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 18 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
18 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 4 4 6
Rank change year-on-year 0 +2 -1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 1,011 568 630
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 15.26% 16.28% 13.67%
As % of the Vendors category 34.85% 31.63% 27.72%
Number of daily rates quoted 610 398 412
10th Percentile £204 £185 £200
25th Percentile £350 £220 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £450 £463
Median % change year-on-year +5.56% -2.70% +2.04%
75th Percentile £588 £569 £588
90th Percentile £675 £623 £650
England median daily rate £490 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +3.16% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 147 43 31
10th Percentile £13.39 £13.60 £11.71
25th Percentile £15.50 £14.20 £17.38
Median hourly rate £21.35 £17.60 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year +21.31% -60.89% +157.14%
75th Percentile £70.25 £32.05 £58.49
90th Percentile £97.94 £81.15 £61.06
England median hourly rate £19.33 £22.63 £16.23
% change year-on-year -14.58% +39.43% -26.23%

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 2,901 1,796 2,273
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 43.78% 51.46% 49.33%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,799 1,209 1,372
10th Percentile £270 £205 £250
25th Percentile £425 £363 £405
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £500 £519
Median % change year-on-year +3.00% -3.62% +3.75%
75th Percentile £613 £590 £631
90th Percentile £700 £650 £700
England median daily rate £514 £505 £525
% change year-on-year +1.78% -3.81% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 248 103 112
10th Percentile £14.21 £14.20 £16.00
25th Percentile £16.47 £15.44 £27.00
Median hourly rate £38.25 £20.00 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +91.25% -65.13% +9.24%
75th Percentile £70.00 £36.62 £61.60
90th Percentile £93.06 £80.30 £70.00
England median hourly rate £29.96 £25.15 £33.50
% change year-on-year +19.13% -24.93% -23.62%

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 18 September 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 18 September 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 18 September 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 0 502 £500 +11.11% 523
Berkshire +1 280 £500 +6.53% 268
Hampshire -1 232 £500 -6.89% 271
Surrey +1 148 £453 +101.11% 173
Buckinghamshire -2 122 £515 +25.61% 157
Oxfordshire 0 100 £450 +89.47% 105
West Sussex -5 60 £380 +80.95% 68
Kent -1 36 £525 +100.00% 84
East Sussex +1 14 £220 -48.99% 61
Middlesex - 7 £450 - 23
Sussex -1 4 - - 13
Home Counties 0 1 - -
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
1 108 (10.68%) SharePoint
2 49 (4.85%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (1.38%) Confluence
4 5 (0.49%) IIS
5 3 (0.30%) Apache
5 3 (0.30%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.20%) Apache Airflow
6 2 (0.20%) Apache Superset
6 2 (0.20%) OpenStack
7 1 (0.099%) nginx
7 1 (0.099%) Oracle Workflow
7 1 (0.099%) SharePoint 2010
7 1 (0.099%) SharePoint 2013
7 1 (0.099%) Tomcat
Applications
1 145 (14.34%) Microsoft Excel
2 134 (13.25%) Microsoft Office
3 69 (6.82%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 47 (4.65%) Microsoft Project
5 15 (1.48%) MS Visio
6 4 (0.40%) Spreadsheet
7 2 (0.20%) Chatbot
8 1 (0.099%) Adobe Captivate
8 1 (0.099%) SOLIDWORKS
8 1 (0.099%) Trello
Business Applications
1 20 (1.98%) SAP S/4HANA
2 16 (1.58%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.49%) SAP PSCD
4 4 (0.40%) Maximo
4 4 (0.40%) NEC Housing
4 4 (0.40%) Primavera
4 4 (0.40%) Remedy ITSM
4 4 (0.40%) SAP Business One
5 2 (0.20%) Dynamics NAV
5 2 (0.20%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.099%) Dynamics AX
6 1 (0.099%) iTrent
6 1 (0.099%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.099%) Oracle Assets
6 1 (0.099%) Oracle Cash Management
6 1 (0.099%) Oracle Payables
6 1 (0.099%) Oracle Receivables
6 1 (0.099%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
6 1 (0.099%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 394 (38.97%) Azure
2 235 (23.24%) Microsoft 365
3 162 (16.02%) Entra ID
4 121 (11.97%) Power Platform
5 95 (9.40%) AWS
6 60 (5.93%) Azure DevOps
7 56 (5.54%) Dynamics 365
8 39 (3.86%) SaaS
9 37 (3.66%) Azure Monitor
10 35 (3.46%) GCP
11 31 (3.07%) Power Automate
12 30 (2.97%) Azure Logic Apps
13 27 (2.67%) IaaS
14 24 (2.37%) Azure Sentinel
15 23 (2.27%) Microsoft Purview
15 23 (2.27%) OneDrive
16 21 (2.08%) Microsoft Copilot
17 19 (1.88%) PowerApps
18 17 (1.68%) OpenShift
19 14 (1.38%) Azure Functions
Communications & Networking
1 78 (7.72%) DNS
2 59 (5.84%) Firewall
3 54 (5.34%) DHCP
4 49 (4.85%) VPN
5 45 (4.45%) TCP/IP
6 29 (2.87%) LAN
7 27 (2.67%) WAN
7 27 (2.67%) Wi-Fi
8 16 (1.58%) VLAN
9 15 (1.48%) Network Security
10 12 (1.19%) MPLS
10 12 (1.19%) SD-WAN
11 9 (0.89%) DNSSEC
12 7 (0.69%) BGP
12 7 (0.69%) Intranet
12 7 (0.69%) Wireless
13 6 (0.59%) BIG-IP
13 6 (0.59%) Broadband
13 6 (0.59%) Internet
13 6 (0.59%) SSH
Database & Business Intelligence
1 89 (8.80%) Power BI
2 32 (3.17%) SQL Server
3 12 (1.19%) Azure SQL Database
4 11 (1.09%) Data Warehouse
4 11 (1.09%) MySQL
4 11 (1.09%) PostgreSQL
5 10 (0.99%) Oracle Database
6 9 (0.89%) Relational Database
7 8 (0.79%) Metadata
8 6 (0.59%) NoSQL
9 4 (0.40%) Data Lake
9 4 (0.40%) Data Mining
9 4 (0.40%) MS Access
9 4 (0.40%) Tableau
10 3 (0.30%) GIS
10 3 (0.30%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 2 (0.20%) BusinessObjects
11 2 (0.20%) Couchbase
11 2 (0.20%) Oracle Reports
11 2 (0.20%) SQL Server Integration Services
Development Applications
1 32 (3.17%) JIRA
2 12 (1.19%) Git
3 11 (1.09%) MSI
4 8 (0.79%) Jenkins
5 7 (0.69%) GitLab
6 3 (0.30%) Android Studio
6 3 (0.30%) Browser DevTools
6 3 (0.30%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.30%) Sonatype Nexus
6 3 (0.30%) Xcode
7 2 (0.20%) REST Assured
7 2 (0.20%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
8 1 (0.099%) ERwin
8 1 (0.099%) JUnit
8 1 (0.099%) NUnit
8 1 (0.099%) Robot Framework
8 1 (0.099%) Visual Studio
General
1 371 (36.70%) Social Skills
2 156 (15.43%) Analytical Skills
3 112 (11.08%) Finance
4 95 (9.40%) Organisational Skills
5 81 (8.01%) Public Sector
6 55 (5.44%) Aerospace
7 36 (3.56%) Documentation Skills
8 28 (2.77%) Legal
9 23 (2.27%) Telecoms
10 21 (2.08%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 21 (2.08%) Marketing
11 18 (1.78%) Manufacturing
12 16 (1.58%) Influencing Skills
13 13 (1.29%) Military
14 10 (0.99%) Aviation
14 10 (0.99%) Presentation Skills
14 10 (0.99%) Retail
15 9 (0.89%) French Language
16 8 (0.79%) Local Government
17 7 (0.69%) Billing
Job Titles
1 127 (12.56%) Architect
2 97 (9.59%) Analyst
3 88 (8.70%) IT Support
4 82 (8.11%) Senior
5 66 (6.53%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 56 (5.54%) Lead
7 51 (5.04%) Support Engineer
8 50 (4.95%) Consultant
8 50 (4.95%) Developer
9 48 (4.75%) Cloud Engineer
10 47 (4.65%) Administrator
11 46 (4.55%) IT Engineer
12 40 (3.96%) Azure Engineer
13 32 (3.17%) IT Support Engineer
13 32 (3.17%) Solutions Architect
14 30 (2.97%) IT Analyst
15 25 (2.47%) Microsoft Engineer
15 25 (2.47%) Project Manager
15 25 (2.47%) Technical Architect
16 24 (2.37%) Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 76 (7.52%) Terraform
2 37 (3.66%) .NET
3 36 (3.56%) OAuth
4 34 (3.36%) SAML
5 33 (3.26%) OpenID
6 24 (2.37%) LDAP
6 24 (2.37%) REST
7 23 (2.27%) OAuth2
7 23 (2.27%) Web Services
8 19 (1.88%) SailPoint
9 18 (1.78%) ARM Templates
10 17 (1.68%) Microsoft Graph
11 14 (1.38%) JSON
12 12 (1.19%) React
13 11 (1.09%) Middleware
14 10 (0.99%) .NET Framework
15 9 (0.89%) RESTful
16 8 (0.79%) 802.1X
16 8 (0.79%) Entity Framework
16 8 (0.79%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 107 (10.58%) Onboarding
2 52 (5.14%) Hybrid Cloud
3 35 (3.46%) Management Information System
4 33 (3.26%) Cloud Native
4 33 (3.26%) Data Centre
4 33 (3.26%) PKI
5 25 (2.47%) Security Posture
6 20 (1.98%) Enterprise Software
6 20 (1.98%) Public Cloud
7 19 (1.88%) Product Ownership
8 17 (1.68%) Driving Licence
9 16 (1.58%) Operational Technology
10 14 (1.38%) Enterprise Cloud
11 13 (1.29%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
11 13 (1.29%) Legacy Systems
12 12 (1.19%) Data Structures
13 11 (1.09%) Analytical Mindset
13 11 (1.09%) Private Cloud
14 10 (0.99%) Cyber Defence
14 10 (0.99%) Cyber Threat
Operating Systems
1 261 (25.82%) Windows
2 96 (9.50%) Windows Server
3 81 (8.01%) Linux
4 51 (5.04%) Windows 10
5 31 (3.07%) Apple iOS
6 20 (1.98%) Mac OS
7 15 (1.48%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 15 (1.48%) Unix
8 13 (1.29%) Android
9 11 (1.09%) CentOS
9 11 (1.09%) Ubuntu
10 7 (0.69%) Windows 7
11 6 (0.59%) Windows Server 2019
12 3 (0.30%) Windows Server 2016
13 2 (0.20%) Windows Server 2012
14 1 (0.099%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 223 (22.06%) Problem-Solving
2 170 (16.82%) Stakeholder Management
3 138 (13.65%) Continuous Improvement
4 137 (13.55%) Agile
5 130 (12.86%) ITIL
6 120 (11.87%) DevOps
7 108 (10.68%) CI/CD
8 105 (10.39%) Analytics
8 105 (10.39%) Customer Service
8 105 (10.39%) Cybersecurity
9 101 (9.99%) ITSM
10 96 (9.50%) Business Intelligence
11 93 (9.20%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 88 (8.70%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 80 (7.91%) Decision-Making
13 80 (7.91%) Migration
14 75 (7.42%) Project Delivery
14 75 (7.42%) Technical Leadership
15 72 (7.12%) Infrastructure as Code
16 71 (7.02%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 156 (15.43%) PowerShell
2 90 (8.90%) Python
3 83 (8.21%) SQL
4 36 (3.56%) Bash
5 30 (2.97%) Bicep
6 23 (2.27%) JavaScript
7 19 (1.88%) C#
7 19 (1.88%) Java
7 19 (1.88%) T-SQL
8 17 (1.68%) Kusto Query Language
9 9 (0.89%) TypeScript
10 8 (0.79%) X++
11 7 (0.69%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 4 (0.40%) ABAP
13 3 (0.30%) Perl
14 2 (0.20%) VBA
15 1 (0.099%) Groovy
Qualifications
1 373 (36.89%) Security Cleared
2 236 (23.34%) SC Cleared
3 143 (14.14%) DV Cleared
4 138 (13.65%) Degree
5 58 (5.74%) Microsoft Certification
6 49 (4.85%) Azure Certification
7 20 (1.98%) AWS Certification
7 20 (1.98%) Cisco Certification
7 20 (1.98%) DBS Check
8 16 (1.58%) BPSS Clearance
8 16 (1.58%) PMI Certification
9 15 (1.48%) Computer Science Degree
10 14 (1.38%) CISSP
10 14 (1.38%) PMP
11 13 (1.29%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
12 10 (0.99%) CISM
12 10 (0.99%) MCSA
13 9 (0.89%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 9 (0.89%) MCSE
13 9 (0.89%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 47 (4.65%) Data Quality
2 46 (4.55%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 44 (4.35%) NIST
4 42 (4.15%) PMO
5 34 (3.36%) GDPR
6 33 (3.26%) NCSC
7 26 (2.57%) SLA
8 22 (2.18%) QA
9 20 (1.98%) Cyber Essentials
10 12 (1.19%) GRC
11 9 (0.89%) ISO 31000
12 8 (0.79%) JSP 440
13 7 (0.69%) PCI DSS
14 5 (0.49%) ISO 9001
15 4 (0.40%) ISO 19650
15 4 (0.40%) Sarbanes-Oxley
16 3 (0.30%) Accessibility
16 3 (0.30%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
16 3 (0.30%) GMP
16 3 (0.30%) ISO/IEC 42001
System Software
1 212 (20.97%) Active Directory
2 71 (7.02%) VMware Infrastructure
3 30 (2.97%) Hyper-V
4 23 (2.27%) Virtual Machines
5 19 (1.88%) Docker
6 17 (1.68%) Virtual Desktop
6 17 (1.68%) vSphere
7 14 (1.38%) VMware ESXi
8 9 (0.89%) VMware NSX
9 5 (0.49%) Firmware
10 3 (0.30%) ISA Server
10 3 (0.30%) OpenAM
11 2 (0.20%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 2 (0.20%) UAG
11 2 (0.20%) Virtual Servers
12 1 (0.099%) Dovecot
12 1 (0.099%) Postfix
12 1 (0.099%) vCloud
12 1 (0.099%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 68 (6.73%) Microsoft Intune
2 47 (4.65%) Kubernetes
3 34 (3.36%) Ansible
3 34 (3.36%) SCCM
4 26 (2.57%) SCOM
5 25 (2.47%) vCenter Server
6 14 (1.38%) Avamar
7 13 (1.29%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 12 (1.19%) WMI
9 11 (1.09%) Single Sign-On
10 10 (0.99%) Jamf Pro
11 8 (0.79%) Grafana
11 8 (0.79%) QRadar
12 6 (0.59%) FortiGate
13 5 (0.49%) Progress Chef
13 5 (0.49%) Puppet
14 4 (0.40%) Clonezilla
14 4 (0.40%) Prometheus
15 3 (0.30%) CASB
15 3 (0.30%) Istio
Vendors
1 90 (8.90%) VMware
2 65 (6.43%) ServiceNow
3 57 (5.64%) SAP
4 39 (3.86%) Google
5 36 (3.56%) Cisco
6 29 (2.87%) Oracle
7 21 (2.08%) Databricks
8 20 (1.98%) Dell
9 18 (1.78%) Splunk
10 15 (1.48%) Meraki
11 14 (1.38%) SolarWinds
11 14 (1.38%) Thales
12 13 (1.29%) CrowdStrike
12 13 (1.29%) F5
13 9 (0.89%) Infoblox
13 9 (0.89%) Palo Alto
13 9 (0.89%) Veeam
14 8 (0.79%) Avaya
14 8 (0.79%) Salesforce
15 7 (0.69%) Remedy