Job market shrinks. Project manager jobs rise.
Project manager jobs are 6.4% of every UK job advert, the highest share yet; the 6 most crowded adverts were all London contracts; a £15bn framework for buying consultants is coming.
Issue 7. 22 October 2026.
The number
The UK lost 20,357 job adverts in a week, and project manager job adverts went up. Project roles have never been a bigger share of the market.
▼ 20,357 fewer live job adverts in the UK this week. ▲ 424 more live project manager job adverts. Project roles are 6.4% of every vacancy in the country.
The whole market. Live vacancies fell from 629,898 to 609,541 in 7 days, 3.2%. Most of last week's rise of 26,649 has gone. Since 15 September the market has lost 70,213 adverts, 10.3%.
Project manager jobs. Live project manager adverts rose from 38,329 to 38,753, 1.1%. That is 1,236 more than on 15 September. Project roles are 6.4% of every vacancy, up from 6.1%, the highest share since the index began.
Job market shrinks. Project manager jobs rise. Since mid-September the UK has lost 1 job advert in 10. Over the same 5 weeks, project manager adverts went up by 3.3%. In 5 weeks out of 6, project manager adverts did better than the market as a whole. When employers cut adverts this autumn, project roles held up better than the rest. That does not make every project role safe. It does mean the adverts are still asking for people to run change while other hiring stops.
Pay. The average advertised project manager salary for September is £62,444, up 9.5% on October 2025. Programme manager adverts averaged £63,348, up 16.3%. The October figures arrive next month.
The whole economy. The Office for National Statistics puts UK vacancies at 691,000 for July to September, down 2.9% on the quarter. Unemployment is 4.7%. Regular pay is growing 3.7% a year, while advertised project manager salaries are up 9.5%.
This week's job adverts. 155 project roles were posted between 16 and 22 October, down from 183 last week. 45 more job adverts with a project title were training courses, 22.5% of the feed. Contract and temporary roles were 44.5% of the real adverts, up from 39.3%.
The crowd. The most applied-for advert was an interim project manager contract in London at £400 to £520 a day: 113 applicants. The median advert has 8. All 6 of the most crowded adverts were contracts in London.
Movement
Permanent, posted this week
| Rung | Adverts | Median salary | Middle half of adverts | Last week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project support | 14 | £30,000 | £29,000 to £37,500 | £31,000 |
| PMO | 6, a signal | £50,000 | 1 advert showed pay | £50,000 |
| Project manager | 61 | £53,393 | £45,035 to £70,000 | £53,250 |
| Programme manager | 5, a signal | £77,500 | £50,000 to £90,000 | £52,500 |
| All rungs | 86 | £50,000 | £50,038 |
Project manager pay. £53,393 on 61 adverts, up £143 on last week. Permanent project manager adverts fell from 80 to 61. The top of the middle half rose from £67,500 to £70,000.
The small rungs. Programme manager £77,500 on 5 adverts, with a Dynamics 365 programme director in London at £120,000 to £160,000 at the top. PMO is 6 adverts, and only 1 showed pay. The 4-week table below is the number to use for both.
Contract, posted this week
| Rung | Adverts | Median day rate | Last week |
|---|---|---|---|
| PMO | 7, a signal | £355 | £700 |
| Project manager | 31 | £550 | £488 |
| Programme manager | 8, a signal | £513 | £606 |
| All rungs | 52 | £500 | £519 |
Day rates. 52 contract adverts, up from 46. The project manager rate is £550, up £62, but only 13 of the 31 adverts showed a rate, so it is a signal. A senior project manager and a Workday project manager, both in London, were advertised at £700 to £800.
What people are being paid
| Job | Pay | Adverts |
|---|---|---|
| Project manager, permanent | £52,500 | 210 |
| Senior project manager, permanent | £70,000 | 36 |
| Programme manager, permanent | £65,000 | 15, a signal |
| Project manager, contract | £475 a day | 66 |
| Programme manager, contract | £650 a day | 13, a signal |
The last 4 weeks, pooled. 696 adverts posted from 25 September to 22 October. The project manager row is £52,500, up from £51,250 last week. The senior project manager row is £70,000, up from £67,500.
Pay by sector. Rail and infrastructure project managers are advertised at £55,000, on 23 adverts, a signal. Construction is £52,500 on 109 adverts, and NHS and health £50,000 on 25, a signal. IT and digital is the lowest, at £47,500 on 39.
What the extra £10,000 buys. Of 210 mid-level project manager adverts, 57 pay £62,500 or more. Those 57 are more than 4 times as likely to be in London, 23% against 5%. They name Agile twice as often, 16% against 7%, and 65% of them are construction, against 47% of the rest.
Where the roles are
| Region | Live project manager adverts | Share | Change on last week |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 11,509 | 29.7% | up 133 |
| South East | 4,974 | 12.8% | up 14 |
| North West | 3,997 | 10.3% | up 37 |
| South West | 3,249 | 8.4% | up 94 |
| West Midlands | 3,080 | 7.9% | up 53 |
| Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland | 4,064 | 10.5% | down 31 |
| All UK | 38,753 | up 424 |
London's share held at 29.7%. The South West added 94 adverts, the most outside London. The East of England, at 3,066, is 14 adverts behind the West Midlands.
Who is hiring
| Employer | Live project manager adverts | Change on last week |
|---|---|---|
| AECOM | 1,576 | down 104 |
| Stantec | 700 | up 23 |
| AtkinsRéalis | 574 | down 1 |
| WSP | 456 | down 30 |
| Amazon | 437 | down 29 |
The top 5 lost 141 adverts between them in a week the UK gained 424. The growth came from employers below the top 5. Of this week's new adverts, Hays posted 13 and Brandon James 9.
Hybrid and remote. Hybrid is 41.9% of adverts, up from 41.0%. Fully remote is 3.9%, 6 adverts, up from 3.
Cleared roles
| Role | Where | Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Principal programme manager | Milton Keynes | £800 to £850 a day |
| PMO manager, DV | Basingstoke | up to £750 a day |
| Project manager | North London | £500 to £650 a day |
| Senior project manager, construction, DV | London | £585 to £600 a day |
| Planning, governance and information officer, SC | London | up to £480 a day |
| Planner, DV | Aldermaston | £91 to £92 an hour |
| Portfolio manager, public service | Fareham | £75,000 to £100,000 |
| PMO manager | Fareham | £60,000 to £75,000 |
| Project manager | Salisbury | up to £65,000 |
29 cleared project, programme and PMO roles in this week's alerts, 18 of them new, against 25 last week. The cleared day rates shown run from £480 to £850, with the middle at about £590, against £550 on the open market. 7 graduate and undergraduate project management places from defence employers are not counted.
Training adverts posing as vacancies. 45 this week, 22.5% of adverts with a project title. Last week 55. 1 company posted 40 of the 45, and every one is excluded from the figures in this issue.
Applications
| Advert | Type | Pay shown | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interim project manager, London | Contract | £400 to £520 a day | 113 |
| Senior PMO analyst, London | Contract | £300 to £350 a day | 97 |
| Programme manager or senior delivery manager, London | Contract | £500 to £525 a day | 83 |
| Senior project manager, London | Contract | £700 to £800 a day | 77 |
| Business analyst and project manager, banking, London | Contract | £550 to £600 a day | 73 |
| Relex project manager, London | Contract | £500 to £650 a day | 72 |
The median advert had 8 applications by Wednesday. 8 adverts had more than 50, down from 13, and every one of the 8 was a contract in London. A permanent advert outside London with the salary shown had a median of 5 applicants, on 66 adverts.
Signal
What the 155 adverts ask for, as a share of adverts.
Methods and qualifications
| Requirement | All rungs | Project manager | Last week, all rungs | Civil Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRINCE2 | 14.8% | 17.5% | 15.8% | 18.2% |
| Agile | 14.2% | 15.5% | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| APM | 9.0% | 11.3% | 12.6% | 18.2% |
| PMP | 6.5% | 9.3% | 3.3% | 0.0% |
| MSP | 3.2% | 1.0% | 5.5% | 11.4% |
| Degree | 20.0% | 27.8% | 17.5% | 6.8% |
Certificates. PRINCE2 is first for the seventh week, at 14.8%, with Agile 0.6 points behind at 14.2%, up from 8.7%. Over the last 4 weeks, 18.2% of permanent project manager adverts named PRINCE2. Those adverts carried a median of £56,000 against £54,000 for the rest, on 41 adverts with pay, a gap of £2,000, down from £3,000 last week.
Degree. 20.0% of adverts, up from 17.5%, and 27.8% of project manager adverts. The Civil Service asks for one in 6.8% of project vacancies.
What is climbing. Agile, as above. PMP 6.5%, up from 3.3%. NEC 7.1%, up from 4.9%. Risk management 25.2%, up from 21.9%. Business case 5.2%, up from 2.7%. AI 7.7%, 12 adverts.
What is not moving. Stakeholder management 77.4%, the most named requirement of any kind for the seventh week. Budget ownership 45.2%. Construction 34.8% of adverts and 46.4% of project manager adverts. Security clearance 7.7%. Business case and benefits management are named in 22.7% and 18.2% of Civil Service project posts.
The Civil Service this week
| Department | Vacancies | Posts | Highest grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Defence | 10 | 12 | SCS Pay Band 1 |
| HM Prison and Probation Service | 5 | 6 | Own grades, to £56,111 |
| Homes England | 4 | 5 | Own grades, to £103,294 |
| Ministry of Justice | 2 | 16 | Grade 6 |
| FCDO Services | 2 | 5 | Grade 7 |
| Ofgem | 2 | 3 | Grade 7 |
| All departments | 44 | 68 | SCS Pay Band 2 |
The count. 44 live vacancies with project, programme, PMO or portfolio in the title, 68 posts, 15 new since last Wednesday. Last week 59 and 110. Down 25.4% in a week.
By grade. SEO 10, Grade 7 10, HEO 9, EO 3, Grade 6 3, SCS 2, AO 1, 6 on departmental grades. Grade 7 project posts are advertised at a median £58,207 to £64,050; SEO at £46,040.
New this week. The Ministry of Justice wants 10 project managers at SEO, £42,914 to £53,081, closing 11 November. HM Prison and Probation Service wants a senior project manager for 18 months on the Community Accommodation Service, £51,203 to £56,111, closing 4 November. The Department for Business and Trade, a head of its Help to Grow: Management programme at Grade 6, £73,025 to £85,106, closing 25 October. The Sports Grounds Safety Authority, a national programme manager at £69,075, closing 1 November. Homes England, a senior manager for infrastructure grants project management at £61,926 to £71,738, closing 3 November. The Animal and Plant Health Agency, a PMO manager at Grade 7, £58,207 to £64,715, closing 9 November. The Submarine Delivery Agency, a project controls manager in Plymouth at £46,800 to £49,200, closing 2 November. Still open: the Ministry of Defence's AUKUS submarine programme director at up to £117,800 until 1 November, the Rural Payments Agency's programme director at £105,000 until 3 November, and the Government Actuary's Department's project management lead until 9 November. The Project Delivery Fast Stream for 2027 has 62 places and closes 5 November; it is a graduate scheme, so it is not counted.
The pattern. Last week the index reported a £2bn Ministry of Justice framework for community accommodation. This week the Ministry of Justice and its prison and probation service have 22 project posts open between them, including a senior project manager for that same service. The buyer is staffing up as well as the suppliers.
Pipeline
96 public contracts that need project people were posted in the last 7 days.
31 are open for bids, 32 are coming and 33 have been awarded. That is out of 2,233 contracts posted on Find a Tender in the same week.
The biggest is Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation's £15bn framework for consultancy and professional services, at market engagement now.
The reference numbers are shown below. Subscribers get the live links in the full list.
Awarded
These firms just won the work. They will need to staff it.
| Ref | Buyer | Won by | Value | Starts | Why it matters for hiring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 099713-2026 | London Borough of Brent | Ballymore | £1bn | 1 Mar 2027 | 1,600 homes over several phases in South Kilburn. A development programme team from March. |
| 097760-2026 | Portsmouth City Council | Mountjoy | £765.0m | 1 Apr 2027 | Repairs and maintenance on council homes and buildings. Contract managers and planners from April. |
| 098574-2026 | DfT Operator | Systra | Not stated | Not stated | Programme management for Wi-Fi on Great British Railways trains. Bought as project management by name. |
Open for bids
| Ref | Buyer | Contract | Value | Deadline | Why it matters for hiring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 098175-2026 | Northern Ireland Water | Integrated Partnerships Framework | £10.5bn | 18 Nov 2026 | Capital works from 2028 for a decade. Programme and project roles across Northern Ireland. |
| 099216-2026 | South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority | Bus and tram shelter programme | £181.3m | 24 Nov 2026 | Wants a delivery partner. Delivery and design people in South Yorkshire. |
| 098580-2026 | SONI | Client-side advisor, IT separation programme | £6.3m | 20 Nov 2026 | Buys programme management, test assurance and transition support by name. |
Coming
Market engagement now. Tenders follow. Hiring follows the award, often 3 to 6 months later.
| Ref | Buyer | Contract | Value | Why it matters for hiring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 099610-2026 | Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation | Managing consultancy and professional services 3 | £15bn | One supplier will run how public bodies across the UK buy consultancy and professional services. |
| 098177-2026 | East West Rail Company | Client support framework | £350.0m | Client-side roles between Oxford and Cambridge. |
| 097829-2026 | Department for Transport | Euston programme challenge and assurance partner | Not stated | Assurance on the Euston rebuild. Programme controls and assurance roles in London. |
The move
If you're applying this week: if you have run Agile delivery, put the word Agile in your CV summary, not only in your job history. It is named in 15.5% of project manager adverts this week, up from 7.7%.
If you're bidding: SONI's client-side advisor notice, 098580-2026, buys programme management and test assurance by name, at £6.3m. The deadline is 20 November.
If you're hiring or running a PMO: the project manager adverts paying £10,000 above the median name Agile twice as often as the rest, 16% against 7%. If your team delivers that way, say so in the advert.
The full list
The 9 above are the pick of the week. There were 96.
Bid managers and bid teams. You find out about a tender when your portal alert fires, and the alert only catches the words you set. The full list is every notice that needs project people this week, with the deadline and a link. You see the ones your alerts missed.
Directors and associate directors who bring in work. You are measured on new business, but you only see the tenders the bid team passes up. Some never reach you. The full list is the whole week, sorted by your sector, in 5 minutes.
Recruitment consultants. By the time a role is advertised, every agency is calling the same hiring manager. The full list shows every contract just awarded, with the winner's name and the start date. A firm that just won a £1bn regeneration programme has to staff it. You call them first.
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