Microsoft Contract Job Trends in Central London

Microsoft
London > Central London

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in Central London requiring knowledge or experience of Microsoft products and/or services. It includes a benchmarking guide to contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Microsoft over the 6 months leading up to 20 May 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

The figures below represent the IT contractor job market in general and are not representative of contractor rates within the Microsoft Corporation.

6 months to
20 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 9 11 5
Rank change year-on-year +2 -6 +5
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 313 279 391
As % of all contract jobs in Central London 12.66% 14.23% 16.29%
As % of the Vendors category 30.93% 31.56% 37.78%
Number of daily rates quoted 227 178 306
10th Percentile £302 £263 £256
25th Percentile £425 £375 £430
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £530 £500 £538
Median % change year-on-year +6.00% -6.98% +0.94%
75th Percentile £644 £625 £666
90th Percentile £755 £711 £763
London median daily rate £515 £513 £500
% change year-on-year +0.49% +2.50% -8.26%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2 4 4
10th Percentile £22.67 £23.34 -
25th Percentile £25.43 £25.34 £12.75
Median hourly rate £31.38 £27.76 £15.25
Median % change year-on-year +13.05% +82.03% -70.95%
75th Percentile £37.24 £68.68 £20.25
90th Percentile £39.95 £139.97 £24.30
London median hourly rate £27.71 £23.35 £18.80
% change year-on-year +18.67% +24.24% -29.74%

All Vendors
Central London

Microsoft falls under the Vendor Products and Services category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring knowledge or experience of all vendor products and services in Central London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 1,012 884 1,035
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Central London 40.94% 45.10% 43.13%
Number of daily rates quoted 653 554 764
10th Percentile £358 £308 £291
25th Percentile £450 £427 £429
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £538 £550 £550
Median % change year-on-year -2.27% - -
75th Percentile £675 £675 £675
90th Percentile £774 £751 £788
London median daily rate £525 £545 £540
% change year-on-year -3.71% +0.97% -4.42%
Number of hourly rates quoted 14 12 6
10th Percentile - £24.02 £12.75
25th Percentile £18.75 £27.16 £13.56
Median hourly rate £20.88 £30.04 £19.75
Median % change year-on-year -30.47% +52.08% -5.95%
75th Percentile £26.69 £48.75 £23.75
90th Percentile £41.60 £96.38 £25.38
London median hourly rate £35.50 £29.00 £22.50
% change year-on-year +22.41% +28.89% -13.46%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in Central London

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Microsoft relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Central London.

Microsoft job vacancy trend in Central London

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in Central London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Central London citing Microsoft.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Central London citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in Central London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in Central London over the 6 months to 20 May 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in Central London

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in Central London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Central London citing Microsoft.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Central London citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in Central London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in Central London over the 6 months to 20 May 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in Central London

Microsoft
Contract Job Locations in Central London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Microsoft within the Central London region over the 6 months to 20 May 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
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
City of London +5 297 £525 +5.00% 170
West End of London -2 7 £500 +11.11% 6
Kensington and Chelsea 0 4 £588 - 1
City of Westminster -5 4 £560 -11.11% 6
Southwark -2 1 £188 -21.33% 1
Lambeth - 1 £350 - 3
Microsoft
London

Microsoft
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Central London by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 32 (10.22%) SharePoint
2 13 (4.15%) Microsoft Exchange
3 7 (2.24%) Confluence
4 5 (1.60%) Apache Airflow
5 1 (0.32%) Apache
5 1 (0.32%) Apache Spark
5 1 (0.32%) SAS
Applications
1 28 (8.95%) Microsoft Excel
2 25 (7.99%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (4.79%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 13 (4.15%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.96%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.32%) Adobe After Effects
6 1 (0.32%) Adobe XD
6 1 (0.32%) Photoshop
6 1 (0.32%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.32%) Trello
Business Applications
1 9 (2.88%) Aladdin
1 9 (2.88%) Dynamics CRM
2 2 (0.64%) Exchequer
2 2 (0.64%) NetSuite
2 2 (0.64%) SAP ERP
3 1 (0.32%) BASE24
3 1 (0.32%) Dynamics NAV
3 1 (0.32%) iTrent
3 1 (0.32%) Payment Gateway
3 1 (0.32%) SAP FI-AR
3 1 (0.32%) SAP MM
3 1 (0.32%) SAP Oil and Gas
3 1 (0.32%) Veritas eDiscovery
3 1 (0.32%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 120 (38.34%) Azure
2 68 (21.73%) Microsoft 365
3 65 (20.77%) Power Platform
4 29 (9.27%) Dynamics 365
5 26 (8.31%) Entra ID
6 23 (7.35%) Power Automate
7 22 (7.03%) Azure DevOps
8 20 (6.39%) AWS
8 20 (6.39%) PowerApps
9 19 (6.07%) Microsoft Purview
10 15 (4.79%) Microsoft Copilot
11 13 (4.15%) GitHub
11 13 (4.15%) SaaS
12 12 (3.83%) GCP
13 11 (3.51%) Azure Data Factory
14 9 (2.88%) Azure AI
15 8 (2.56%) Snowflake
16 7 (2.24%) Azure Synapse Analytics
16 7 (2.24%) Copilot Studio
16 7 (2.24%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 12 (3.83%) DNS
2 11 (3.51%) Firewall
3 7 (2.24%) Network Security
3 7 (2.24%) VPN
4 5 (1.60%) DHCP
5 3 (0.96%) LAN
5 3 (0.96%) TCP/IP
5 3 (0.96%) WAN
6 2 (0.64%) Intranet
6 2 (0.64%) Multicast
6 2 (0.64%) Unified Communications
6 2 (0.64%) Wi-Fi
7 1 (0.32%) IPsec
7 1 (0.32%) iSCSI
7 1 (0.32%) Reverse Proxy
7 1 (0.32%) SD-WAN
7 1 (0.32%) SSL
7 1 (0.32%) Structured Cabling
7 1 (0.32%) Wireless
7 1 (0.32%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 38 (12.14%) Power BI
2 15 (4.79%) SQL Server
3 13 (4.15%) Data Warehouse
3 13 (4.15%) Metadata
4 8 (2.56%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 8 (2.56%) Tableau
5 6 (1.92%) PostgreSQL
5 6 (1.92%) Relational Database
6 5 (1.60%) Azure SQL Database
6 5 (1.60%) Snowflake Schema
7 4 (1.28%) Data Lake
8 3 (0.96%) MySQL
8 3 (0.96%) Semantic Layer
9 2 (0.64%) Amazon Redshift
9 2 (0.64%) Metadata Repository
9 2 (0.64%) NoSQL
9 2 (0.64%) Oracle Database
9 2 (0.64%) Power Query
9 2 (0.64%) SQLPlus
9 2 (0.64%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 13 (4.15%) JIRA
2 6 (1.92%) Git
3 3 (0.96%) GitLab
3 3 (0.96%) Jenkins
4 2 (0.64%) ERwin
4 2 (0.64%) Postman
4 2 (0.64%) Toad
4 2 (0.64%) Visual Studio
5 1 (0.32%) Artifactory
5 1 (0.32%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.32%) Cucumber
5 1 (0.32%) MSI
5 1 (0.32%) Oracle Forms
5 1 (0.32%) PowerBuilder
5 1 (0.32%) Selenium
5 1 (0.32%) SonarQube
5 1 (0.32%) SpecFlow
5 1 (0.32%) Terragrunt
5 1 (0.32%) TestRail
5 1 (0.32%) Zephyr
General
1 94 (30.03%) Social Skills
2 88 (28.12%) Finance
3 47 (15.02%) Analytical Skills
4 25 (7.99%) Banking
5 22 (7.03%) Public Sector
6 10 (3.19%) Investment Banking
6 10 (3.19%) Legal
7 7 (2.24%) Front Office
7 7 (2.24%) Organisational Skills
8 6 (1.92%) Retail
8 6 (1.92%) Telecoms
9 5 (1.60%) Documentation Skills
9 5 (1.60%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 5 (1.60%) Influencing Skills
10 4 (1.28%) General Ledger
10 4 (1.28%) Marketing
10 4 (1.28%) Military
10 4 (1.28%) Presentation Skills
11 3 (0.96%) Law
11 3 (0.96%) Manufacturing
Job Titles
1 47 (15.02%) Architect
2 45 (14.38%) Analyst
3 37 (11.82%) Senior
4 29 (9.27%) Developer
5 25 (7.99%) Consultant
6 21 (6.71%) Business Analyst
7 14 (4.47%) Data Architect
7 14 (4.47%) Data Engineer
8 13 (4.15%) Support Engineer
9 11 (3.51%) Azure Engineer
9 11 (3.51%) Lead
9 11 (3.51%) Project Manager
9 11 (3.51%) Solutions Architect
10 10 (3.19%) Cloud Engineer
11 9 (2.88%) Artificial Intelligence Engineer
11 9 (2.88%) IT Support
11 9 (2.88%) Microsoft Engineer
12 8 (2.56%) IT Engineer
12 8 (2.56%) Technical Architect
13 7 (2.24%) Platform Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 7 (2.24%) JSON
1 7 (2.24%) Middleware
2 6 (1.92%) PySpark
3 5 (1.60%) .NET
3 5 (1.60%) Kafka
3 5 (1.60%) REST
4 4 (1.28%) CSS
4 4 (1.28%) HTML
4 4 (1.28%) RESTful
4 4 (1.28%) XML
5 3 (0.96%) Microsoft Graph
5 3 (0.96%) Playwright
6 2 (0.64%) .NET Framework
6 2 (0.64%) Django
6 2 (0.64%) FIX Protocol
6 2 (0.64%) J2EE
6 2 (0.64%) React
6 2 (0.64%) Spring
6 2 (0.64%) WPF
6 2 (0.64%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 16 (5.11%) Onboarding
2 11 (3.51%) Cloud Native
3 9 (2.88%) AI Agents
3 9 (2.88%) Security Posture
4 7 (2.24%) Product Ownership
5 6 (1.92%) Equities
5 6 (1.92%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
5 6 (1.92%) Management Information System
6 5 (1.60%) Data Structures
6 5 (1.60%) Distributed Systems
6 5 (1.60%) Enterprise Software
6 5 (1.60%) Hybrid Cloud
7 4 (1.28%) Fixed Income
7 4 (1.28%) PMI
7 4 (1.28%) Reference Data
7 4 (1.28%) Virtual Team
8 3 (0.96%) Analytical Mindset
8 3 (0.96%) Clustering
8 3 (0.96%) Low-Code
8 3 (0.96%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 33 (10.54%) Windows
2 7 (2.24%) Mac OS
2 7 (2.24%) Windows 10
3 4 (1.28%) Windows Server
4 2 (0.64%) Apple iOS
4 2 (0.64%) Linux
4 2 (0.64%) Unix
5 1 (0.32%) VMS
5 1 (0.32%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 49 (15.65%) Analytics
2 47 (15.02%) Migration
3 45 (14.38%) Problem-Solving
4 44 (14.06%) Business Intelligence
5 43 (13.74%) Stakeholder Management
6 42 (13.42%) AI
6 42 (13.42%) CI/CD
7 40 (12.78%) DevOps
8 39 (12.46%) Agile
9 37 (11.82%) Data Modelling
10 33 (10.54%) Data Governance
11 32 (10.22%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 27 (8.63%) Roadmaps
13 22 (7.03%) Data Engineering
13 22 (7.03%) Decision-Making
13 22 (7.03%) Validation
14 20 (6.39%) Continuous Improvement
14 20 (6.39%) Data Migration
14 20 (6.39%) ETL
14 20 (6.39%) User Acceptance Testing
Programming Languages
1 52 (16.61%) SQL
2 33 (10.54%) Python
3 25 (7.99%) PowerShell
4 11 (3.51%) Java
5 9 (2.88%) C#
6 7 (2.24%) Kusto Query Language
7 4 (1.28%) Bash
7 4 (1.28%) Bicep
7 4 (1.28%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 4 (1.28%) T-SQL
8 3 (0.96%) JavaScript
8 3 (0.96%) PL/SQL
9 2 (0.64%) C
9 2 (0.64%) Perl
9 2 (0.64%) PHP
9 2 (0.64%) Shell Script
9 2 (0.64%) TypeScript
10 1 (0.32%) C++
10 1 (0.32%) Google Apps Script
10 1 (0.32%) VB
Qualifications
1 45 (14.38%) Security Cleared
2 32 (10.22%) SC Cleared
3 21 (6.71%) Degree
4 11 (3.51%) Microsoft Certification
5 8 (2.56%) Azure Certification
5 8 (2.56%) DV Cleared
6 6 (1.92%) CISSP
6 6 (1.92%) PMI Certification
7 5 (1.60%) BPSS Clearance
7 5 (1.60%) CISM
8 4 (1.28%) Computer Science Degree
9 3 (0.96%) CompTIA Security+
9 3 (0.96%) DBS Check
9 3 (0.96%) PMP
10 2 (0.64%) CCNP
10 2 (0.64%) Cisco Certification
10 2 (0.64%) CompTIA CySA+
10 2 (0.64%) GIAC
10 2 (0.64%) Network+ Certification
10 2 (0.64%) SnowPro
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (7.67%) Data Quality
2 18 (5.75%) GDPR
3 12 (3.83%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 11 (3.51%) QA
5 8 (2.56%) Cyber Essentials
5 8 (2.56%) NIST
5 8 (2.56%) PMO
6 4 (1.28%) Accessibility
6 4 (1.28%) SLA
7 3 (0.96%) GRC
7 3 (0.96%) IFRS
7 3 (0.96%) MiFID
7 3 (0.96%) NCSC
7 3 (0.96%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 2 (0.64%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 2 (0.64%) ISO 20022
9 1 (0.32%) Def Stans
9 1 (0.32%) HMG Security Policy Framework
9 1 (0.32%) ISO 22301
9 1 (0.32%) ISO/IEC 27005
System Software
1 30 (9.58%) Active Directory
2 12 (3.83%) Docker
3 9 (2.88%) Virtual Desktop
4 2 (0.64%) Virtual Machines
5 1 (0.32%) Hyper-V
Systems Management
1 22 (7.03%) Microsoft Intune
2 12 (3.83%) Terraform
3 11 (3.51%) Kubernetes
4 7 (2.24%) SCCM
5 3 (0.96%) Ansible
6 2 (0.64%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 2 (0.64%) Grafana
6 2 (0.64%) Jamf Pro
6 2 (0.64%) Prometheus
7 1 (0.32%) Autotask
7 1 (0.32%) Kibana
7 1 (0.32%) Opsgenie
7 1 (0.32%) Puppet
7 1 (0.32%) Salt
7 1 (0.32%) WSUS
Vendors
1 25 (7.99%) Databricks
2 12 (3.83%) Oracle
2 12 (3.83%) Salesforce
3 11 (3.51%) SAP
4 10 (3.19%) Google
5 9 (2.88%) ServiceNow
6 7 (2.24%) Citrix
6 7 (2.24%) Foundry
6 7 (2.24%) Workday
7 6 (1.92%) Informatica
8 5 (1.60%) Charles River
8 5 (1.60%) Palo Alto
9 4 (1.28%) Cisco
9 4 (1.28%) iManage
9 4 (1.28%) OpenAI
10 3 (0.96%) Anaplan
10 3 (0.96%) Bloomberg
10 3 (0.96%) MuleSoft
10 3 (0.96%) Splunk
10 3 (0.96%) Trend Micro