13.80 | £15.04 |
| 25th Percentile | £19.00 | £17.30 | £20.30 |
| Median hourly rate | £41.00 | £25.15 | £40.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +63.02% | -37.13% | -10.11% |
| 75th Percentile | £67.84 | £50.00 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £80.00 | £69.65 | £73.75 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £40.00 | £25.00 | £40.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +60.00% | -37.50% | -9.09% |
Programmer Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Programmer job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
Programmer Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Programmer job vacancies in the UK.
Programmer Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for Programmer jobs over the 6 months to 25 October 2026.
Programmer Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Programmer job vacancies in the UK.
Programmer Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution for Programmer jobs over the 6 months to 25 October 2026.
Programmer Top 13 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in Programmer jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 25 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -86 | 57 | £481 | -3.75% | 114 |
| UK excluding London | -73 | 55 | £514 | +83.57% | 93 |
| North of England | -54 | 23 | £514 | - | 23 |
| North West | -29 | 18 | - | - | 17 |
| Work from Home | -70 | 15 | £469 | -12.79% | 38 |
| South West | -25 | 11 | - | - | 5 |
| West Midlands | -26 | 9 | - | - | 16 |
| Midlands | -31 | 9 | - | - | 31 |
| London | -84 | 9 | £450 | -10.00% | 21 |
| Scotland | -31 | 6 | - | - | 1 |
| Yorkshire | -37 | 5 | £514 | - | 4 |
| South East | -52 | 5 | - | - | 28 |
| Northern Ireland | +2 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
Programmer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 25 October 2026, Programmer contract job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract Programmer job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IBM | 22.2% | 16 |
| 2 | JCL | 15.3% | 11 |
| 3 | Problem-Solving | 12.5% | 9 |
| 3 | zOS | 12.5% | 9 |
| 5 | ISPF | 9.7% | 7 |
| 5 | Python | 9.7% | 7 |
| 5 | REXX | 9.7% | 7 |
| 5 | Time Sharing Option | 9.7% | 7 |
| 9 | Assembly Language | 8.3% | 6 |
| 9 | BPSS Clearance | 8.3% | 6 |
| 9 | CICS | 8.3% | 6 |
| 9 | CLIST | 8.3% | 6 |
| 9 | OMEGAMON | 8.3% | 6 |
| 9 | SAS | 8.3% | 6 |
| 15 | Performance Monitoring | 6.9% | 5 |
| 15 | Risk Management | 6.9% | 5 |
| 15 | SC Cleared | 6.9% | 5 |
| 15 | Security Cleared | 6.9% | 5 |
| 15 | SQL | 6.9% | 5 |
| 20 | Computer Science | 5.6% | 4 |
| 20 | Data Protection | 5.6% | 4 |
| 20 | ITIL | 5.6% | 4 |
| 20 | Migration | 5.6% | 4 |
| 20 | Relational Database | 5.6% | 4 |
| 25 | C++ | 4.2% | 3 |
| 25 | CA Endevor | 4.2% | 3 |
| 25 | Cloud Enablement | 4.2% | 3 |
| 25 | COBOL | 4.2% | 3 |
| 25 | Data Modelling | 4.2% | 3 |
| 25 | Event-Driven | 4.2% | 3 |
Programmer Skill Set 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.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Systems Programmer | 19.4% | 14 |
| 2 | Senior Programmer | 9.7% | 7 |
| 3 | CICS Systems Programmer | 8.3% | 6 |
| 3 | Python Programmer | 8.3% | 6 |
| 3 | z/OS Systems Programmer | 8.3% | 6 |
| 6 | Analyst Programmer | 6.9% | 5 |
| 7 | Mainframe Systems Programmer | 5.6% | 4 |
| 7 | Manufacturing Engineer | 5.6% | 4 |
| 9 | Data Programmer | 4.2% | 3 |
| 9 | Gen AI Developer | 4.2% | 3 |
| 9 | Senior Python Developer | 4.2% | 3 |
| 9 | Senior Python Programmer | 4.2% | 3 |
| 13 | C Programmer | 1.4% | 1 |
| 13 | Database Analyst Programmer | 1.4% | 1 |
| 13 | DB2 Specialist | 1.4% | 1 |
| 13 | DB2 Systems Programmer | 1.4% | 1 |
| 13 | Mainframe Systems Engineer | 1.4% | 1 |
| 13 | RPG Analyst Programmer | 1.4% | 1 |
| 13 | Technical Specialist | 1.4% | 1 |
| 13 | z/OS Engineer | 1.4% | 1 |