Short Message Service (SMS)
UK
The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies requiring SMS skills. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited SMS over the 6 months leading up to 27 June 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 27 Jun 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 529 | 560 | 652 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +31 | +92 | +149 |
| Contract jobs citing SMS | 12 | 24 | 22 |
| As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK | 0.040% | 0.055% | 0.040% |
| As % of the Communications & Networking category | 0.32% | 0.44% | 0.31% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 4 | 17 | 16 |
| 10th Percentile | £304 | £350 | £350 |
| 25th Percentile | £366 | £408 | £400 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £400 | £475 | £550 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -15.79% | -13.64% | -6.14% |
| 75th Percentile | £419 | £600 | £600 |
| 90th Percentile | £453 | £668 | - |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £438 | £500 | £400 |
| % change year-on-year | -12.50% | +25.00% | -31.30% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10th Percentile | - | - | - |
| 25th Percentile | - | - | £45.00 |
| Median hourly rate | - | - | £46.00 |
| 75th Percentile | - | - | £47.00 |
| 90th Percentile | - | - | - |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | - | - | - |
All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
UK
SMS falls under the Communications and Computer Networking category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring communications or computer networking skills.
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills | 3,788 | 5,403 | 7,127 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK | 12.47% | 12.46% | 12.83% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 2,277 | 3,185 | 4,600 |
| 10th Percentile | £225 | £213 | £240 |
| 25th Percentile | £363 | £350 | £388 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £480 | £500 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -4.00% | - | - |
| 75th Percentile | £588 | £600 | £625 |
| 90th Percentile | £675 | £688 | £719 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £470 | £495 | £475 |
| % change year-on-year | -5.05% | +4.21% | +5.56% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 184 | 428 | 435 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.35 | £13.86 | £9.80 |
| 25th Percentile | £19.30 | £17.69 | £10.63 |
| Median hourly rate | £41.48 | £45.00 | £21.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -7.83% | +114.29% | -26.32% |
| 75th Percentile | £58.75 | £63.75 | £62.55 |
| 90th Percentile | £73.55 | £73.40 | £75.00 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £30.32 | £47.50 | £22.00 |
| % change year-on-year | -36.17% | +115.91% | -1.35% |
SMS
Job Vacancy Trend
Job postings citing SMS as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.
SMS
Contractor Daily Rate Trend
3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing SMS.
SMS
Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing SMS over the 6 months to 27 June 2025.
SMS
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend
3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing SMS.
SMS
Top 8 Contract Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing SMS within the UK over the 6 months to 27 June 2025. 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 | +59 | 11 | £400 | -7.51% | 79 |
| London | +39 | 7 | £338 | -21.97% | 52 |
| UK excluding London | +39 | 5 | £438 | -12.50% | 38 |
| South East | +44 | 3 | £400 | +100.00% | 15 |
| Work from Home | +40 | 3 | £400 | -20.00% | 42 |
| Scotland | +7 | 2 | £475 | -5.00% | 5 |
| North West | +13 | 1 | £475 | +18.75% | 2 |
| North of England | +5 | 1 | £475 | +18.75% | 6 |
SMS
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category
The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:
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