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 10 October 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
10 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 6 6
Rank change year-on-year +1 0 0
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 376 279 339
As % of all contract jobs in the City of London 17.50% 16.20% 15.96%
As % of the Vendors category 37.68% 32.44% 36.26%
Number of daily rates quoted 272 207 232
10th Percentile £280 £281 £253
25th Percentile £413 £363 £431
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £496 £538
Median % change year-on-year +5.95% -7.81% -2.27%
75th Percentile £650 £638 £650
90th Percentile £749 £725 £710
Central London median daily rate £525 £500 £527
% change year-on-year +5.00% -5.03% -4.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 3 2 6
10th Percentile £20.40 £22.48 £21.50
25th Percentile £21.75 £23.19 £27.00
Median hourly rate £24.00 £25.25 £56.00
Median % change year-on-year -4.95% -54.91% -
75th Percentile £25.07 £28.19 £107.13
90th Percentile £25.70 £29.43 £112.00
Central London median hourly rate £25.07 £22.00 £56.00
% change year-on-year +13.93% -60.71% -

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 998 860 935
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the City of London 46.44% 49.94% 44.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 699 594 589
10th Percentile £330 £325 £340
25th Percentile £447 £413 £463
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £551
Median % change year-on-year - -0.09% +0.09%
75th Percentile £666 £675 £675
90th Percentile £750 £738 £750
Central London median daily rate £550 £540 £550
% change year-on-year +1.85% -1.82% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 14 11 14
10th Percentile £18.75 £19.79 £16.75
25th Percentile £19.31 £21.09 £22.13
Median hourly rate £23.58 £28.15 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year -16.23% -43.70% +122.22%
75th Percentile £38.69 £50.25 £112.00
90th Percentile £55.95 £63.75 £137.50
Central London median hourly rate £26.13 £28.15 £42.00
% change year-on-year -7.18% -32.98% +86.67%

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 10 October 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 39 (10.37%) SharePoint
2 26 (6.91%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (3.19%) Confluence
4 6 (1.60%) Apache Spark
5 5 (1.33%) Apache
6 4 (1.06%) IIS
7 2 (0.53%) Apache Airflow
7 2 (0.53%) CMS
7 2 (0.53%) Umbraco
8 1 (0.27%) Exchange Server 2013
8 1 (0.27%) nginx
8 1 (0.27%) Oracle SOA Suite
Applications
1 33 (8.78%) Microsoft Excel
2 24 (6.38%) Microsoft Office
3 16 (4.26%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (1.06%) Microsoft Project
4 4 (1.06%) MS Visio
5 2 (0.53%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.27%) Adobe Illustrator
6 1 (0.27%) Adobe Premiere
6 1 (0.27%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.27%) Final Cut Pro
6 1 (0.27%) Photoshop
Business Applications
1 20 (5.32%) Dynamics CRM
2 8 (2.13%) Aladdin
3 3 (0.80%) SAP S/4HANA
4 2 (0.53%) iTrent
4 2 (0.53%) NetSuite
4 2 (0.53%) Payment Gateway
4 2 (0.53%) Remedy ITSM
4 2 (0.53%) 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%) FIS Private Capital Suite
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%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 163 (43.35%) Azure
2 75 (19.95%) Microsoft 365
3 72 (19.15%) Power Platform
4 51 (13.56%) Entra ID
5 47 (12.50%) Azure DevOps
6 36 (9.57%) Dynamics 365
7 33 (8.78%) AWS
8 26 (6.91%) Microsoft Copilot
9 24 (6.38%) Azure Data Factory
10 23 (6.12%) Power Automate
11 22 (5.85%) GCP
12 21 (5.59%) PowerApps
12 21 (5.59%) SaaS
13 20 (5.32%) GitHub
14 19 (5.05%) Microsoft Purview
14 19 (5.05%) OneDrive
15 18 (4.79%) Serverless
16 14 (3.72%) Azure Functions
16 14 (3.72%) Azure Logic Apps
16 14 (3.72%) Azure Synapse Analytics
Communications & Networking
1 32 (8.51%) DNS
2 24 (6.38%) DHCP
3 16 (4.26%) Firewall
3 16 (4.26%) VPN
4 14 (3.72%) TCP/IP
5 7 (1.86%) Unified Communications
6 5 (1.33%) LAN
6 5 (1.33%) WAN
6 5 (1.33%) Wi-Fi
7 4 (1.06%) Internet
7 4 (1.06%) Network Security
7 4 (1.06%) SMTP
8 3 (0.80%) Multicast
8 3 (0.80%) Reverse Proxy
8 3 (0.80%) Structured Cabling
8 3 (0.80%) VLAN
9 2 (0.53%) BGP
9 2 (0.53%) Intranet
9 2 (0.53%) Value-Added Service
9 2 (0.53%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 43 (11.44%) Power BI
2 18 (4.79%) Data Warehouse
2 18 (4.79%) SQL Server
3 12 (3.19%) Metadata
4 11 (2.93%) Azure SQL Database
5 9 (2.39%) Data Lake
5 9 (2.39%) Star Schema
6 8 (2.13%) Semantic Layer
7 6 (1.60%) Amazon RDS
8 5 (1.33%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
8 5 (1.33%) Relational Database
8 5 (1.33%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 4 (1.06%) Data Hub
10 3 (0.80%) Amazon Redshift
10 3 (0.80%) Big Data
10 3 (0.80%) BigQuery
10 3 (0.80%) Elasticsearch
10 3 (0.80%) PostgreSQL
10 3 (0.80%) Power Query
10 3 (0.80%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 28 (7.45%) JIRA
2 10 (2.66%) Git
3 7 (1.86%) Jenkins
4 6 (1.60%) Selenium
4 6 (1.60%) Visual Studio
5 4 (1.06%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.80%) Cucumber
6 3 (0.80%) JUnit
6 3 (0.80%) MSI
6 3 (0.80%) Postman
6 3 (0.80%) Visual Studio Code
7 2 (0.53%) Artifactory
7 2 (0.53%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 2 (0.53%) Cypress.io
7 2 (0.53%) Fiddler
7 2 (0.53%) GitLab
7 2 (0.53%) JDeveloper
7 2 (0.53%) SoapUI
7 2 (0.53%) TeamCity
8 1 (0.27%) Appium
General
1 119 (31.65%) Finance
1 119 (31.65%) Social Skills
2 49 (13.03%) Analytical Skills
3 43 (11.44%) Banking
4 24 (6.38%) Public Sector
5 13 (3.46%) Retail
6 11 (2.93%) General Ledger
6 11 (2.93%) Organisational Skills
7 9 (2.39%) Front Office
7 9 (2.39%) Legal
7 9 (2.39%) Marketing
8 8 (2.13%) Influencing Skills
9 7 (1.86%) Documentation Skills
9 7 (1.86%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 7 (1.86%) Investment Banking
9 7 (1.86%) Manufacturing
10 6 (1.60%) Telecoms
11 4 (1.06%) Back Office
11 4 (1.06%) Financial Institution
11 4 (1.06%) Military
Job Titles
1 61 (16.22%) Architect
2 46 (12.23%) Analyst
3 45 (11.97%) Developer
4 32 (8.51%) Consultant
5 26 (6.91%) Senior
5 26 (6.91%) Support Engineer
6 24 (6.38%) Solutions Architect
7 21 (5.59%) Lead
8 19 (5.05%) Data Architect
9 16 (4.26%) IT Support
10 15 (3.99%) Dynamics 365 Developer
11 13 (3.46%) Business Analyst
11 13 (3.46%) Data Engineer
12 12 (3.19%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 11 (2.93%) IT Engineer
13 11 (2.93%) Project Manager
14 9 (2.39%) IT Support Engineer
14 9 (2.39%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
14 9 (2.39%) Support Analyst
15 8 (2.13%) IT Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 23 (6.12%) .NET
1 23 (6.12%) Terraform
2 19 (5.05%) PySpark
3 18 (4.79%) REST
4 10 (2.66%) JSON
4 10 (2.66%) Middleware
4 10 (2.66%) OAuth
4 10 (2.66%) SAML
5 9 (2.39%) .NET Framework
5 9 (2.39%) XML
6 8 (2.13%) HTML
6 8 (2.13%) OpenID
6 8 (2.13%) SOAP
6 8 (2.13%) Web Services
7 5 (1.33%) ASP.NET Web API
8 4 (1.06%) GraphQL
8 4 (1.06%) HTML5 Canvas
8 4 (1.06%) Microsoft Graph
8 4 (1.06%) OAuth2
8 4 (1.06%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 36 (9.57%) Onboarding
2 20 (5.32%) AI Agents
3 15 (3.99%) Cloud Native
4 13 (3.46%) Distributed Systems
4 13 (3.46%) Enterprise Software
4 13 (3.46%) Video Conferencing
5 12 (3.19%) PKI
6 10 (2.66%) Management Information System
7 8 (2.13%) Data Structures
7 8 (2.13%) Low-Code
7 8 (2.13%) Product Ownership
8 7 (1.86%) Data Centre
9 6 (1.60%) Security Posture
10 5 (1.33%) CMDB
10 5 (1.33%) Legacy Systems
11 4 (1.06%) Self-Motivation
11 4 (1.06%) Virtual Team
12 3 (0.80%) Analytical Mindset
12 3 (0.80%) Hybrid Cloud
12 3 (0.80%) Life Science
Operating Systems
1 68 (18.09%) Windows
2 17 (4.52%) Windows Server
3 15 (3.99%) Linux
4 14 (3.72%) Mac OS
5 10 (2.66%) Windows 10
6 4 (1.06%) Unix
7 3 (0.80%) Android
7 3 (0.80%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 2 (0.53%) Apple iOS
8 2 (0.53%) Windows Server 2012
8 2 (0.53%) Windows Server 2019
9 1 (0.27%) OpenVMS
9 1 (0.27%) SUSE
9 1 (0.27%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
9 1 (0.27%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.27%) VMS
9 1 (0.27%) Windows 7
9 1 (0.27%) Windows Server 2003
9 1 (0.27%) Windows Server 2008
9 1 (0.27%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 86 (22.87%) Stakeholder Management
2 78 (20.74%) DevOps
3 76 (20.21%) Problem-Solving
4 70 (18.62%) Agile
5 63 (16.76%) CI/CD
5 63 (16.76%) Migration
6 59 (15.69%) Analytics
7 53 (14.10%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 52 (13.83%) AI
9 46 (12.23%) Business Intelligence
10 44 (11.70%) Data Modelling
11 38 (10.11%) Data Governance
12 35 (9.31%) Continuous Improvement
13 34 (9.04%) Roadmaps
14 30 (7.98%) Infrastructure as Code
15 29 (7.71%) Validation
16 28 (7.45%) Project Delivery
17 27 (7.18%) Integration Patterns
18 26 (6.91%) CRM
19 25 (6.65%) Asset Management
Programming Languages
1 63 (16.76%) SQL
2 53 (14.10%) Python
3 28 (7.45%) PowerShell
4 22 (5.85%) C#
5 16 (4.26%) Java
6 15 (3.99%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 13 (3.46%) JavaScript
8 9 (2.39%) TypeScript
9 7 (1.86%) Bicep
10 4 (1.06%) Kusto Query Language
10 4 (1.06%) T-SQL
11 3 (0.80%) R
12 2 (0.53%) Bash
12 2 (0.53%) C++
12 2 (0.53%) Korn
12 2 (0.53%) PL/SQL
13 1 (0.27%) COBOL
13 1 (0.27%) RPG
13 1 (0.27%) VB.NET
13 1 (0.27%) X++
Qualifications
1 67 (17.82%) Security Cleared
2 48 (12.77%) SC Cleared
3 27 (7.18%) Degree
4 13 (3.46%) Microsoft Certification
5 9 (2.39%) PMI Certification
6 8 (2.13%) DV Cleared
7 7 (1.86%) BPSS Clearance
8 6 (1.60%) PMP
9 5 (1.33%) DBS Check
10 4 (1.06%) Azure Certification
10 4 (1.06%) CISSP
11 3 (0.80%) Cisco Certification
11 3 (0.80%) Computer Science Degree
12 2 (0.53%) AWS Certification
12 2 (0.53%) CCNA
12 2 (0.53%) CCNP
12 2 (0.53%) CompTIA Security+
12 2 (0.53%) GIAC
12 2 (0.53%) PRINCE2 Certification
12 2 (0.53%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 37 (9.84%) Data Quality
2 20 (5.32%) QA
3 16 (4.26%) PMO
4 11 (2.93%) GDPR
5 9 (2.39%) Accessibility
5 9 (2.39%) NIST
6 8 (2.13%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 6 (1.60%) SLA
8 5 (1.33%) GRC
9 4 (1.06%) Cyber Essentials
9 4 (1.06%) NCSC
10 2 (0.53%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.53%) ISO/IEC 27005
11 1 (0.27%) Actionable Recommendations
11 1 (0.27%) Def Stans
11 1 (0.27%) Government Security Classifications
11 1 (0.27%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 1 (0.27%) IFRS
11 1 (0.27%) ISO/IEC 19770
11 1 (0.27%) P3O
System Software
1 61 (16.22%) Active Directory
2 13 (3.46%) Docker
3 9 (2.39%) VMware Infrastructure
4 5 (1.33%) Hyper-V
4 5 (1.33%) Virtual Desktop
5 4 (1.06%) Microsoft App-V
6 3 (0.80%) BitLocker
6 3 (0.80%) Terminal Services
6 3 (0.80%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.53%) IAG
7 2 (0.53%) Virtual Machines
8 1 (0.27%) Oracle RAC
8 1 (0.27%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 34 (9.04%) Microsoft Intune
2 14 (3.72%) Kubernetes
2 14 (3.72%) SCCM
3 13 (3.46%) Single Sign-On
4 11 (2.93%) Ansible
5 6 (1.60%) Grafana
6 4 (1.06%) Jamf Pro
7 3 (0.80%) Nagios
7 3 (0.80%) Puppet
7 3 (0.80%) vCenter Server
7 3 (0.80%) vMotion
7 3 (0.80%) WSUS
8 2 (0.53%) Prometheus
9 1 (0.27%) Cisco CUCM
9 1 (0.27%) EnCase
9 1 (0.27%) FTK
9 1 (0.27%) ITRS Geneos
9 1 (0.27%) PingFederate
9 1 (0.27%) PowerCLI
9 1 (0.27%) SELinux
Vendors
1 36 (9.57%) ServiceNow
2 22 (5.85%) Databricks
3 21 (5.59%) Google
4 20 (5.32%) Oracle
5 18 (4.79%) SAP
6 12 (3.19%) Cisco
6 12 (3.19%) VMware
7 10 (2.66%) Apple
7 10 (2.66%) Bloomberg
8 9 (2.39%) Citrix
9 7 (1.86%) Dynatrace
9 7 (1.86%) Foundry
9 7 (1.86%) IBM
9 7 (1.86%) Salesforce
9 7 (1.86%) Splunk
9 7 (1.86%) Workday
10 6 (1.60%) OpenAI
11 5 (1.33%) HP
11 5 (1.33%) Symantec
12 4 (1.06%) Informatica