Software Engineer Contract Job Trends in the West Midlands
Software Engineer
England > West Midlands
The median Software Engineer daily rate in the West Midlands is £470, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 5 November 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 5 Nov 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 149 | 120 | 104 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -29 | -16 | -6 |
| Contract Software Engineer jobs | 32 | 19 | 11 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the West Midlands | 0.90% | 0.94% | 0.58% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 1.00% | 1.05% | 0.62% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 14 | 15 | 5 |
| 10th Percentile | £385 | £415 | £388 |
| 25th Percentile | £457 | £465 | £463 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £470 | £525 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -10.48% | +5.00% | -9.09% |
| 75th Percentile | £497 | £719 | £588 |
| 90th Percentile | £561 | £892 | £670 |
| England median daily rate | £560 | £625 | £625 |
| % change year-on-year | -10.40% | - | +6.16% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Median hourly rate | £55.00 | - | £50.00 |
| England median hourly rate | £65.00 | £65.00 | £65.50 |
| % change year-on-year | - | -0.76% | +0.77% |
All Contract IT Job Roles
West Midlands
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts in the West Midlands matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 5 Nov 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the West Midlands matching a recognised job title | 3,214 | 1,803 | 1,766 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 90.36% | 89.30% | 92.85% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 1,963 | 1,168 | 1,119 |
| 10th Percentile | £347 | £256 | £213 |
| 25th Percentile | £413 | £392 | £381 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £487 | £500 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -2.60% | - | +5.26% |
| 75th Percentile | £600 | £588 | £612 |
| 90th Percentile | £680 | £675 | £700 |
| England median daily rate | £525 | £510 | £525 |
| % change year-on-year | +2.94% | -2.86% | -2.33% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 235 | 103 | 58 |
| 10th Percentile | £13.69 | £12.62 | £12.58 |
| 25th Percentile | £17.25 | £15.71 | £14.09 |
| Median hourly rate | £22.00 | £25.15 | £23.05 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -12.52% | +9.11% | +3.85% |
| 75th Percentile | £38.75 | £36.75 | £33.23 |
| 90th Percentile | £55.00 | £50.00 | £45.63 |
| England median hourly rate | £41.00 | £25.15 | £40.33 |
| % change year-on-year | +63.02% | -37.63% | -12.11% |
Software Engineer Job Vacancy Trend in the West Midlands
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Software Engineer job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the West Midlands.
Software Engineer Daily Rate Trend in the West Midlands
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the West Midlands.
Software Engineer Daily Rate Histogram in the West Midlands
Daily rate distribution for Software Engineer jobs in the West Midlands over the 6 months to 5 November 2026.
Software Engineer Hourly Rate Trend in the West Midlands
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the West Midlands.
Software Engineer Contract Job Locations in the West Midlands
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in Software Engineer jobs within the West Midlands region over the 6 months to 5 November 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | +3 | 22 | £470 | -11.32% | 12 |
| Shropshire | -33 | 6 | £455 | +6.00% | |
| Coventry | -18 | 2 | £275 | +1.85% | |
| Staffordshire | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| Software Engineer England |
|||||
Software Engineer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the West Midlands
For the 6 months to 5 November 2026, Software Engineer 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 Software Engineer job ads across the West Midlands region.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Software Engineering | 100.0% | 32 |
| 2 | Security Cleared | 50.0% | 16 |
| 3 | SC Cleared | 43.8% | 14 |
| 4 | Java | 28.1% | 9 |
| 5 | Agile | 21.9% | 7 |
| 5 | TDD | 21.9% | 7 |
| 7 | Python | 18.8% | 6 |
| 7 | SQL | 18.8% | 6 |
| 7 | Stakeholder Management | 18.8% | 6 |
| 10 | Django | 15.6% | 5 |
| 10 | Kotlin | 15.6% | 5 |
| 10 | Problem-Solving | 15.6% | 5 |
| 10 | TypeScript | 15.6% | 5 |
| 14 | C | 12.5% | 4 |
| 14 | Continuous Improvement | 12.5% | 4 |
| 14 | Oracle | 12.5% | 4 |
| 17 | .NET | 9.4% | 3 |
| 17 | .NET Core | 9.4% | 3 |
| 17 | AWS | 9.4% | 3 |
| 17 | Azure | 9.4% | 3 |
| 17 | C# | 9.4% | 3 |
| 17 | Git | 9.4% | 3 |
| 17 | Runbook | 9.4% | 3 |
| 24 | ADO | 6.3% | 2 |
| 24 | Azure Functions | 6.3% | 2 |
| 24 | CI/CD | 6.3% | 2 |
| 24 | Code Quality | 6.3% | 2 |
| 24 | Collaborative Working | 6.3% | 2 |
| 24 | Full-Stack Development | 6.3% | 2 |
| 24 | Ingres | 6.3% | 2 |
Software Engineer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the West Midlands 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 | Senior Software Engineer | 28.1% | 9 |
| 2 | Automation Engineer | 25.0% | 8 |
| 2 | Java Software Engineer | 25.0% | 8 |
| 4 | Lead Software Engineer | 18.8% | 6 |
| 5 | Senior Java Software Engineer | 15.6% | 5 |
| 6 | .NET Software Engineer | 9.4% | 3 |
| 6 | C# Software Engineer | 9.4% | 3 |
| 8 | Embedded Software Engineer | 6.3% | 2 |
| 8 | Python Software Engineer | 6.3% | 2 |
| 8 | Senior .NET Software Engineer | 6.3% | 2 |
| 8 | Senior C# Software Engineer | 6.3% | 2 |
| 12 | Lead Java Engineer | 3.1% | 1 |
| 12 | Principal Software Engineer | 3.1% | 1 |
| 12 | Qt Software Engineer | 3.1% | 1 |