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 July 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 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 5 6
Rank change year-on-year -2 +1 -1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 755 518 792
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 11.95% 16.30% 13.92%
As % of the Vendors category 28.35% 30.43% 29.71%
Number of daily rates quoted 493 345 510
10th Percentile £202 £200 £200
25th Percentile £356 £288 £351
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £469 £475
Median % change year-on-year +1.20% -1.19% +2.15%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £588
90th Percentile £675 £623 £675
England median daily rate £496 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +4.40% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 83 34 77
10th Percentile £12.78 £14.06 £11.71
25th Percentile £16.25 £14.20 £12.00
Median hourly rate £30.75 £15.63 £22.58
Median % change year-on-year +96.80% -30.80% +18.84%
75th Percentile £53.88 £29.60 £58.49
90th Percentile £110.75 £32.63 £61.60
England median hourly rate £22.57 £22.50 £16.06
% change year-on-year +0.29% +40.10% -27.00%

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 2,663 1,702 2,666
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 42.15% 53.57% 46.85%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,730 1,112 1,570
10th Percentile £283 £220 £243
25th Percentile £419 £375 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £511
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% -2.15% +2.20%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £608
90th Percentile £694 £650 £700
England median daily rate £510 £513 £520
% change year-on-year -0.49% -1.44% -0.95%
Number of hourly rates quoted 189 107 195
10th Percentile £16.00 £14.20 £12.11
25th Percentile £21.35 £15.44 £17.61
Median hourly rate £50.00 £20.75 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year +140.96% -56.32% +5.56%
75th Percentile £85.00 £38.42 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £68.36 £70.00
England median hourly rate £35.00 £26.00 £24.93
% change year-on-year +34.62% +4.30% -33.08%

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 July 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 July 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 July 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 0 399 £498 +10.56% 276
Berkshire -1 219 £500 +4.71% 126
Hampshire -9 150 £544 +3.57% 147
Surrey +4 108 £444 +82.99% 130
Buckinghamshire -4 104 £505 +22.42% 82
Oxfordshire -2 76 £405 +62.00% 77
West Sussex -3 50 £400 +48.15% 42
Kent -3 26 £275 -18.22% 56
East Sussex -3 7 £358 -42.22% 36
Home Counties +2 4 - -
Middlesex - 1 - - 21
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 74 (9.80%) SharePoint
2 68 (9.01%) Microsoft Exchange
3 13 (1.72%) Confluence
4 2 (0.26%) ArcGIS
4 2 (0.26%) MS Project Server
4 2 (0.26%) Smallworld
5 1 (0.13%) Apache
5 1 (0.13%) Apache Spark
5 1 (0.13%) BizTalk Server
5 1 (0.13%) GeoServer
5 1 (0.13%) IIS
5 1 (0.13%) nginx
5 1 (0.13%) OpenStack
5 1 (0.13%) SharePoint 2010
5 1 (0.13%) SharePoint 2013
5 1 (0.13%) Tomcat
Applications
1 87 (11.52%) Microsoft Excel
2 82 (10.86%) Microsoft Office
3 34 (4.50%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 32 (4.24%) Microsoft Project
5 13 (1.72%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.26%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.13%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.13%) Adobe Illustrator
7 1 (0.13%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.13%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.13%) InDesign
7 1 (0.13%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.13%) Photoshop
7 1 (0.13%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.13%) Trello
Business Applications
1 13 (1.72%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (0.93%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.66%) NEC Housing
4 4 (0.53%) SAP Business One
5 3 (0.40%) Remedy ITSM
6 2 (0.26%) SAP PSCD
7 1 (0.13%) iTrent
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.13%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
7 1 (0.13%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 311 (41.19%) Azure
2 186 (24.64%) Microsoft 365
3 145 (19.21%) Entra ID
4 91 (12.05%) Power Platform
5 80 (10.60%) AWS
6 43 (5.70%) Azure DevOps
7 39 (5.17%) Dynamics 365
8 32 (4.24%) Power Automate
9 31 (4.11%) OneDrive
10 27 (3.58%) SaaS
11 23 (3.05%) GCP
12 21 (2.78%) PowerApps
13 20 (2.65%) Azure Logic Apps
14 19 (2.52%) Microsoft Purview
15 18 (2.38%) Azure Monitor
16 17 (2.25%) GitHub
16 17 (2.25%) Serverless
17 16 (2.12%) Azure Functions
18 15 (1.99%) IaaS
18 15 (1.99%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 76 (10.07%) DNS
2 50 (6.62%) DHCP
3 39 (5.17%) Wi-Fi
4 38 (5.03%) Firewall
5 31 (4.11%) LAN
6 29 (3.84%) VPN
7 28 (3.71%) TCP/IP
8 24 (3.18%) WAN
9 16 (2.12%) SD-WAN
10 14 (1.85%) MPLS
11 12 (1.59%) Kerberos
12 11 (1.46%) Unified Communications
13 10 (1.32%) BGP
13 10 (1.32%) Network Security
13 10 (1.32%) VLAN
14 9 (1.19%) DNSSEC
14 9 (1.19%) IPsec
15 7 (0.93%) BIG-IP
15 7 (0.93%) OSPF
16 6 (0.79%) FTP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 70 (9.27%) Power BI
2 29 (3.84%) SQL Server
3 12 (1.59%) MySQL
3 12 (1.59%) PostgreSQL
4 10 (1.32%) Azure SQL Database
5 7 (0.93%) Data Warehouse
6 6 (0.79%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 6 (0.79%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 5 (0.66%) Metadata
7 5 (0.66%) Relational Database
8 4 (0.53%) Oracle Database
9 3 (0.40%) Data Lake
9 3 (0.40%) Data Mining
9 3 (0.40%) Geospatial Data
9 3 (0.40%) MS Access
9 3 (0.40%) Star Schema
10 2 (0.26%) BusinessObjects
10 2 (0.26%) GIS
10 2 (0.26%) Oracle Reports
10 2 (0.26%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 28 (3.71%) JIRA
2 11 (1.46%) Git
3 4 (0.53%) Android Studio
3 4 (0.53%) JUnit
3 4 (0.53%) Sonatype Nexus
4 3 (0.40%) Browser DevTools
4 3 (0.40%) Eclipse
4 3 (0.40%) Gradle
4 3 (0.40%) Maven
4 3 (0.40%) MSI
4 3 (0.40%) Robot Framework
4 3 (0.40%) Xcode
5 2 (0.26%) GitLab
5 2 (0.26%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.26%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.13%) Artifactory
6 1 (0.13%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.13%) SonarQube
6 1 (0.13%) Subversion
6 1 (0.13%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 234 (30.99%) Social Skills
2 77 (10.20%) Public Sector
3 74 (9.80%) Analytical Skills
4 69 (9.14%) Finance
5 47 (6.23%) Organisational Skills
6 28 (3.71%) Legal
7 26 (3.44%) Documentation Skills
8 24 (3.18%) Aerospace
9 19 (2.52%) Telecoms
10 15 (1.99%) Military
11 14 (1.85%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 12 (1.59%) Marketing
13 8 (1.06%) Influencing Skills
14 7 (0.93%) Local Government
15 6 (0.79%) Billing
15 6 (0.79%) French Language
15 6 (0.79%) Manufacturing
15 6 (0.79%) Retail
16 5 (0.66%) Arabic Language
16 5 (0.66%) General Ledger
Job Titles
1 90 (11.92%) Architect
2 77 (10.20%) IT Support
3 71 (9.40%) Analyst
4 58 (7.68%) Senior
5 47 (6.23%) Lead
5 47 (6.23%) Support Engineer
6 46 (6.09%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 45 (5.96%) IT Engineer
8 44 (5.83%) Consultant
9 36 (4.77%) IT Support Engineer
10 35 (4.64%) Developer
11 28 (3.71%) Azure Engineer
12 27 (3.58%) IT Analyst
12 27 (3.58%) Solutions Architect
13 24 (3.18%) Administrator
13 24 (3.18%) Project Manager
13 24 (3.18%) Support Analyst
14 23 (3.05%) Cloud Engineer
15 20 (2.65%) Technical Architect
16 19 (2.52%) IT Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 30 (3.97%) .NET
1 30 (3.97%) LDAP
2 27 (3.58%) OAuth
3 26 (3.44%) SAML
4 25 (3.31%) OpenID
5 18 (2.38%) Web Services
6 17 (2.25%) Microsoft Graph
6 17 (2.25%) OAuth2
7 16 (2.12%) REST
8 14 (1.85%) SailPoint
9 10 (1.32%) JSON
10 9 (1.19%) ARM Templates
11 8 (1.06%) React
11 8 (1.06%) XML
12 7 (0.93%) AngularJS
12 7 (0.93%) CSS
13 6 (0.79%) Middleware
13 6 (0.79%) PySpark
13 6 (0.79%) Software Packaging
14 5 (0.66%) .NET Framework
Miscellaneous
1 50 (6.62%) Onboarding
2 31 (4.11%) Data Centre
3 30 (3.97%) PKI
4 29 (3.84%) Cloud Native
5 25 (3.31%) Hybrid Cloud
6 24 (3.18%) Product Ownership
7 21 (2.78%) Legacy Systems
8 17 (2.25%) Public Cloud
9 15 (1.99%) Replication
10 14 (1.85%) Operational Technology
11 13 (1.72%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
12 12 (1.59%) Security Posture
13 11 (1.46%) Enterprise Software
13 11 (1.46%) Self-Motivation
14 10 (1.32%) Data Structures
15 9 (1.19%) Cyber Defence
15 9 (1.19%) Management Information System
16 8 (1.06%) Driving Licence
16 8 (1.06%) Private Cloud
16 8 (1.06%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 209 (27.68%) Windows
2 62 (8.21%) Windows Server
3 53 (7.02%) Linux
4 28 (3.71%) Windows 10
5 25 (3.31%) Mac OS
6 22 (2.91%) Apple iOS
7 13 (1.72%) Android
8 12 (1.59%) Unix
9 9 (1.19%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 7 (0.93%) Windows 7
10 7 (0.93%) Windows Server 2019
11 6 (0.79%) Windows Server 2012
12 5 (0.66%) Windows Server 2016
13 3 (0.40%) CentOS
13 3 (0.40%) Ubuntu
14 1 (0.13%) OpenVMS
14 1 (0.13%) VMS
14 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 134 (17.75%) Problem-Solving
2 95 (12.58%) ITIL
3 93 (12.32%) Customer Service
4 92 (12.19%) Agile
5 89 (11.79%) DevOps
6 82 (10.86%) Stakeholder Management
7 76 (10.07%) CI/CD
8 74 (9.80%) Migration
9 73 (9.67%) Business Intelligence
10 70 (9.27%) Cybersecurity
11 62 (8.21%) ITSM
11 62 (8.21%) Project Delivery
12 58 (7.68%) Analytics
13 57 (7.55%) Decision-Making
13 57 (7.55%) Infrastructure Engineering
14 56 (7.42%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 55 (7.28%) Project Management
16 52 (6.89%) Roadmaps
17 51 (6.75%) AI
17 51 (6.75%) Continuous Improvement
Programming Languages
1 118 (15.63%) PowerShell
2 73 (9.67%) Python
3 70 (9.27%) SQL
4 28 (3.71%) T-SQL
5 22 (2.91%) Bash
6 20 (2.65%) C#
7 16 (2.12%) JavaScript
8 13 (1.72%) Bicep
8 13 (1.72%) Java
9 8 (1.06%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 7 (0.93%) X++
11 6 (0.79%) Kusto Query Language
12 3 (0.40%) Perl
12 3 (0.40%) TypeScript
13 2 (0.26%) Korn
14 1 (0.13%) ABAP
14 1 (0.13%) Google Apps Script
14 1 (0.13%) Groovy
14 1 (0.13%) Shell Script
14 1 (0.13%) VBA
Qualifications
1 263 (34.83%) Security Cleared
2 190 (25.17%) SC Cleared
3 97 (12.85%) Degree
4 78 (10.33%) DV Cleared
5 35 (4.64%) Microsoft Certification
6 29 (3.84%) Azure Certification
7 17 (2.25%) Cisco Certification
8 13 (1.72%) AWS Certification
9 12 (1.59%) DBS Check
10 11 (1.46%) Computer Science Degree
11 10 (1.32%) BPSS Clearance
11 10 (1.32%) CISSP
12 9 (1.19%) CCNP
12 9 (1.19%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 8 (1.06%) CISM
13 8 (1.06%) GIAC
13 8 (1.06%) MCSA
13 8 (1.06%) MCSE
14 7 (0.93%) PMI Certification
14 7 (0.93%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (4.50%) NIST
2 29 (3.84%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 28 (3.71%) NCSC
4 26 (3.44%) GDPR
5 25 (3.31%) SLA
6 19 (2.52%) Cyber Essentials
6 19 (2.52%) Data Quality
6 19 (2.52%) PMO
7 16 (2.12%) QA
8 6 (0.79%) ISO 31000
9 5 (0.66%) NIST 800
10 4 (0.53%) Accessibility
10 4 (0.53%) PCI DSS
11 3 (0.40%) ISO/IEC 42001
12 2 (0.26%) Sarbanes-Oxley
13 1 (0.13%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 1 (0.13%) Disclosure Scotland
13 1 (0.13%) ISO 19650
13 1 (0.13%) ISO 9001
13 1 (0.13%) JSP 440
System Software
1 212 (28.08%) Active Directory
2 68 (9.01%) VMware Infrastructure
3 28 (3.71%) Hyper-V
4 18 (2.38%) vSphere
5 16 (2.12%) Virtual Machines
6 15 (1.99%) VMware ESXi
7 14 (1.85%) VMware NSX
8 11 (1.46%) Virtual Desktop
9 9 (1.19%) Docker
10 5 (0.66%) Firmware
11 3 (0.40%) OpenAM
12 2 (0.26%) UAG
13 1 (0.13%) BitLocker
13 1 (0.13%) Citrix Hypervisor
13 1 (0.13%) Dovecot
13 1 (0.13%) Oracle RAC
13 1 (0.13%) Postfix
13 1 (0.13%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 66 (8.74%) Microsoft Intune
2 46 (6.09%) Terraform
3 26 (3.44%) Active Directory Federation Services
3 26 (3.44%) SCCM
4 18 (2.38%) SCOM
5 17 (2.25%) Ansible
6 15 (1.99%) vCenter Server
7 14 (1.85%) Single Sign-On
8 13 (1.72%) Jamf Pro
8 13 (1.72%) Kubernetes
9 9 (1.19%) Avamar
10 4 (0.53%) Clonezilla
10 4 (0.53%) FortiGate
10 4 (0.53%) Puppet
10 4 (0.53%) QRadar
11 3 (0.40%) Progress Chef
11 3 (0.40%) SCSM
11 3 (0.40%) WMI
12 2 (0.26%) Nessus
12 2 (0.26%) WSUS
Vendors
1 85 (11.26%) VMware
2 42 (5.56%) Cisco
3 39 (5.17%) ServiceNow
4 32 (4.24%) SAP
5 22 (2.91%) Google
6 20 (2.65%) Meraki
7 15 (1.99%) Databricks
7 15 (1.99%) Dell
7 15 (1.99%) SolarWinds
8 14 (1.85%) Oracle
9 13 (1.72%) Citrix
10 12 (1.59%) Avaya
10 12 (1.59%) F5
11 11 (1.46%) Fortinet
11 11 (1.46%) Mitel
11 11 (1.46%) Thales
12 10 (1.32%) Palo Alto
13 9 (1.19%) Infoblox
13 9 (1.19%) Juniper
13 9 (1.19%) Splunk