Software Engineering Contract Job Trends in Bristol
Software Engineering
South West > Bristol
The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in Bristol requiring Software Engineering skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 22 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 22 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 4 | 13 | 7 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +9 | -6 | +7 |
| Contract jobs citing Software Engineering | 185 | 80 | 105 |
| As % of all contract jobs in Bristol | 13.78% | 10.22% | 12.56% |
| As % of the Processes & Methodologies category | 17.52% | 11.11% | 15.24% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 42 | 22 | 6 |
| 10th Percentile | £401 | £68 | £444 |
| 25th Percentile | £505 | £69 | £456 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £400 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +31.25% | -20.00% | -9.09% |
| 75th Percentile | £607 | £575 | £581 |
| 90th Percentile | £670 | £661 | £600 |
| South West median daily rate | £550 | £460 | £550 |
| % change year-on-year | +19.57% | -16.36% | - |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 100 | 43 | 55 |
| 10th Percentile | - | £61.25 | £61.25 |
| 25th Percentile | £65.00 | - | £65.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £67.50 | £65.00 | £68.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +3.85% | -4.41% | +4.62% |
| 75th Percentile | £68.75 | £66.63 | £70.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £70.00 | £68.60 | - |
| South West median hourly rate | £67.50 | £65.00 | £70.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +3.85% | -7.14% | +7.69% |
All Process & Methodology Skills
Bristol
Software Engineering falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in Bristol.
| 6 months to 22 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills | 1,056 | 720 | 689 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Bristol | 78.63% | 91.95% | 82.42% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 545 | 362 | 362 |
| 10th Percentile | £352 | £250 | £225 |
| 25th Percentile | £450 | £380 | £400 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £498 | £475 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.53% | +4.74% | -9.52% |
| 75th Percentile | £625 | £600 | £598 |
| 90th Percentile | £696 | £750 | £725 |
| South West median daily rate | £538 | £513 | £525 |
| % change year-on-year | +4.88% | -2.38% | -4.55% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 254 | 151 | 114 |
| 10th Percentile | £20.75 | £12.82 | £42.40 |
| 25th Percentile | £46.25 | £18.87 | £61.25 |
| Median hourly rate | £65.00 | £33.50 | £70.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +94.03% | -52.14% | +7.69% |
| 75th Percentile | £70.00 | £65.00 | £72.50 |
| 90th Percentile | £75.70 | £73.75 | £75.00 |
| South West median hourly rate | £57.50 | £25.15 | £65.50 |
| % change year-on-year | +128.63% | -61.60% | +9.17% |
Software Engineering Job Vacancy Trend in Bristol
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Software Engineering relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Bristol.
Software Engineering Daily Rate Trend in Bristol
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Bristol citing Software Engineering.
Software Engineering Daily Rate Histogram in Bristol
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Software Engineering in Bristol over the 6 months to 22 October 2026.
Software Engineering Hourly Rate Trend in Bristol
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Bristol citing Software Engineering.
Software Engineering Hourly Rate Histogram in Bristol
Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Software Engineering in Bristol over the 6 months to 22 October 2026.
Software Engineering Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Bristol 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.
Processes & Methodologies
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UML | 13.0% | 24 |
| 2 | DevOps | 10.8% | 20 |
| 3 | CI/CD | 10.3% | 19 |
| 4 | Agile | 9.7% | 18 |
| 5 | Multithreading | 8.1% | 15 |
| 6 | Problem-Solving | 7.6% | 14 |
| 7 | Integration Testing | 7.0% | 13 |
| 7 | Stakeholder Management | 7.0% | 13 |
| 9 | Configuration Management | 6.5% | 12 |
| 9 | Requirements Gathering | 6.5% | 12 |
| 9 | SDLC | 6.5% | 12 |
| 12 | Business Intelligence | 5.9% | 11 |
| 12 | Information Security | 5.9% | 11 |
| 12 | Project Management | 5.9% | 11 |
| 12 | Project Planning | 5.9% | 11 |
| 16 | Functional Testing | 4.9% | 9 |
| 16 | TDD | 4.9% | 9 |
| 16 | Validation | 4.9% | 9 |
| 19 | Issue Tracking | 4.3% | 8 |
| 19 | Wealth Management | 4.3% | 8 |