September 2026, released 23 October 2026
Software developer jobs in the UK
ONS category: Programmers and software development professionals (SOC 2134). All experience levels together, not a graduate only count.
Programmers and software development professionals is the ONS category behind these figures. It covers experience levels together, so a graduate can use it as job market context but not as a graduate jobs total.
What was counted, exactly
New online job adverts posted during September 2026, collected by Textkernel and published by ONS in Labour Demand Volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK, edition January 2017 to September 2026, released 23 October 2026. The unedited occupation label is Programmers and software development professionals, Standard Occupation Classification 2020 code 2134. Regions are the twelve ITL1 statistical regions of the UK. Careery presents the recorded values without changing them.
UK adverts in September 2026
9,570
New online job adverts for programmers and software development professionals, not unique vacancies.
Reading the figures
London has 2,974 adverts and the South East has 1,341. September's UK count of 9,570 is below August's 11,591 in this edition. This one-month comparison does not establish a steady trend or the odds of securing a developer role.
Every UK region
Recorded adverts for the same occupation and edition. A smaller total does not imply less competition: this dataset contains no applicant counts.
| Region | Adverts |
|---|---|
| London | 2,974 |
| South East | 1,341 |
| North West | 865 |
| East of England | 865 |
| South West | 813 |
| West Midlands | 627 |
| Scotland | 501 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 488 |
| East Midlands | 409 |
| North East | 232 |
| Northern Ireland | 219 |
| Wales | 181 |
UK trend: recorded monthly observations
The trend runs from Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. Twelve consecutive months with March 2026 suppressed as [x] for all thirteen occupations. July 2026 is present. This is not an unbroken run of twelve values. Suppression is not zero and no missing value has been added or estimated.
| Recorded month | Adverts |
|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 10,213 |
| Nov 2025 | 12,592 |
| Dec 2025 | 5,222 |
| Jan 2026 | 9,521 |
| Feb 2026 | 6,619 |
| Mar 2026 | [x] |
| Apr 2026 | 7,249 |
| May 2026 | 10,232 |
| Jun 2026 | 14,641 |
| Jul 2026 | 9,177 |
| Aug 2026 | 11,591 |
| Sep 2026 | 9,570 |
What this does not tell you
- Adverts are not vacancies. An advert may represent several roles or none, and a role may be advertised more than once. The ONS Vacancy Survey is a different series. Read the distinction.
- These are not current openings. Adverts posted during September 2026 were counted and published afterwards. Nothing here tells you what is open today.
- No graduate or senior split. Programmers and software development professionals includes experience levels together. There is no salary, applicant count, employer breakdown or hiring outcome in this data.
- UK only. These figures do not describe Riyadh, Dubai or any market outside the United Kingdom.
- Suppression is not zero. [x] is reproduced where ONS withholds or does not publish a value. March 2026 is suppressed for this occupation, not filled in.
- Official statistics in development. ONS is still refining the methodology. ONS collected and published the data and does not endorse Careery.
Cite this page
You may reuse these figures under the Open Government Licence v3.0 with attribution. A link to this page is appreciated, not required.
Source: ONS, Labour Demand Volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Programmers and software development professionals, SOC 2134. Figures for September 2026, edition January 2017 to September 2026, released 23 October 2026. Compiled by Careery, https://thecareery.com/uk-job-adverts/software-developer-jobs-uk
Check the figures in Table 3 of the original ONS workbook. Download the regional CSV and monthly trend CSV, rebuilt from the raw workbook by the checkable extractor. Select SOC 2134 for this occupation. Suppression markers remain [x] in the tables and CSVs.
Preparing an application
If a specific job description asks for skills you do not yet have, use Course Path to explore relevant learning. These advert counts alone do not tell you which course to take.
Course Path