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 8 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
8 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 4 5 7
Rank change year-on-year +1 +2 -3
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 1,077 579 591
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 16.55% 16.23% 13.65%
As % of the Vendors category 37.45% 31.21% 27.85%
Number of daily rates quoted 615 414 389
10th Percentile £203 £181 £200
25th Percentile £325 £220 £340
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £450 £463
Median % change year-on-year +5.56% -2.70% +1.65%
75th Percentile £588 £550 £588
90th Percentile £675 £623 £667
England median daily rate £493 £475 £490
% change year-on-year +3.68% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 176 40 23
10th Percentile £13.46 £12.50 £15.93
25th Percentile £15.45 £14.15 £28.96
Median hourly rate £18.75 £17.78 £53.00
Median % change year-on-year +5.46% -66.45% +202.86%
75th Percentile £65.22 £30.77 £59.76
90th Percentile £96.00 £83.66 £62.21
England median hourly rate £18.50 £22.63 £18.13
% change year-on-year -18.25% +24.82% -21.17%

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 2,876 1,855 2,122
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 44.20% 52.00% 49.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,714 1,257 1,297
10th Percentile £263 £204 £251
25th Percentile £425 £353 £400
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 £685 £650 £700
England median daily rate £519 £507 £525
% change year-on-year +2.37% -3.43% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 278 114 78
10th Percentile £14.05 £14.06 £16.18
25th Percentile £16.00 £15.52 £26.25
Median hourly rate £37.24 £21.09 £57.30
Median % change year-on-year +76.58% -63.19% +14.60%
75th Percentile £70.00 £34.83 £65.14
90th Percentile £88.00 £76.38 £70.00
England median hourly rate £25.75 £25.15 £35.00
% change year-on-year +2.41% -28.16% -20.16%

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 8 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 8 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 8 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 0 529 £500 +11.11% 586
Berkshire +2 300 £500 +6.53% 265
Hampshire +1 259 £488 -7.14% 298
Surrey +2 155 £455 +115.38% 219
Buckinghamshire -3 130 £515 +37.33% 183
Oxfordshire 0 99 £478 +112.22% 144
West Sussex -6 61 £375 +78.57% 94
Kent -2 35 £525 +100.00% 110
East Sussex +5 17 £220 -60.00% 60
Middlesex - 7 £450 - 20
Sussex -1 4 - - 20
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
1 126 (11.70%) SharePoint
2 41 (3.81%) Microsoft Exchange
3 15 (1.39%) Confluence
4 6 (0.56%) IIS
5 4 (0.37%) Apache
6 3 (0.28%) ArcGIS
7 2 (0.19%) Apache Airflow
7 2 (0.19%) Apache Superset
7 2 (0.19%) OpenStack
7 2 (0.19%) Tomcat
8 1 (0.093%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.093%) nginx
8 1 (0.093%) Oracle Workflow
8 1 (0.093%) SharePoint 2010
8 1 (0.093%) SharePoint 2013
Applications
1 170 (15.78%) Microsoft Excel
2 136 (12.63%) Microsoft Office
3 74 (6.87%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 49 (4.55%) Microsoft Project
5 13 (1.21%) MS Visio
6 4 (0.37%) Spreadsheet
7 3 (0.28%) Chatbot
8 2 (0.19%) SOLIDWORKS
9 1 (0.093%) Adobe Captivate
Business Applications
1 19 (1.76%) SAP S/4HANA
2 17 (1.58%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.46%) SAP PSCD
4 4 (0.37%) Maximo
4 4 (0.37%) NEC Housing
4 4 (0.37%) Primavera
4 4 (0.37%) Remedy ITSM
5 3 (0.28%) SAP Business One
6 2 (0.19%) Dynamics NAV
6 2 (0.19%) Oracle EBS
6 2 (0.19%) Teamcenter
7 1 (0.093%) Dynamics AX
7 1 (0.093%) NetSuite
7 1 (0.093%) Oracle Assets
7 1 (0.093%) Oracle Cash Management
7 1 (0.093%) Oracle Payables
7 1 (0.093%) Oracle Receivables
7 1 (0.093%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
7 1 (0.093%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 409 (37.98%) Azure
2 249 (23.12%) Microsoft 365
3 175 (16.25%) Entra ID
4 123 (11.42%) Power Platform
5 92 (8.54%) AWS
6 62 (5.76%) Azure DevOps
7 56 (5.20%) Dynamics 365
8 40 (3.71%) Azure Monitor
9 38 (3.53%) GCP
9 38 (3.53%) SaaS
10 35 (3.25%) IaaS
11 31 (2.88%) Power Automate
12 28 (2.60%) Microsoft Copilot
13 26 (2.41%) Azure Sentinel
14 24 (2.23%) Azure Logic Apps
14 24 (2.23%) OneDrive
15 21 (1.95%) Microsoft Purview
15 21 (1.95%) PowerApps
16 18 (1.67%) OpenShift
17 16 (1.49%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 81 (7.52%) DNS
2 63 (5.85%) Firewall
3 58 (5.39%) DHCP
3 58 (5.39%) VPN
4 51 (4.74%) TCP/IP
5 27 (2.51%) LAN
6 26 (2.41%) Wi-Fi
7 25 (2.32%) WAN
8 17 (1.58%) VLAN
9 16 (1.49%) Network Security
10 13 (1.21%) SD-WAN
11 11 (1.02%) MPLS
12 9 (0.84%) DNSSEC
12 9 (0.84%) Wireless
13 8 (0.74%) SSH
14 7 (0.65%) BGP
14 7 (0.65%) Intranet
14 7 (0.65%) SMTP
15 6 (0.56%) BIG-IP
15 6 (0.56%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 88 (8.17%) Power BI
2 35 (3.25%) SQL Server
3 18 (1.67%) Azure SQL Database
4 12 (1.11%) MySQL
4 12 (1.11%) PostgreSQL
5 11 (1.02%) Data Warehouse
5 11 (1.02%) Relational Database
6 10 (0.93%) Oracle Database
7 9 (0.84%) Data Lake
7 9 (0.84%) Metadata
7 9 (0.84%) NoSQL
8 7 (0.65%) MS Access
9 4 (0.37%) Parquet
9 4 (0.37%) Tableau
10 3 (0.28%) Data Mining
10 3 (0.28%) GIS
10 3 (0.28%) Power Query
10 3 (0.28%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 3 (0.28%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 2 (0.19%) BusinessObjects
Development Applications
1 30 (2.79%) JIRA
2 15 (1.39%) Git
3 12 (1.11%) MSI
4 8 (0.74%) Jenkins
5 7 (0.65%) 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 (0.093%) ERwin
8 1 (0.093%) JUnit
8 1 (0.093%) NUnit
8 1 (0.093%) Rational DOORS
8 1 (0.093%) Robot Framework
8 1 (0.093%) Visual Studio
General
1 404 (37.51%) Social Skills
2 168 (15.60%) Analytical Skills
3 125 (11.61%) Finance
4 113 (10.49%) Organisational Skills
5 84 (7.80%) Public Sector
6 60 (5.57%) Aerospace
7 39 (3.62%) Documentation Skills
8 29 (2.69%) Legal
9 25 (2.32%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 23 (2.14%) Manufacturing
10 23 (2.14%) Marketing
10 23 (2.14%) Telecoms
11 16 (1.49%) Influencing Skills
11 16 (1.49%) Presentation Skills
12 14 (1.30%) Military
13 13 (1.21%) Aviation
13 13 (1.21%) Retail
14 11 (1.02%) General Ledger
14 11 (1.02%) Local Government
15 10 (0.93%) Billing
Job Titles
1 131 (12.16%) Architect
2 96 (8.91%) Analyst
3 87 (8.08%) IT Support
4 83 (7.71%) Senior
5 75 (6.96%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 68 (6.31%) Administrator
7 56 (5.20%) Lead
8 53 (4.92%) Developer
8 53 (4.92%) Support Engineer
9 50 (4.64%) Cloud Engineer
9 50 (4.64%) Consultant
10 48 (4.46%) Azure Engineer
11 47 (4.36%) IT Engineer
12 33 (3.06%) Solutions Architect
13 32 (2.97%) IT Support Engineer
14 28 (2.60%) IT Analyst
15 26 (2.41%) Cloud Infrastructure Engineer
16 25 (2.32%) Microsoft Engineer
16 25 (2.32%) Project Manager
17 23 (2.14%) Coordinator
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 75 (6.96%) Terraform
2 42 (3.90%) OAuth
3 40 (3.71%) SAML
4 39 (3.62%) OpenID
5 38 (3.53%) .NET
6 30 (2.79%) REST
7 27 (2.51%) ARM Templates
7 27 (2.51%) LDAP
7 27 (2.51%) OAuth2
8 23 (2.14%) SailPoint
8 23 (2.14%) Web Services
9 18 (1.67%) Microsoft Graph
10 17 (1.58%) JSON
11 16 (1.49%) React
12 13 (1.21%) RESTful
13 11 (1.02%) .NET Framework
13 11 (1.02%) XML
14 10 (0.93%) Middleware
15 9 (0.84%) .NET Core
15 9 (0.84%) Entity Framework
Miscellaneous
1 114 (10.58%) Onboarding
2 54 (5.01%) Hybrid Cloud
3 50 (4.64%) Management Information System
4 36 (3.34%) Data Centre
5 35 (3.25%) PKI
6 32 (2.97%) Cloud Native
7 26 (2.41%) Enterprise Software
7 26 (2.41%) Product Ownership
8 24 (2.23%) Security Posture
9 20 (1.86%) Driving Licence
10 16 (1.49%) Operational Technology
10 16 (1.49%) Public Cloud
11 14 (1.30%) Enterprise Cloud
12 12 (1.11%) Cyber Threat
13 11 (1.02%) Analytical Mindset
13 11 (1.02%) ARM Cortex
13 11 (1.02%) Cyber Defence
13 11 (1.02%) Data Structures
13 11 (1.02%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
13 11 (1.02%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 272 (25.26%) Windows
2 103 (9.56%) Windows Server
3 85 (7.89%) Linux
4 59 (5.48%) Windows 10
5 31 (2.88%) Apple iOS
6 21 (1.95%) Mac OS
7 15 (1.39%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 15 (1.39%) Unix
8 13 (1.21%) Android
9 11 (1.02%) CentOS
9 11 (1.02%) Ubuntu
10 8 (0.74%) Windows Server 2019
11 5 (0.46%) Windows 7
11 5 (0.46%) Windows Server 2016
12 2 (0.19%) Windows Server 2012
13 1 (0.093%) Data ONTAP
13 1 (0.093%) VMS
13 1 (0.093%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 247 (22.93%) Problem-Solving
2 181 (16.81%) Stakeholder Management
3 153 (14.21%) Continuous Improvement
4 141 (13.09%) Agile
5 129 (11.98%) ITIL
6 121 (11.23%) DevOps
7 114 (10.58%) Cybersecurity
8 109 (10.12%) Analytics
9 107 (9.94%) CI/CD
10 105 (9.75%) ITSM
11 104 (9.66%) Customer Service
12 97 (9.01%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 96 (8.91%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 94 (8.73%) Business Intelligence
15 89 (8.26%) Migration
16 80 (7.43%) Decision-Making
16 80 (7.43%) Project Delivery
17 75 (6.96%) Roadmaps
18 73 (6.78%) Technical Leadership
19 70 (6.50%) Infrastructure as Code
Programming Languages
1 177 (16.43%) PowerShell
2 96 (8.91%) Python
3 91 (8.45%) SQL
4 42 (3.90%) Bash
5 34 (3.16%) Bicep
6 26 (2.41%) JavaScript
7 21 (1.95%) C#
8 20 (1.86%) Java
8 20 (1.86%) T-SQL
9 14 (1.30%) Kusto Query Language
10 10 (0.93%) TypeScript
11 8 (0.74%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 6 (0.56%) X++
13 4 (0.37%) ABAP
14 3 (0.28%) Perl
15 2 (0.19%) VBA
16 1 (0.093%) C++
16 1 (0.093%) Gremlin
16 1 (0.093%) Groovy
Qualifications
1 392 (36.40%) Security Cleared
2 246 (22.84%) SC Cleared
3 157 (14.58%) DV Cleared
4 141 (13.09%) Degree
5 60 (5.57%) Microsoft Certification
6 56 (5.20%) Azure Certification
7 22 (2.04%) AWS Certification
8 20 (1.86%) DBS Check
9 19 (1.76%) Cisco Certification
9 19 (1.76%) Computer Science Degree
10 18 (1.67%) BPSS Clearance
10 18 (1.67%) CISSP
11 15 (1.39%) PMI Certification
12 14 (1.30%) PMP
13 12 (1.11%) CISM
14 11 (1.02%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
15 10 (0.93%) (ISC)2 CCSP
15 10 (0.93%) MCSA
16 9 (0.84%) MCSE
16 9 (0.84%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 49 (4.55%) Data Quality
2 47 (4.36%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 45 (4.18%) PMO
4 43 (3.99%) NIST
5 38 (3.53%) GDPR
6 32 (2.97%) NCSC
7 27 (2.51%) QA
7 27 (2.51%) SLA
8 19 (1.76%) Cyber Essentials
9 13 (1.21%) GRC
10 10 (0.93%) ISO 31000
11 8 (0.74%) ISO 9001
11 8 (0.74%) PCI DSS
12 7 (0.65%) JSP 440
13 5 (0.46%) Accessibility
14 4 (0.37%) ISO 19650
14 4 (0.37%) ISO/IEC 27005
14 4 (0.37%) Sarbanes-Oxley
15 3 (0.28%) Disclosure Scotland
15 3 (0.28%) GMP
System Software
1 218 (20.24%) Active Directory
2 72 (6.69%) VMware Infrastructure
3 33 (3.06%) Virtual Machines
4 30 (2.79%) Hyper-V
5 19 (1.76%) Docker
6 17 (1.58%) vSphere
7 16 (1.49%) Virtual Desktop
8 11 (1.02%) VMware ESXi
9 9 (0.84%) VMware NSX
10 6 (0.56%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 6 (0.56%) Virtual Servers
11 4 (0.37%) Firmware
11 4 (0.37%) ISA Server
12 3 (0.28%) BitLocker
12 3 (0.28%) OpenAM
13 1 (0.093%) Dovecot
13 1 (0.093%) Postfix
13 1 (0.093%) UAG
13 1 (0.093%) vCloud
13 1 (0.093%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 71 (6.59%) Microsoft Intune
2 47 (4.36%) Kubernetes
3 38 (3.53%) Ansible
4 35 (3.25%) SCCM
5 24 (2.23%) SCOM
5 24 (2.23%) vCenter Server
6 14 (1.30%) Avamar
6 14 (1.30%) WMI
7 12 (1.11%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 12 (1.11%) Single Sign-On
8 11 (1.02%) QRadar
9 10 (0.93%) Jamf Pro
10 8 (0.74%) Grafana
11 5 (0.46%) FortiGate
11 5 (0.46%) Progress Chef
11 5 (0.46%) Puppet
12 4 (0.37%) CASB
12 4 (0.37%) Clonezilla
12 4 (0.37%) Prometheus
13 3 (0.28%) Istio
Vendors
1 87 (8.08%) VMware
2 68 (6.31%) ServiceNow
3 55 (5.11%) SAP
4 44 (4.09%) Google
5 32 (2.97%) Cisco
6 30 (2.79%) Oracle
7 25 (2.32%) Databricks
8 23 (2.14%) Dell
9 20 (1.86%) Splunk
10 18 (1.67%) CrowdStrike
11 14 (1.30%) F5
11 14 (1.30%) SolarWinds
11 14 (1.30%) Thales
12 13 (1.21%) Meraki
13 9 (0.84%) Infoblox
13 9 (0.84%) Palo Alto
13 9 (0.84%) Veeam
14 8 (0.74%) Citrix
14 8 (0.74%) Red Hat
14 8 (0.74%) Salesforce