Microsoft Contract Job Trends in the South East

Microsoft
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the South East 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 2 January 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
2 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 7 4
Rank change year-on-year 0 -3 +1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 612 519 812
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 13.95% 14.69% 16.39%
As % of the Vendors category 27.70% 29.27% 31.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 436 370 557
10th Percentile £200 £200 £163
25th Percentile £257 £350 £213
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £454 £465
Median % change year-on-year +4.63% -2.37% +3.33%
75th Percentile £566 £588 £575
90th Percentile £640 £670 £650
England median daily rate £475 £475 £500
% change year-on-year - -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 65 16 29
10th Percentile £12.50 £16.60 £13.18
25th Percentile £14.50 £19.99 £16.25
Median hourly rate £17.50 £27.71 £22.00
Median % change year-on-year -36.83% +25.93% +18.92%
75th Percentile £27.50 £54.72 £55.00
90th Percentile £88.18 £57.62 £60.69
England median hourly rate £20.00 £22.27 £22.00
% change year-on-year -10.19% +1.23% +7.47%

All Vendors
South East

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 South East.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 2,209 1,773 2,578
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 50.34% 50.20% 52.04%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,588 1,168 1,651
10th Percentile £231 £241 £205
25th Percentile £406 £403 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £513 £511
Median % change year-on-year -2.44% +0.29% +2.20%
75th Percentile £600 £625 £613
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
England median daily rate £504 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.00% - -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 139 49 124
10th Percentile £13.90 £19.99 £16.25
25th Percentile £16.50 £24.18 £24.19
Median hourly rate £22.50 £42.50 £56.23
Median % change year-on-year -47.06% -24.42% +110.36%
75th Percentile £67.33 £63.75 £67.56
90th Percentile £89.72 £71.97 £77.21
England median hourly rate £23.83 £30.00 £45.88
% change year-on-year -20.58% -34.61% +69.93%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

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

Microsoft job vacancy trend in the South East

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

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

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

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in the South East over the 6 months to 2 January 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

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

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

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in the South East over the 6 months to 2 January 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
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 Microsoft within the South East region over the 6 months to 2 January 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 +1 299 £475 -0.52% 246
Berkshire +1 194 £480 -5.88% 137
Hampshire -1 139 £535 +7.00% 109
Surrey +5 74 £223 -31.54% 87
Buckinghamshire -4 66 £470 +9.30% 67
Oxfordshire +2 39 £275 -18.52% 44
West Sussex -6 34 £213 -50.40% 36
Kent 0 27 £450 +67.44% 84
East Sussex +6 24 £550 +4.76% 28
Sussex -1 11 £463 +5.11% 14
Microsoft
England

Microsoft
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 56 (9.15%) SharePoint
2 50 (8.17%) Microsoft Exchange
3 15 (2.45%) Skype for Business
4 9 (1.47%) Exchange Server 2010
5 8 (1.31%) Exchange Server 2013
5 8 (1.31%) SharePoint Server
6 7 (1.14%) Confluence
6 7 (1.14%) Exchange Server 2003
6 7 (1.14%) Exchange Server 2007
6 7 (1.14%) Mattermost
6 7 (1.14%) Office Communications Server
7 2 (0.33%) ArcGIS
7 2 (0.33%) CMS
7 2 (0.33%) GeoServer
7 2 (0.33%) Smallworld
8 1 (0.16%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.16%) Headless CMS
8 1 (0.16%) MS Project Server
Applications
1 123 (20.10%) Microsoft Office
2 70 (11.44%) Microsoft Excel
3 23 (3.76%) Microsoft Project
4 18 (2.94%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 8 (1.31%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.16%) SOLIDWORKS
6 1 (0.16%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 11 (1.80%) Dynamics CRM
2 7 (1.14%) Remedy ITSM
3 4 (0.65%) NetSuite
3 4 (0.65%) SAP S/4HANA
4 3 (0.49%) Dynamics AX
5 2 (0.33%) Payment Gateway
5 2 (0.33%) SAP CO
5 2 (0.33%) SAP FI
5 2 (0.33%) SAP FI/CO
6 1 (0.16%) iTrent
6 1 (0.16%) Oracle Applications
6 1 (0.16%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.16%) Oracle ERP
6 1 (0.16%) Sage 50
6 1 (0.16%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.16%) SAP EWM
6 1 (0.16%) SAP HCM
6 1 (0.16%) SAP WM
6 1 (0.16%) SystmOne
6 1 (0.16%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 160 (26.14%) Azure
2 140 (22.88%) Microsoft 365
3 64 (10.46%) AWS
4 61 (9.97%) Entra ID
5 51 (8.33%) Power Platform
6 33 (5.39%) Dynamics 365
7 31 (5.07%) SaaS
8 24 (3.92%) Microsoft Purview
9 23 (3.76%) OneDrive
10 20 (3.27%) Sauce Labs
11 18 (2.94%) PowerApps
12 16 (2.61%) Azure DevOps
12 16 (2.61%) GCP
12 16 (2.61%) Google Workspace
12 16 (2.61%) Power Automate
13 11 (1.80%) GitHub
13 11 (1.80%) Serverless
14 10 (1.63%) IaaS
15 9 (1.47%) Azure Functions
15 9 (1.47%) Azure Sentinel
Communications & Networking
1 57 (9.31%) DNS
2 44 (7.19%) DHCP
3 43 (7.03%) Firewall
4 30 (4.90%) TCP/IP
5 26 (4.25%) Wireless
6 25 (4.08%) VPN
7 18 (2.94%) Wi-Fi
8 15 (2.45%) VLAN
9 13 (2.12%) SAN
10 12 (1.96%) Unified Communications
11 11 (1.80%) Network Security
12 9 (1.47%) 4G
13 8 (1.31%) Fibre Channel
13 8 (1.31%) Skype
14 7 (1.14%) DDNS
14 7 (1.14%) WebEx
15 6 (0.98%) iSCSI
15 6 (0.98%) VSAN
16 5 (0.82%) WAN
17 4 (0.65%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 42 (6.86%) SQL Server
2 32 (5.23%) Power BI
3 31 (5.07%) Relational Database
4 24 (3.92%) MySQL
5 18 (2.94%) Oracle Database
6 10 (1.63%) Azure SQL Database
6 10 (1.63%) Metadata
7 9 (1.47%) BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
8 8 (1.31%) Data Warehouse
8 8 (1.31%) PostgreSQL
9 6 (0.98%) Data Lake
9 6 (0.98%) RDBMS
10 4 (0.65%) Amazon RDS
10 4 (0.65%) MongoDB
10 4 (0.65%) Oracle Reports
11 3 (0.49%) GIS
11 3 (0.49%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 2 (0.33%) Geospatial Data
12 2 (0.33%) QGIS
12 2 (0.33%) Spatial Data
Development Applications
1 23 (3.76%) Android Studio
2 21 (3.43%) Browser DevTools
3 20 (3.27%) Eclipse
3 20 (3.27%) Xcode
4 15 (2.45%) JIRA
5 12 (1.96%) Jenkins
6 6 (0.98%) Git
7 3 (0.49%) Bitbucket
7 3 (0.49%) Cucumber
7 3 (0.49%) Subversion
8 2 (0.33%) JMeter
8 2 (0.33%) JUnit
8 2 (0.33%) MSI
8 2 (0.33%) Oracle APEX
8 2 (0.33%) Oracle Forms
8 2 (0.33%) Sonatype Nexus
9 1 (0.16%) Fiddler
9 1 (0.16%) Gatling
9 1 (0.16%) Postman
9 1 (0.16%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
General
1 243 (39.71%) Social Skills
2 99 (16.18%) Finance
3 81 (13.24%) Analytical Skills
4 63 (10.29%) Organisational Skills
5 39 (6.37%) Public Sector
6 19 (3.10%) Manufacturing
7 14 (2.29%) Legal
8 10 (1.63%) Documentation Skills
8 10 (1.63%) Retail
9 8 (1.31%) Influencing Skills
9 8 (1.31%) Marketing
10 6 (0.98%) Presentation Skills
10 6 (0.98%) Telecoms
11 5 (0.82%) Billing
11 5 (0.82%) Electronics
11 5 (0.82%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 4 (0.65%) Aerospace
12 4 (0.65%) Automotive
12 4 (0.65%) Banking
12 4 (0.65%) Military
Job Titles
1 87 (14.22%) Architect
2 86 (14.05%) Support Engineer
3 80 (13.07%) Analyst
4 55 (8.99%) IT Support
5 45 (7.35%) Senior
6 44 (7.19%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 26 (4.25%) Technical Support
8 25 (4.08%) Developer
8 25 (4.08%) IT Engineer
9 24 (3.92%) Technical Engineer
9 24 (3.92%) Technical Support Engineer
10 22 (3.59%) Consultant
10 22 (3.59%) Support Officer
11 21 (3.43%) Infrastructure Support
11 21 (3.43%) UX Engineer
12 20 (3.27%) Infrastructure Architect
12 20 (3.27%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
12 20 (3.27%) IT Support Engineer
13 19 (3.10%) Solutions Architect
14 18 (2.94%) Lead
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (4.41%) React
2 23 (3.76%) GraphQL
3 21 (3.43%) Ajax
3 21 (3.43%) AngularJS
3 21 (3.43%) CSS
4 15 (2.45%) .NET
5 8 (1.31%) Middleware
5 8 (1.31%) OAuth
6 7 (1.14%) REST
6 7 (1.14%) SAML
7 5 (0.82%) OpenID
8 4 (0.65%) ADO
8 4 (0.65%) ARM Templates
8 4 (0.65%) LDAP
8 4 (0.65%) OAuth2
8 4 (0.65%) SailPoint
8 4 (0.65%) Spring
9 3 (0.49%) Kafka
9 3 (0.49%) Microsoft Graph
9 3 (0.49%) PySpark
Miscellaneous
1 33 (5.39%) PKI
2 29 (4.74%) Analytical Mindset
2 29 (4.74%) Onboarding
3 25 (4.08%) Mobile App
4 20 (3.27%) Management Information System
5 15 (2.45%) Enterprise Software
5 15 (2.45%) Self-Motivation
6 14 (2.29%) Driving Licence
6 14 (2.29%) Product Ownership
6 14 (2.29%) Security Operations Centre
7 13 (2.12%) Fat Client
7 13 (2.12%) Thin Client
8 12 (1.96%) Replication
9 11 (1.80%) Data Centre
9 11 (1.80%) Operational Technology
10 10 (1.63%) Video Conferencing
11 8 (1.31%) Cyber Threat
12 7 (1.14%) Cyber Defence
13 6 (0.98%) Cloud Native
13 6 (0.98%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 206 (33.66%) Windows
2 86 (14.05%) Linux
3 42 (6.86%) Windows 10
4 34 (5.56%) Windows Server
5 25 (4.08%) Android
5 25 (4.08%) Unix
6 14 (2.29%) Mac OS
7 11 (1.80%) Windows 7
8 10 (1.63%) Windows Server 2019
9 8 (1.31%) Windows Server 2016
10 7 (1.14%) Windows Server 2003
10 7 (1.14%) Windows Server 2012
11 3 (0.49%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 2 (0.33%) Apple iOS
12 2 (0.33%) Ubuntu
13 1 (0.16%) CentOS
13 1 (0.16%) Debian
Processes & Methodologies
1 115 (18.79%) Problem-Solving
2 81 (13.24%) Agile
2 81 (13.24%) ITIL
3 67 (10.95%) Cybersecurity
4 66 (10.78%) Customer Service
5 53 (8.66%) Infrastructure Engineering
6 49 (8.01%) Continuous Improvement
7 48 (7.84%) Business Intelligence
7 48 (7.84%) Stakeholder Management
8 47 (7.68%) Migration
9 42 (6.86%) Project Management
10 39 (6.37%) DevOps
10 39 (6.37%) SIEM
10 39 (6.37%) Time Management
11 35 (5.72%) ITSM
11 35 (5.72%) Project Delivery
11 35 (5.72%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 34 (5.56%) CI/CD
13 32 (5.23%) Validation
14 31 (5.07%) User Experience
Programming Languages
1 75 (12.25%) Python
2 74 (12.09%) PowerShell
3 69 (11.27%) SQL
4 35 (5.72%) Java
5 31 (5.07%) JavaScript
6 22 (3.59%) Perl
7 12 (1.96%) Bash
7 12 (1.96%) C#
8 4 (0.65%) PL/SQL
8 4 (0.65%) X++
9 3 (0.49%) Kusto Query Language
10 2 (0.33%) Go
10 2 (0.33%) PHP
10 2 (0.33%) Shell Script
11 1 (0.16%) Bicep
11 1 (0.16%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 1 (0.16%) T-SQL
11 1 (0.16%) VB
Qualifications
1 203 (33.17%) Security Cleared
2 127 (20.75%) SC Cleared
3 67 (10.95%) DV Cleared
4 63 (10.29%) Degree
5 44 (7.19%) Microsoft Certification
6 24 (3.92%) CISSP
7 20 (3.27%) Azure Certification
8 11 (1.80%) A+ Certification
8 11 (1.80%) Computer Science Degree
8 11 (1.80%) ITIL Certification
8 11 (1.80%) Network+ Certification
8 11 (1.80%) Server+ Certification
9 10 (1.63%) Cisco Certification
9 10 (1.63%) GCFA
9 10 (1.63%) GCIH
9 10 (1.63%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
10 9 (1.47%) CISM
10 9 (1.47%) GIAC
10 9 (1.47%) MCSE
10 9 (1.47%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (5.56%) GDPR
2 26 (4.25%) NIST
3 23 (3.76%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 19 (3.10%) PMO
4 19 (3.10%) SLA
5 18 (2.94%) Data Quality
6 10 (1.63%) QA
7 7 (1.14%) Cyber Essentials
8 4 (0.65%) Accessibility
9 3 (0.49%) Actionable Recommendations
9 3 (0.49%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 3 (0.49%) HIPAA
9 3 (0.49%) P3O
9 3 (0.49%) RMADS
10 2 (0.33%) ISO/IEC 19770
10 2 (0.33%) NCSC
10 2 (0.33%) PCI DSS
11 1 (0.16%) GRC
11 1 (0.16%) NIST 800
11 1 (0.16%) PSD2
System Software
1 155 (25.33%) Active Directory
2 51 (8.33%) VMware Infrastructure
3 22 (3.59%) Hyper-V
4 15 (2.45%) vSphere
5 13 (2.12%) VMware ESXi
6 8 (1.31%) Docker
6 8 (1.31%) Virtual Desktop
7 7 (1.14%) Brightmail
7 7 (1.14%) ISA Server
8 6 (0.98%) NFS
9 3 (0.49%) DFS Replication
9 3 (0.49%) Terminal Services
9 3 (0.49%) Virtual Machines
9 3 (0.49%) VMware NSX
10 1 (0.16%) Sendmail
Systems Management
1 42 (6.86%) SCCM
2 38 (6.21%) Microsoft Intune
3 18 (2.94%) Single Sign-On
4 16 (2.61%) Ansible
5 14 (2.29%) Kubernetes
6 13 (2.12%) Terraform
7 12 (1.96%) WMI
8 11 (1.80%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 8 (1.31%) Microsoft Clustering
9 8 (1.31%) SCOM
9 8 (1.31%) vCenter Server
10 7 (1.14%) HP SiteScope
10 7 (1.14%) Jamf Pro
11 3 (0.49%) Cisco CUCM
11 3 (0.49%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
11 3 (0.49%) PaperCut
11 3 (0.49%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
12 2 (0.33%) EnCase
12 2 (0.33%) FTK
12 2 (0.33%) Grafana
Vendors
1 70 (11.44%) VMware
2 58 (9.48%) ServiceNow
3 49 (8.01%) Oracle
4 46 (7.52%) Splunk
5 27 (4.41%) Cisco
6 24 (3.92%) SAP
7 17 (2.78%) Citrix
8 12 (1.96%) CrowdStrike
9 11 (1.80%) Databricks
10 8 (1.31%) Palo Alto
10 8 (1.31%) Remedy
10 8 (1.31%) Thales
11 7 (1.14%) CyberArk
11 7 (1.14%) NetApp
11 7 (1.14%) Red Hat
11 7 (1.14%) Tenable
11 7 (1.14%) Veeam
12 6 (0.98%) CheckPoint
12 6 (0.98%) Informatica
13 5 (0.82%) Salesforce