Microsoft Contract Job Trends in the City of London

Microsoft
Central London > City of London

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the City of 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 12 September 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
12 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 10 5
Rank change year-on-year +4 -5 +1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 367 285 360
As % of all contract jobs in the City of London 16.07% 15.88% 17.22%
As % of the Vendors category 36.59% 32.28% 38.88%
Number of daily rates quoted 273 192 263
10th Percentile £281 £276 £273
25th Percentile £413 £361 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £545 £500 £550
Median % change year-on-year +9.00% -9.09% -
75th Percentile £656 £638 £653
90th Percentile £750 £723 £710
Central London median daily rate £525 £500 £543
% change year-on-year +5.00% -7.83% -1.36%
Number of hourly rates quoted 3 2 4
10th Percentile £20.40 £22.48 £19.30
25th Percentile £21.75 £23.19 £24.25
Median hourly rate £24.00 £25.25 £27.00
Median % change year-on-year -4.95% -6.48% -
75th Percentile £25.07 £28.19 £43.38
90th Percentile £25.70 £29.43 £72.85
Central London median hourly rate £25.07 £24.23 £27.00
% change year-on-year +3.47% -10.28% -

All Vendors
City of 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 the City of London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 1,003 883 926
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the City of London 43.91% 49.19% 44.29%
Number of daily rates quoted 708 584 605
10th Percentile £334 £322 £350
25th Percentile £445 £413 £463
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £553
Median % change year-on-year - -0.45% -0.45%
75th Percentile £656 £675 £675
90th Percentile £750 £750 £756
Central London median daily rate £538 £536 £550
% change year-on-year +0.28% -2.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 14 13 11
10th Percentile £18.75 £20.23 £16.00
25th Percentile £18.88 £23.75 £19.50
Median hourly rate £22.83 £34.65 £27.00
Median % change year-on-year -34.11% +28.33% -25.52%
75th Percentile £29.78 £63.75 £115.00
90th Percentile £42.48 £65.21 £137.50
Central London median hourly rate £24.00 £29.07 £27.00
% change year-on-year -17.44% +7.67% -25.52%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in the City of London

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

Microsoft job vacancy trend in the City of London

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in the City of London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the City of London citing Microsoft.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the City of London citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in the City of London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in the City of London over the 6 months to 12 September 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in the City of London

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in the City of London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the City of London citing Microsoft.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the City of London citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the City of 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 42 (11.44%) SharePoint
2 29 (7.90%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (2.45%) Confluence
4 6 (1.63%) Apache Spark
5 5 (1.36%) Apache
6 3 (0.82%) Apache Airflow
7 2 (0.54%) CMS
7 2 (0.54%) IIS
7 2 (0.54%) Umbraco
8 1 (0.27%) Exchange Server 2013
8 1 (0.27%) nginx
8 1 (0.27%) Oracle SOA Suite
Applications
1 34 (9.26%) Microsoft Excel
2 19 (5.18%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (4.09%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (1.09%) Microsoft Project
5 3 (0.82%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.54%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.27%) Adobe Illustrator
7 1 (0.27%) Adobe Premiere
7 1 (0.27%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.27%) Final Cut Pro
7 1 (0.27%) Photoshop
Business Applications
1 19 (5.18%) Dynamics CRM
2 5 (1.36%) Aladdin
3 3 (0.82%) SAP S/4HANA
4 2 (0.54%) iTrent
4 2 (0.54%) NetSuite
4 2 (0.54%) Payment Gateway
4 2 (0.54%) Remedy ITSM
4 2 (0.54%) SAP GRC
5 1 (0.27%) Advent Moxy
5 1 (0.27%) Advent Portfolio Exchange
5 1 (0.27%) Dynamics NAV
5 1 (0.27%) Exchequer
5 1 (0.27%) Monis
5 1 (0.27%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.27%) Oracle Retail
5 1 (0.27%) SAP CRM
5 1 (0.27%) SAP ERP
5 1 (0.27%) SAP FI-AR
5 1 (0.27%) SAP MM
5 1 (0.27%) SAP Oil and Gas
Cloud Services
1 162 (44.14%) Azure
2 78 (21.25%) Microsoft 365
3 71 (19.35%) Power Platform
4 49 (13.35%) Entra ID
5 44 (11.99%) Azure DevOps
6 37 (10.08%) Dynamics 365
7 28 (7.63%) AWS
8 24 (6.54%) Azure Data Factory
9 23 (6.27%) Microsoft Copilot
9 23 (6.27%) Power Automate
10 22 (5.99%) SaaS
11 21 (5.72%) GCP
11 21 (5.72%) OneDrive
12 20 (5.45%) PowerApps
13 17 (4.63%) GitHub
13 17 (4.63%) Microsoft Purview
13 17 (4.63%) Serverless
14 14 (3.81%) Azure Logic Apps
15 13 (3.54%) Azure Functions
15 13 (3.54%) Azure Synapse Analytics
Communications & Networking
1 30 (8.17%) DNS
2 23 (6.27%) DHCP
3 18 (4.90%) Firewall
4 16 (4.36%) VPN
5 14 (3.81%) TCP/IP
6 6 (1.63%) Unified Communications
7 5 (1.36%) LAN
7 5 (1.36%) Network Security
7 5 (1.36%) WAN
8 4 (1.09%) Internet
8 4 (1.09%) SMTP
9 3 (0.82%) Multicast
9 3 (0.82%) Structured Cabling
9 3 (0.82%) VLAN
9 3 (0.82%) Wi-Fi
10 2 (0.54%) BGP
10 2 (0.54%) Intranet
10 2 (0.54%) Reverse Proxy
10 2 (0.54%) Value-Added Service
10 2 (0.54%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 43 (11.72%) Power BI
2 22 (5.99%) Data Warehouse
3 16 (4.36%) SQL Server
4 12 (3.27%) Metadata
5 11 (3.00%) Azure SQL Database
6 10 (2.72%) Data Lake
7 8 (2.18%) Star Schema
8 7 (1.91%) Semantic Layer
9 5 (1.36%) Amazon RDS
9 5 (1.36%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
9 5 (1.36%) Power Query
9 5 (1.36%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 4 (1.09%) Amazon Redshift
10 4 (1.09%) Big Data
10 4 (1.09%) Data Hub
11 3 (0.82%) BigQuery
11 3 (0.82%) Elasticsearch
11 3 (0.82%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.82%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 3 (0.82%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 24 (6.54%) JIRA
2 9 (2.45%) Git
3 6 (1.63%) Jenkins
3 6 (1.63%) Visual Studio
4 4 (1.09%) Bitbucket
4 4 (1.09%) Selenium
5 3 (0.82%) Artifactory
5 3 (0.82%) GitLab
5 3 (0.82%) JUnit
5 3 (0.82%) MSI
5 3 (0.82%) Visual Studio Code
6 2 (0.54%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 2 (0.54%) Cucumber
6 2 (0.54%) Fiddler
6 2 (0.54%) TeamCity
7 1 (0.27%) Cypress.io
7 1 (0.27%) Rational Functional Tester
7 1 (0.27%) SilkTest
7 1 (0.27%) Team Foundation Server
7 1 (0.27%) WebDriver
General
1 116 (31.61%) Finance
2 110 (29.97%) Social Skills
3 47 (12.81%) Analytical Skills
4 38 (10.35%) Banking
5 23 (6.27%) Public Sector
6 11 (3.00%) General Ledger
6 11 (3.00%) Retail
6 11 (3.00%) Telecoms
7 10 (2.72%) Legal
8 9 (2.45%) Influencing Skills
8 9 (2.45%) Marketing
8 9 (2.45%) Organisational Skills
9 8 (2.18%) Front Office
10 7 (1.91%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 7 (1.91%) Investment Banking
10 7 (1.91%) Manufacturing
11 6 (1.63%) Law
12 5 (1.36%) Documentation Skills
12 5 (1.36%) Military
13 4 (1.09%) Back Office
Job Titles
1 60 (16.35%) Architect
2 42 (11.44%) Developer
3 41 (11.17%) Analyst
4 35 (9.54%) Consultant
5 28 (7.63%) Senior
5 28 (7.63%) Support Engineer
6 22 (5.99%) Lead
7 20 (5.45%) Data Architect
8 17 (4.63%) Solutions Architect
9 16 (4.36%) IT Support
10 14 (3.81%) Dynamics 365 Developer
11 13 (3.54%) Project Manager
12 12 (3.27%) Data Engineer
12 12 (3.27%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 11 (3.00%) IT Engineer
14 9 (2.45%) IT Support Engineer
14 9 (2.45%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
14 9 (2.45%) Support Analyst
15 8 (2.18%) Business Analyst
15 8 (2.18%) IT Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (5.72%) .NET
1 21 (5.72%) Terraform
2 18 (4.90%) PySpark
3 17 (4.63%) REST
4 9 (2.45%) .NET Framework
4 9 (2.45%) HTML
5 8 (2.18%) JSON
5 8 (2.18%) Middleware
5 8 (2.18%) SAML
5 8 (2.18%) SOAP
5 8 (2.18%) XML
6 7 (1.91%) OAuth
7 6 (1.63%) CSS
7 6 (1.63%) OpenID
8 5 (1.36%) ASP.NET Web API
8 5 (1.36%) Web Services
9 4 (1.09%) HTML5 Canvas
9 4 (1.09%) XSLT
10 3 (0.82%) ADO
10 3 (0.82%) ASP.NET
Miscellaneous
1 30 (8.17%) Onboarding
2 16 (4.36%) AI Agents
3 15 (4.09%) Cloud Native
4 13 (3.54%) Video Conferencing
5 11 (3.00%) Enterprise Software
5 11 (3.00%) PKI
6 10 (2.72%) Management Information System
7 9 (2.45%) Distributed Systems
7 9 (2.45%) Product Ownership
8 7 (1.91%) Data Centre
8 7 (1.91%) Data Structures
8 7 (1.91%) Security Posture
9 6 (1.63%) Low-Code
10 4 (1.09%) Clustering
10 4 (1.09%) Equities
10 4 (1.09%) PMI
11 3 (0.82%) Analytical Mindset
11 3 (0.82%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
11 3 (0.82%) Life Science
11 3 (0.82%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 65 (17.71%) Windows
2 16 (4.36%) Mac OS
2 16 (4.36%) Windows Server
3 12 (3.27%) Linux
4 10 (2.72%) Windows 10
5 4 (1.09%) Unix
6 3 (0.82%) Android
6 3 (0.82%) Windows Server 2012
7 2 (0.54%) Apple iOS
7 2 (0.54%) Windows Server 2019
8 1 (0.27%) OpenVMS
8 1 (0.27%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 1 (0.27%) SUSE
8 1 (0.27%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
8 1 (0.27%) VMS
8 1 (0.27%) Windows 7
8 1 (0.27%) Windows Server 2003
8 1 (0.27%) Windows Server 2008
8 1 (0.27%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 77 (20.98%) DevOps
2 76 (20.71%) Stakeholder Management
3 71 (19.35%) Problem-Solving
4 68 (18.53%) Agile
5 62 (16.89%) Analytics
6 60 (16.35%) CI/CD
7 58 (15.80%) Migration
8 49 (13.35%) AI
9 47 (12.81%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 46 (12.53%) Business Intelligence
10 46 (12.53%) Data Modelling
11 39 (10.63%) Data Governance
12 33 (8.99%) Continuous Improvement
13 31 (8.45%) Roadmaps
14 29 (7.90%) Integration Patterns
15 27 (7.36%) Infrastructure as Code
15 27 (7.36%) Project Delivery
15 27 (7.36%) Validation
16 26 (7.08%) Data Engineering
16 26 (7.08%) Decision-Making
Programming Languages
1 62 (16.89%) SQL
2 48 (13.08%) Python
3 27 (7.36%) PowerShell
4 20 (5.45%) C#
5 14 (3.81%) Java
6 13 (3.54%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 12 (3.27%) JavaScript
8 9 (2.45%) TypeScript
9 6 (1.63%) Bicep
10 4 (1.09%) Bash
10 4 (1.09%) Kusto Query Language
10 4 (1.09%) T-SQL
11 3 (0.82%) R
12 2 (0.54%) C++
12 2 (0.54%) PL/SQL
13 1 (0.27%) COBOL
13 1 (0.27%) Korn
13 1 (0.27%) RPG
13 1 (0.27%) VB.NET
13 1 (0.27%) X++
Qualifications
1 67 (18.26%) Security Cleared
2 45 (12.26%) SC Cleared
3 25 (6.81%) Degree
4 14 (3.81%) Microsoft Certification
5 11 (3.00%) DV Cleared
6 9 (2.45%) PMI Certification
7 7 (1.91%) BPSS Clearance
8 5 (1.36%) Azure Certification
8 5 (1.36%) CISSP
8 5 (1.36%) DBS Check
8 5 (1.36%) PMP
9 3 (0.82%) Cisco Certification
9 3 (0.82%) CISM
9 3 (0.82%) Computer Science Degree
10 2 (0.54%) CAPM
10 2 (0.54%) CCNA
10 2 (0.54%) CCNP
10 2 (0.54%) CompTIA Security+
10 2 (0.54%) PRINCE2 Certification
10 2 (0.54%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (9.26%) Data Quality
2 20 (5.45%) QA
3 15 (4.09%) PMO
4 13 (3.54%) GDPR
5 9 (2.45%) Accessibility
5 9 (2.45%) NIST
6 8 (2.18%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 5 (1.36%) Cyber Essentials
7 5 (1.36%) GRC
7 5 (1.36%) SLA
8 4 (1.09%) NCSC
9 2 (0.54%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (0.54%) ISO/IEC 27005
10 1 (0.27%) Def Stans
10 1 (0.27%) HMG Security Policy Framework
10 1 (0.27%) IFRS
10 1 (0.27%) ISO/IEC 19770
10 1 (0.27%) NIST 800
10 1 (0.27%) P3O
10 1 (0.27%) UCITS
System Software
1 60 (16.35%) Active Directory
2 12 (3.27%) Docker
3 7 (1.91%) VMware Infrastructure
4 5 (1.36%) Hyper-V
4 5 (1.36%) Virtual Desktop
5 4 (1.09%) Microsoft App-V
6 3 (0.82%) BitLocker
6 3 (0.82%) Terminal Services
6 3 (0.82%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.54%) IAG
7 2 (0.54%) Virtual Machines
8 1 (0.27%) Oracle RAC
Systems Management
1 36 (9.81%) Microsoft Intune
2 16 (4.36%) SCCM
3 13 (3.54%) Kubernetes
4 11 (3.00%) Ansible
4 11 (3.00%) Single Sign-On
5 5 (1.36%) Jamf Pro
6 4 (1.09%) Grafana
6 4 (1.09%) Puppet
7 3 (0.82%) Nagios
7 3 (0.82%) Prometheus
7 3 (0.82%) vCenter Server
7 3 (0.82%) vMotion
7 3 (0.82%) WSUS
8 1 (0.27%) AirWatch
8 1 (0.27%) ITRS Geneos
8 1 (0.27%) PingFederate
8 1 (0.27%) PowerCLI
8 1 (0.27%) Salt
8 1 (0.27%) SCOrch
8 1 (0.27%) SELinux
Vendors
1 31 (8.45%) ServiceNow
2 21 (5.72%) Databricks
2 21 (5.72%) Oracle
3 20 (5.45%) Google
3 20 (5.45%) SAP
4 12 (3.27%) Cisco
5 11 (3.00%) Apple
6 10 (2.72%) Bloomberg
6 10 (2.72%) VMware
7 9 (2.45%) Citrix
8 7 (1.91%) Salesforce
9 6 (1.63%) Workday
10 5 (1.36%) Foundry
10 5 (1.36%) HP
10 5 (1.36%) OpenAI
10 5 (1.36%) Symantec
11 4 (1.09%) IBM
11 4 (1.09%) iManage
11 4 (1.09%) Informatica
11 4 (1.09%) Okta