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 1 October 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
1 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 4 4 6
Rank change year-on-year 0 +2 -1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 1,053 578 615
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 16.03% 16.27% 13.93%
As % of the Vendors category 36.45% 31.52% 28.19%
Number of daily rates quoted 614 411 403
10th Percentile £203 £181 £200
25th Percentile £325 £220 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £450 £463
Median % change year-on-year +5.56% -2.70% +0.13%
75th Percentile £588 £550 £586
90th Percentile £675 £623 £657
England median daily rate £490 £475 £495
% change year-on-year +3.16% -4.04% -1.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 162 42 27
10th Percentile £13.42 £13.01 £11.80
25th Percentile £15.50 £14.20 £19.06
Median hourly rate £19.12 £17.78 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year +7.54% -60.49% +157.14%
75th Percentile £65.22 £32.05 £59.03
90th Percentile £96.00 £82.08 £61.64
England median hourly rate £18.58 £22.63 £17.00
% change year-on-year -17.92% +33.12% -24.55%

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 2,889 1,834 2,182
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 43.99% 51.63% 49.42%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,741 1,233 1,321
10th Percentile £263 £204 £255
25th Percentile £425 £356 £405
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £513
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% -2.44% +2.50%
75th Percentile £610 £588 £630
90th Percentile £680 £650 £700
England median daily rate £514 £508 £525
% change year-on-year +1.28% -3.33% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 265 112 92
10th Percentile £14.08 £14.20 £16.00
25th Percentile £16.25 £15.50 £26.25
Median hourly rate £37.24 £21.07 £57.35
Median % change year-on-year +76.74% -63.26% +11.53%
75th Percentile £70.00 £34.83 £63.17
90th Percentile £88.00 £77.13 £70.00
England median hourly rate £26.14 £25.15 £35.00
% change year-on-year +3.94% -28.14% -20.18%

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 1 October 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 1 October 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 1 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 0 511 £500 +11.11% 520
Berkshire +1 293 £500 +5.89% 247
Hampshire -1 254 £500 -4.76% 254
Surrey +3 154 £455 +111.63% 175
Buckinghamshire -3 125 £510 +29.94% 174
Oxfordshire -1 93 £450 +100.00% 105
West Sussex -6 60 £373 +77.62% 68
Kent -1 37 £525 +82.61% 84
East Sussex +5 16 £220 -48.99% 50
Middlesex - 7 £450 - 9
Sussex -1 4 - - 17
Home Counties +1 2 £600 +9.09%
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
1 120 (11.40%) SharePoint
2 45 (4.27%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (1.33%) Confluence
4 6 (0.57%) IIS
5 3 (0.28%) Apache
5 3 (0.28%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.19%) Apache Airflow
6 2 (0.19%) Apache Superset
6 2 (0.19%) OpenStack
7 1 (0.095%) nginx
7 1 (0.095%) Oracle Workflow
7 1 (0.095%) SharePoint 2010
7 1 (0.095%) SharePoint 2013
7 1 (0.095%) Tomcat
Applications
1 162 (15.38%) Microsoft Excel
2 138 (13.11%) Microsoft Office
3 72 (6.84%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 48 (4.56%) Microsoft Project
5 13 (1.23%) MS Visio
6 4 (0.38%) Spreadsheet
7 2 (0.19%) Chatbot
7 2 (0.19%) SOLIDWORKS
8 1 (0.095%) Adobe Captivate
Business Applications
1 20 (1.90%) SAP S/4HANA
2 17 (1.61%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.47%) SAP PSCD
4 4 (0.38%) Maximo
4 4 (0.38%) NEC Housing
4 4 (0.38%) Primavera
4 4 (0.38%) Remedy ITSM
4 4 (0.38%) SAP Business One
5 2 (0.19%) Dynamics NAV
5 2 (0.19%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.095%) Dynamics AX
6 1 (0.095%) iTrent
6 1 (0.095%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.095%) Oracle Assets
6 1 (0.095%) Oracle Cash Management
6 1 (0.095%) Oracle Payables
6 1 (0.095%) Oracle Receivables
6 1 (0.095%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
6 1 (0.095%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 401 (38.08%) Azure
2 246 (23.36%) Microsoft 365
3 166 (15.76%) Entra ID
4 125 (11.87%) Power Platform
5 95 (9.02%) AWS
6 61 (5.79%) Azure DevOps
7 58 (5.51%) Dynamics 365
8 37 (3.51%) GCP
8 37 (3.51%) SaaS
9 34 (3.23%) Azure Monitor
10 31 (2.94%) IaaS
10 31 (2.94%) Power Automate
11 27 (2.56%) Microsoft Copilot
12 26 (2.47%) Azure Logic Apps
13 24 (2.28%) OneDrive
14 22 (2.09%) Azure Sentinel
14 22 (2.09%) Microsoft Purview
15 20 (1.90%) PowerApps
16 18 (1.71%) OpenShift
17 15 (1.42%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 79 (7.50%) DNS
2 58 (5.51%) Firewall
3 56 (5.32%) DHCP
4 54 (5.13%) VPN
5 46 (4.37%) TCP/IP
6 29 (2.75%) LAN
7 27 (2.56%) WAN
7 27 (2.56%) Wi-Fi
8 17 (1.61%) VLAN
9 15 (1.42%) Network Security
10 13 (1.23%) SD-WAN
11 11 (1.04%) MPLS
12 9 (0.85%) DNSSEC
13 8 (0.76%) SMTP
13 8 (0.76%) Wireless
14 7 (0.66%) BGP
14 7 (0.66%) Intranet
15 6 (0.57%) BIG-IP
15 6 (0.57%) Internet
15 6 (0.57%) SSH
Database & Business Intelligence
1 91 (8.64%) Power BI
2 34 (3.23%) SQL Server
3 15 (1.42%) Azure SQL Database
4 12 (1.14%) MySQL
4 12 (1.14%) PostgreSQL
5 11 (1.04%) Data Warehouse
5 11 (1.04%) Relational Database
6 10 (0.95%) Oracle Database
7 8 (0.76%) Metadata
7 8 (0.76%) NoSQL
8 7 (0.66%) Data Lake
9 5 (0.47%) Data Mining
9 5 (0.47%) MS Access
10 4 (0.38%) Tableau
11 3 (0.28%) GIS
11 3 (0.28%) Parquet
11 3 (0.28%) Power Query
11 3 (0.28%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 3 (0.28%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 2 (0.19%) Geospatial Data
Development Applications
1 29 (2.75%) JIRA
2 14 (1.33%) Git
3 12 (1.14%) MSI
4 8 (0.76%) Jenkins
5 7 (0.66%) GitLab
6 3 (0.28%) Android Studio
6 3 (0.28%) Browser DevTools
6 3 (0.28%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.28%) Sonatype Nexus
6 3 (0.28%) Xcode
7 2 (0.19%) REST Assured
7 2 (0.19%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
8 1 (0.095%) ERwin
8 1 (0.095%) JUnit
8 1 (0.095%) NUnit
8 1 (0.095%) Robot Framework
8 1 (0.095%) Visual Studio
General
1 389 (36.94%) Social Skills
2 162 (15.38%) Analytical Skills
3 124 (11.78%) Finance
4 107 (10.16%) Organisational Skills
5 83 (7.88%) Public Sector
6 55 (5.22%) Aerospace
7 38 (3.61%) Documentation Skills
8 29 (2.75%) Legal
9 23 (2.18%) Telecoms
10 22 (2.09%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 22 (2.09%) Marketing
11 21 (1.99%) Manufacturing
12 16 (1.52%) Influencing Skills
13 14 (1.33%) Presentation Skills
14 13 (1.23%) Military
15 11 (1.04%) Aviation
15 11 (1.04%) Billing
15 11 (1.04%) General Ledger
15 11 (1.04%) Retail
16 10 (0.95%) Local Government
Job Titles
1 130 (12.35%) Architect
2 94 (8.93%) Analyst
3 85 (8.07%) IT Support
4 75 (7.12%) Senior
5 72 (6.84%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 59 (5.60%) Administrator
7 56 (5.32%) Lead
8 53 (5.03%) Developer
9 52 (4.94%) Support Engineer
10 50 (4.75%) Cloud Engineer
11 49 (4.65%) Consultant
12 46 (4.37%) Azure Engineer
13 45 (4.27%) IT Engineer
14 33 (3.13%) Solutions Architect
15 31 (2.94%) IT Support Engineer
16 28 (2.66%) IT Analyst
17 25 (2.37%) Cloud Infrastructure Engineer
17 25 (2.37%) Microsoft Engineer
18 24 (2.28%) Project Manager
18 24 (2.28%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 72 (6.84%) Terraform
2 38 (3.61%) OAuth
3 37 (3.51%) .NET
4 36 (3.42%) SAML
5 35 (3.32%) OpenID
6 27 (2.56%) REST
7 24 (2.28%) LDAP
7 24 (2.28%) OAuth2
7 24 (2.28%) Web Services
8 20 (1.90%) ARM Templates
9 19 (1.80%) SailPoint
10 17 (1.61%) Microsoft Graph
11 16 (1.52%) JSON
12 14 (1.33%) React
13 12 (1.14%) RESTful
14 10 (0.95%) .NET Framework
14 10 (0.95%) Middleware
15 9 (0.85%) XML
16 8 (0.76%) Entity Framework
16 8 (0.76%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 108 (10.26%) Onboarding
2 52 (4.94%) Hybrid Cloud
3 42 (3.99%) Management Information System
4 39 (3.70%) Data Centre
5 35 (3.32%) PKI
6 33 (3.13%) Cloud Native
7 24 (2.28%) Enterprise Software
7 24 (2.28%) Security Posture
8 21 (1.99%) Product Ownership
9 19 (1.80%) Driving Licence
9 19 (1.80%) Public Cloud
10 16 (1.52%) Operational Technology
11 14 (1.33%) Enterprise Cloud
12 13 (1.23%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
13 11 (1.04%) Analytical Mindset
13 11 (1.04%) Cyber Defence
13 11 (1.04%) Data Structures
13 11 (1.04%) Legacy Systems
13 11 (1.04%) Private Cloud
14 10 (0.95%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 273 (25.93%) Windows
2 102 (9.69%) Windows Server
3 80 (7.60%) Linux
4 57 (5.41%) Windows 10
5 31 (2.94%) Apple iOS
6 21 (1.99%) Mac OS
7 15 (1.42%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 15 (1.42%) Unix
8 13 (1.23%) Android
9 11 (1.04%) CentOS
9 11 (1.04%) Ubuntu
10 7 (0.66%) Windows 7
11 6 (0.57%) Windows Server 2019
12 3 (0.28%) Windows Server 2016
13 2 (0.19%) Windows Server 2012
14 1 (0.095%) VMS
14 1 (0.095%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 239 (22.70%) Problem-Solving
2 177 (16.81%) Stakeholder Management
3 148 (14.06%) Continuous Improvement
4 139 (13.20%) Agile
5 129 (12.25%) ITIL
6 119 (11.30%) DevOps
7 106 (10.07%) Cybersecurity
8 105 (9.97%) CI/CD
9 104 (9.88%) ITSM
10 103 (9.78%) Customer Service
11 101 (9.59%) Analytics
12 97 (9.21%) Business Intelligence
13 95 (9.02%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 95 (9.02%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 90 (8.55%) Migration
15 79 (7.50%) Decision-Making
15 79 (7.50%) Project Delivery
16 75 (7.12%) Roadmaps
17 72 (6.84%) Technical Leadership
18 70 (6.65%) Infrastructure as Code
Programming Languages
1 167 (15.86%) PowerShell
2 93 (8.83%) Python
3 86 (8.17%) SQL
4 37 (3.51%) Bash
5 29 (2.75%) Bicep
6 24 (2.28%) JavaScript
7 20 (1.90%) Java
8 19 (1.80%) C#
8 19 (1.80%) T-SQL
9 14 (1.33%) Kusto Query Language
10 9 (0.85%) TypeScript
11 8 (0.76%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 7 (0.66%) X++
13 4 (0.38%) ABAP
14 3 (0.28%) Perl
15 2 (0.19%) VBA
16 1 (0.095%) C++
16 1 (0.095%) Groovy
Qualifications
1 384 (36.47%) Security Cleared
2 241 (22.89%) SC Cleared
3 148 (14.06%) DV Cleared
4 140 (13.30%) Degree
5 60 (5.70%) Microsoft Certification
6 52 (4.94%) Azure Certification
7 21 (1.99%) Cisco Certification
8 20 (1.90%) AWS Certification
8 20 (1.90%) DBS Check
9 18 (1.71%) BPSS Clearance
10 15 (1.42%) CISSP
10 15 (1.42%) Computer Science Degree
10 15 (1.42%) PMI Certification
11 14 (1.33%) PMP
12 13 (1.23%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 11 (1.04%) CISM
14 10 (0.95%) (ISC)2 CCSP
14 10 (0.95%) MCSA
15 9 (0.85%) MCSE
15 9 (0.85%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 47 (4.46%) Data Quality
2 46 (4.37%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 44 (4.18%) PMO
4 42 (3.99%) NIST
5 37 (3.51%) GDPR
6 30 (2.85%) NCSC
7 27 (2.56%) SLA
8 25 (2.37%) QA
9 19 (1.80%) Cyber Essentials
10 13 (1.23%) GRC
11 10 (0.95%) ISO 31000
12 8 (0.76%) PCI DSS
13 7 (0.66%) ISO 9001
13 7 (0.66%) JSP 440
14 4 (0.38%) Accessibility
14 4 (0.38%) ISO 19650
14 4 (0.38%) ISO/IEC 27005
14 4 (0.38%) Sarbanes-Oxley
15 3 (0.28%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
15 3 (0.28%) Disclosure Scotland
System Software
1 216 (20.51%) Active Directory
2 77 (7.31%) VMware Infrastructure
3 32 (3.04%) Hyper-V
3 32 (3.04%) Virtual Machines
4 19 (1.80%) vSphere
5 18 (1.71%) Docker
6 17 (1.61%) Virtual Desktop
7 14 (1.33%) VMware ESXi
8 9 (0.85%) VMware NSX
9 6 (0.57%) Microsoft Virtual Server
9 6 (0.57%) Virtual Servers
10 4 (0.38%) ISA Server
11 3 (0.28%) BitLocker
11 3 (0.28%) Firmware
11 3 (0.28%) OpenAM
12 2 (0.19%) UAG
13 1 (0.095%) Dovecot
13 1 (0.095%) Postfix
13 1 (0.095%) vCloud
13 1 (0.095%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 70 (6.65%) Microsoft Intune
2 47 (4.46%) Kubernetes
3 33 (3.13%) Ansible
3 33 (3.13%) SCCM
4 26 (2.47%) SCOM
5 25 (2.37%) vCenter Server
6 14 (1.33%) Avamar
6 14 (1.33%) WMI
7 13 (1.23%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 12 (1.14%) Single Sign-On
9 10 (0.95%) Jamf Pro
10 9 (0.85%) QRadar
11 8 (0.76%) Grafana
12 5 (0.47%) FortiGate
12 5 (0.47%) Progress Chef
12 5 (0.47%) Puppet
13 4 (0.38%) CASB
13 4 (0.38%) Clonezilla
13 4 (0.38%) Prometheus
14 3 (0.28%) Istio
Vendors
1 94 (8.93%) VMware
2 66 (6.27%) ServiceNow
3 56 (5.32%) SAP
4 41 (3.89%) Google
5 33 (3.13%) Cisco
6 29 (2.75%) Oracle
7 23 (2.18%) Databricks
7 23 (2.18%) Dell
8 18 (1.71%) Splunk
9 15 (1.42%) Meraki
10 14 (1.33%) CrowdStrike
10 14 (1.33%) F5
10 14 (1.33%) SolarWinds
10 14 (1.33%) Thales
11 11 (1.04%) Veeam
12 9 (0.85%) Infoblox
12 9 (0.85%) Palo Alto
13 8 (0.76%) Citrix
13 8 (0.76%) Red Hat
13 8 (0.76%) Salesforce