Microsoft Contract Job Trends in the East Midlands

Microsoft
England > East Midlands

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the East Midlands 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 23 March 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
23 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 4 6
Rank change year-on-year -2 +2 -4
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 144 74 94
As % of all contract jobs in the East Midlands 14.13% 14.45% 12.65%
As % of the Vendors category 31.03% 32.17% 31.65%
Number of daily rates quoted 105 55 58
10th Percentile £131 £151 £156
25th Percentile £213 £200 £194
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £400 £410 £425
Median % change year-on-year -2.44% -3.53% +17.24%
75th Percentile £475 £494 £550
90th Percentile £580 £545 £636
England median daily rate £494 £475 £485
% change year-on-year +3.89% -2.06% -3.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 12 4 18
10th Percentile £12.94 £13.57 £13.63
25th Percentile £13.17 £14.55 £14.00
Median hourly rate £14.88 £16.93 £14.27
Median % change year-on-year -12.13% +18.62% -7.94%
75th Percentile £23.70 £20.11 £19.69
90th Percentile £25.49 £21.84 £26.50
England median hourly rate £19.91 £23.80 £16.00
% change year-on-year -16.34% +48.75% -24.46%

All Vendors
East Midlands

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 East Midlands.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 464 230 297
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the East Midlands 45.53% 44.92% 39.97%
Number of daily rates quoted 303 161 184
10th Percentile £190 £200 £166
25th Percentile £355 £356 £354
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £438 £450 £450
Median % change year-on-year -2.78% - +2.86%
75th Percentile £550 £537 £570
90th Percentile £635 £609 £664
England median daily rate £500 £525 £513
% change year-on-year -4.76% +2.44% -4.70%
Number of hourly rates quoted 48 11 25
10th Percentile £12.95 £13.75 £10.90
25th Percentile £14.96 £13.81 £12.28
Median hourly rate £16.35 £15.09 £14.00
Median % change year-on-year +8.35% +7.79% -20.99%
75th Percentile £24.49 £21.07 £16.63
90th Percentile £26.11 £31.76 £25.39
England median hourly rate £25.15 £30.00 £24.15
% change year-on-year -16.17% +24.25% -31.01%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in the East Midlands

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

Microsoft job vacancy trend in the East Midlands

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in the East Midlands

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the East Midlands citing Microsoft.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the East Midlands citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in the East Midlands

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in the East Midlands over the 6 months to 23 March 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in the East Midlands

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in the East Midlands

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the East Midlands citing Microsoft.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the East Midlands citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in the East Midlands

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in the East Midlands over the 6 months to 23 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in the East Midlands

Microsoft
Contract Job Locations in the East Midlands

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Microsoft within the East Midlands region over the 6 months to 23 March 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
Northamptonshire -1 47 £425 -5.56% 55
Nottinghamshire -2 42 £220 -50.28% 35
Leicestershire +7 27 £132 -47.33% 49
Derbyshire -6 16 £425 +112.50% 32
Lincolnshire -10 10 £700 +317.91% 27
Microsoft
England

Microsoft
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the East Midlands 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 21 (14.58%) SharePoint
2 17 (11.81%) Microsoft Exchange
3 6 (4.17%) Confluence
4 2 (1.39%) CMS
5 1 (0.69%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 1 (0.69%) Apache Spark
5 1 (0.69%) Apache Superset
5 1 (0.69%) Exchange Server 2010
5 1 (0.69%) IIS
5 1 (0.69%) Tomcat
Applications
1 17 (11.81%) Microsoft Excel
2 16 (11.11%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (6.25%) Spreadsheet
4 7 (4.86%) Microsoft Project
4 7 (4.86%) MS Visio
5 4 (2.78%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 5 (3.47%) Dynamics AX
2 2 (1.39%) Maximo
3 1 (0.69%) assyst
3 1 (0.69%) Payment Gateway
3 1 (0.69%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 41 (28.47%) Microsoft 365
2 38 (26.39%) Azure
3 20 (13.89%) Entra ID
4 16 (11.11%) Power Platform
5 11 (7.64%) PowerApps
6 10 (6.94%) AWS
7 9 (6.25%) Azure DevOps
8 8 (5.56%) GCP
9 6 (4.17%) Dynamics 365
9 6 (4.17%) Microsoft Purview
10 5 (3.47%) Azure Monitor
10 5 (3.47%) Power Automate
11 4 (2.78%) Azure Service Bus
11 4 (2.78%) Serverless
12 3 (2.08%) Amazon GuardDuty
12 3 (2.08%) AWS CloudFormation
12 3 (2.08%) Azure Functions
12 3 (2.08%) IaaS
12 3 (2.08%) OneDrive
12 3 (2.08%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 6 (4.17%) Network Security
2 5 (3.47%) DNS
3 4 (2.78%) Firewall
3 4 (2.78%) VLAN
4 3 (2.08%) DHCP
4 3 (2.08%) Reverse Proxy
5 2 (1.39%) VPN
6 1 (0.69%) Unified Communications
6 1 (0.69%) VSAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (3.47%) Power BI
2 4 (2.78%) PostgreSQL
2 4 (2.78%) Tableau
3 3 (2.08%) Azure SQL Database
3 3 (2.08%) SQL Server
4 2 (1.39%) Data Warehouse
4 2 (1.39%) EDMS
4 2 (1.39%) Electronic Patient Records
4 2 (1.39%) Relational Database
5 1 (0.69%) Amazon RDS
5 1 (0.69%) Big Data
5 1 (0.69%) Data Lake
5 1 (0.69%) Metadata
5 1 (0.69%) MongoDB
5 1 (0.69%) MySQL
5 1 (0.69%) Parquet
5 1 (0.69%) Power Query
5 1 (0.69%) RDBMS
5 1 (0.69%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 1 (0.69%) VLDB
Development Applications
1 9 (6.25%) JIRA
2 7 (4.86%) Git
General
1 46 (31.94%) Social Skills
2 24 (16.67%) Finance
3 15 (10.42%) Analytical Skills
4 8 (5.56%) Law
5 6 (4.17%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 4 (2.78%) Banking
6 4 (2.78%) Legal
7 3 (2.08%) Aerospace
7 3 (2.08%) Documentation Skills
7 3 (2.08%) Public Sector
8 2 (1.39%) Marketing
9 1 (0.69%) Billing
9 1 (0.69%) Corporate Banking
9 1 (0.69%) Digital Healthcare
9 1 (0.69%) Manufacturing
9 1 (0.69%) Organisational Skills
9 1 (0.69%) Retail
9 1 (0.69%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 31 (21.53%) Analyst
2 19 (13.19%) Desktop Support
3 15 (10.42%) Architect
4 14 (9.72%) Developer
5 12 (8.33%) Senior
5 12 (8.33%) Service Analyst
5 12 (8.33%) Service Desk Analyst
6 10 (6.94%) Administrator
7 8 (5.56%) IT Support
7 8 (5.56%) Power Platform Developer
7 8 (5.56%) Support Engineer
8 7 (4.86%) Consultant
8 7 (4.86%) Desktop Support Technician
8 7 (4.86%) Desktop Technician
8 7 (4.86%) Lead
8 7 (4.86%) Support Technician
9 6 (4.17%) Business Analyst
9 6 (4.17%) Desktop Engineer
9 6 (4.17%) Desktop Support Engineer
9 6 (4.17%) Systems Administrator
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 8 (5.56%) REST
2 4 (2.78%) .NET
2 4 (2.78%) HTML
3 3 (2.08%) ASP.NET
3 3 (2.08%) CSS
3 3 (2.08%) Middleware
3 3 (2.08%) OAuth
3 3 (2.08%) OAuth2
3 3 (2.08%) OpenID
3 3 (2.08%) RESTful
3 3 (2.08%) SAML
4 2 (1.39%) .NET Framework
4 2 (1.39%) AngularJS
4 2 (1.39%) ASP.NET MVC
4 2 (1.39%) FHIR
4 2 (1.39%) Kafka
4 2 (1.39%) Node.js
4 2 (1.39%) React
4 2 (1.39%) SOAP
4 2 (1.39%) Visualforce
Miscellaneous
1 13 (9.03%) Smartphone
2 10 (6.94%) Product Ownership
3 7 (4.86%) Cloud Native
4 6 (4.17%) Onboarding
5 5 (3.47%) Data Structures
5 5 (3.47%) Management Information System
6 3 (2.08%) Driving Licence
6 3 (2.08%) e-Learning
6 3 (2.08%) Enterprise Software
6 3 (2.08%) Self-Motivation
6 3 (2.08%) Web Conferencing
7 2 (1.39%) Mobile App
7 2 (1.39%) NHS
7 2 (1.39%) Operational Technology
7 2 (1.39%) PMI
8 1 (0.69%) Analytical Mindset
8 1 (0.69%) Data Fabric
8 1 (0.69%) Distributed Systems
8 1 (0.69%) Replication
8 1 (0.69%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 50 (34.72%) Windows
2 27 (18.75%) Windows 10
3 8 (5.56%) Apple iOS
4 6 (4.17%) Windows Server
5 4 (2.78%) Windows 7
5 4 (2.78%) Windows 8
6 2 (1.39%) Mac OS
6 2 (1.39%) Windows Server 2003
6 2 (1.39%) Windows Server 2008
7 1 (0.69%) Data ONTAP
7 1 (0.69%) Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 38 (26.39%) Problem-Solving
2 29 (20.14%) Customer Service
2 29 (20.14%) Stakeholder Management
3 28 (19.44%) Migration
4 22 (15.28%) Continuous Improvement
4 22 (15.28%) DevOps
5 18 (12.50%) CI/CD
6 14 (9.72%) Change Management
6 14 (9.72%) Infrastructure as Code
7 13 (9.03%) Data Migration
7 13 (9.03%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 11 (7.64%) Agile
8 11 (7.64%) Analytics
9 10 (6.94%) Collaborative Working
9 10 (6.94%) Digital Strategy
9 10 (6.94%) Project Delivery
10 9 (6.25%) BCP
10 9 (6.25%) Workshop Facilitation
11 8 (5.56%) Asset Management
11 8 (5.56%) Disaster Recovery
Programming Languages
1 15 (10.42%) SQL
2 11 (7.64%) PowerShell
3 9 (6.25%) C#
4 8 (5.56%) Python
5 5 (3.47%) Bicep
6 4 (2.78%) Bash
6 4 (2.78%) JavaScript
7 3 (2.08%) R
8 2 (1.39%) Apex Code
8 2 (1.39%) TypeScript
8 2 (1.39%) VBA
9 1 (0.69%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 1 (0.69%) Java
9 1 (0.69%) MATLAB
9 1 (0.69%) Rust
9 1 (0.69%) SOQL
9 1 (0.69%) Swift
9 1 (0.69%) T-SQL
9 1 (0.69%) X++
Qualifications
1 8 (5.56%) Security Cleared
2 7 (4.86%) Degree
2 7 (4.86%) Microsoft Certification
3 5 (3.47%) SC Cleared
4 4 (2.78%) BPSS Clearance
5 2 (1.39%) Azure Certification
5 2 (1.39%) Computer Science Degree
5 2 (1.39%) DV Cleared
5 2 (1.39%) Master's Degree
5 2 (1.39%) MBA
5 2 (1.39%) PMI Certification
5 2 (1.39%) PMP
6 1 (0.69%) AAT
6 1 (0.69%) ACCA
6 1 (0.69%) CBAP
6 1 (0.69%) CIMA
6 1 (0.69%) IIBA
6 1 (0.69%) SAFe Agilist
6 1 (0.69%) VCAP
6 1 (0.69%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 10 (6.94%) GDPR
2 5 (3.47%) GRC
2 5 (3.47%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 5 (3.47%) PCI DSS
3 4 (2.78%) SLA
4 3 (2.08%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
4 3 (2.08%) NIST
4 3 (2.08%) QA
4 3 (2.08%) SOC 2
5 2 (1.39%) Data Quality
5 2 (1.39%) PMO
6 1 (0.69%) Accessibility
6 1 (0.69%) Basel III
6 1 (0.69%) California Consumer Privacy Act
6 1 (0.69%) HL7
6 1 (0.69%) ISO 8583
6 1 (0.69%) PSD2
System Software
1 46 (31.94%) Active Directory
2 5 (3.47%) VMware Infrastructure
3 3 (2.08%) Docker
3 3 (2.08%) Hyper-V
4 2 (1.39%) Terminal Services
5 1 (0.69%) VMware NSX
5 1 (0.69%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 23 (15.97%) SCCM
2 19 (13.19%) Microsoft Intune
3 14 (9.72%) Terraform
4 6 (4.17%) Kubernetes
5 3 (2.08%) Single Sign-On
6 2 (1.39%) Ansible
6 2 (1.39%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 5 (3.47%) Citrix
1 5 (3.47%) HP
1 5 (3.47%) VMware
2 4 (2.78%) Google
2 4 (2.78%) Salesforce
2 4 (2.78%) Tenable
3 3 (2.08%) Databricks
3 3 (2.08%) Dynatrace
3 3 (2.08%) iManage
3 3 (2.08%) ServiceNow
3 3 (2.08%) Splunk
4 2 (1.39%) Oracle
4 2 (1.39%) SAP
5 1 (0.69%) Apple
5 1 (0.69%) Informatica
5 1 (0.69%) Intel
5 1 (0.69%) NetApp
5 1 (0.69%) Remedy
5 1 (0.69%) Sage
5 1 (0.69%) Sophos