Active Directory Contract Job Trends in the South East
Microsoft Active Directory
England > South East
The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the South East requiring Active Directory skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 19 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 19 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 30 | 23 | 23 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -7 | 0 | -1 |
| Contract jobs citing Active Directory | 388 | 267 | 344 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the South East | 5.92% | 7.39% | 8.07% |
| As % of the System Software category | 50.00% | 52.46% | 52.92% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 244 | 198 | 250 |
| 10th Percentile | £225 | £162 | £200 |
| 25th Percentile | £272 | £200 | £309 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £500 | £430 | £480 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +16.28% | -10.41% | +47.69% |
| 75th Percentile | £588 | £559 | £630 |
| 90th Percentile | £628 | £604 | £671 |
| England median daily rate | £450 | £425 | £425 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.88% | - | +6.25% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 32 | 3 | 6 |
| 10th Percentile | £16.00 | £21.35 | £22.33 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.21 | £25.64 | £23.36 |
| Median hourly rate | £55.62 | £32.77 | £27.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +69.72% | +19.16% | +1.85% |
| 75th Percentile | £77.50 | £96.39 | £46.94 |
| 90th Percentile | £95.65 | £134.55 | £61.34 |
| England median hourly rate | £52.50 | £22.00 | £23.10 |
| % change year-on-year | +138.64% | -4.76% | +18.46% |
All System Software Skills
South East
Active Directory falls under the System Software category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring system software skills in the South East.
| 6 months to 19 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for system software skills | 776 | 509 | 650 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East | 11.84% | 14.08% | 15.25% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 507 | 359 | 434 |
| 10th Percentile | £263 | £190 | £221 |
| 25th Percentile | £417 | £256 | £360 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £485 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +8.25% | -3.00% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £610 | £575 | £621 |
| 90th Percentile | £688 | £638 | £672 |
| England median daily rate | £500 | £500 | £513 |
| % change year-on-year | - | -2.44% | +2.50% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 61 | 12 | 27 |
| 10th Percentile | £16.00 | £35.17 | £26.25 |
| 25th Percentile | £33.70 | £67.44 | £51.88 |
| Median hourly rate | £60.00 | £81.00 | £58.49 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -25.93% | +38.49% | +2.70% |
| 75th Percentile | £69.82 | £81.50 | £70.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £92.50 | £88.97 | - |
| England median hourly rate | £62.50 | £32.77 | £50.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +90.72% | -34.46% | +6.75% |
Active Directory Job Vacancy Trend in the South East
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Active Directory relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East.
Active Directory Daily Rate Trend in the South East
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Active Directory.
Active Directory Daily Rate Histogram in the South East
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Active Directory in the South East over the 6 months to 19 October 2026.
Active Directory Hourly Rate Trend in the South East
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Active Directory.
Active Directory Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East
Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Active Directory in the South East over the 6 months to 19 October 2026.
Active Directory Contract Job Locations in the South East
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Active Directory within the South East region over the 6 months to 19 October 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thames Valley | +2 | 200 | £500 | +81.82% | 48 |
| Hampshire | -1 | 138 | £538 | +7.50% | 60 |
| Berkshire | -8 | 83 | £500 | +37.93% | 24 |
| Oxfordshire | +10 | 69 | £400 | +52.38% | 12 |
| Buckinghamshire | -12 | 48 | £592 | +116.27% | 12 |
| West Sussex | -19 | 18 | £210 | +5.00% | 10 |
| Surrey | -28 | 15 | £413 | +77.42% | 28 |
| Kent | -7 | 12 | £275 | +4.76% | 10 |
| East Sussex | -7 | 4 | £115 | -36.11% | 3 |
| Home Counties | - | 2 | £600 | - | |
| Active Directory England |
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Active Directory Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
System Software
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VMware Infrastructure | 19.6% | 76 |
| 2 | VMware ESXi | 12.6% | 49 |
| 3 | VMware NSX | 6.7% | 26 |
| 4 | Hyper-V | 6.2% | 24 |
| 5 | vCloud | 4.1% | 16 |
| 6 | Virtual Desktop | 3.4% | 13 |
| 7 | vSphere | 3.1% | 12 |
| 8 | Virtual Machines | 2.8% | 11 |
| 9 | BitLocker | 1.0% | 4 |
| 9 | Virtual Servers | 1.0% | 4 |
| 11 | Dovecot | 0.8% | 3 |
| 11 | Microsoft Virtual Server | 0.8% | 3 |
| 11 | OpenAM | 0.8% | 3 |
| 11 | Postfix | 0.8% | 3 |
| 15 | Docker | 0.5% | 2 |
| 16 | Citrix Hypervisor | 0.3% | 1 |
| 16 | Firmware | 0.3% | 1 |
| 16 | XenApp | 0.3% | 1 |
| 16 | XenDesktop | 0.3% | 1 |