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 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
18 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 5 6
Rank change year-on-year -2 +1 0
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 828 553 750
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 12.64% 16.26% 13.63%
As % of the Vendors category 29.51% 30.30% 29.13%
Number of daily rates quoted 537 364 488
10th Percentile £203 £200 £200
25th Percentile £360 £263 £362
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £473 £475
Median % change year-on-year +0.53% -0.53% +2.83%
75th Percentile £588 £575 £591
90th Percentile £675 £623 £675
England median daily rate £497 £475 £493
% change year-on-year +4.66% -3.55% -1.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 81 42 60
10th Percentile £13.13 £14.00 £11.71
25th Percentile £18.00 £14.20 £12.47
Median hourly rate £32.50 £16.36 £29.75
Median % change year-on-year +98.66% -45.01% +56.58%
75th Percentile £77.50 £32.05 £58.74
90th Percentile £110.75 £82.08 £61.11
England median hourly rate £22.79 £22.63 £16.13
% change year-on-year +0.68% +40.34% -24.51%

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 2,806 1,825 2,575
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 42.85% 53.64% 46.80%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,805 1,191 1,533
10th Percentile £284 £213 £255
25th Percentile £425 £375 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £500 £513
Median % change year-on-year +3.00% -2.44% +2.50%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £613
90th Percentile £694 £650 £700
England median daily rate £510 £513 £515
% change year-on-year -0.49% -0.49% -1.90%
Number of hourly rates quoted 200 118 163
10th Percentile £16.00 £14.20 £13.20
25th Percentile £26.40 £15.25 £20.06
Median hourly rate £55.00 £20.33 £55.08
Median % change year-on-year +170.54% -63.09% +22.39%
75th Percentile £85.00 £44.33 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £75.93 £70.00
England median hourly rate £35.50 £25.15 £26.00
% change year-on-year +41.15% -3.27% -30.67%

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 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 18 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 18 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 0 442 £500 +11.11% 242
Berkshire 0 242 £500 +1.52% 109
Hampshire -8 167 £525 -0.47% 99
Surrey +6 120 £455 +82.00% 78
Buckinghamshire -4 111 £510 +18.60% 73
Oxfordshire -1 89 £400 +60.00% 63
West Sussex -3 53 £460 +109.09% 38
Kent -2 26 £275 -23.61% 58
East Sussex +3 8 £220 -65.49% 25
Home Counties +1 4 - -
Middlesex - 2 - - 20
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 82 (9.90%) SharePoint
2 74 (8.94%) Microsoft Exchange
3 10 (1.21%) Confluence
4 2 (0.24%) OpenStack
5 1 (0.12%) Apache
5 1 (0.12%) Apache Spark
5 1 (0.12%) ArcGIS
5 1 (0.12%) BizTalk Server
5 1 (0.12%) IIS
5 1 (0.12%) MS Project Server
5 1 (0.12%) nginx
5 1 (0.12%) SharePoint 2010
5 1 (0.12%) SharePoint 2013
5 1 (0.12%) Smallworld
5 1 (0.12%) Tomcat
Applications
1 101 (12.20%) Microsoft Excel
2 88 (10.63%) Microsoft Office
3 42 (5.07%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 38 (4.59%) Microsoft Project
5 14 (1.69%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.24%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.12%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.12%) Adobe Illustrator
7 1 (0.12%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.12%) InDesign
7 1 (0.12%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.12%) Photoshop
7 1 (0.12%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.12%) Trello
Business Applications
1 15 (1.81%) SAP S/4HANA
2 11 (1.33%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.60%) NEC Housing
3 5 (0.60%) SAP PSCD
4 4 (0.48%) SAP Business One
5 3 (0.36%) Primavera
5 3 (0.36%) Remedy ITSM
6 1 (0.12%) iTrent
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.12%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
6 1 (0.12%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 337 (40.70%) Azure
2 202 (24.40%) Microsoft 365
3 166 (20.05%) Entra ID
4 91 (10.99%) Power Platform
5 83 (10.02%) AWS
6 45 (5.43%) Dynamics 365
7 43 (5.19%) Azure DevOps
8 35 (4.23%) OneDrive
9 31 (3.74%) SaaS
10 28 (3.38%) Power Automate
11 26 (3.14%) GCP
12 24 (2.90%) Azure Monitor
13 23 (2.78%) Azure Logic Apps
14 22 (2.66%) Microsoft Purview
15 19 (2.29%) IaaS
16 17 (2.05%) PowerApps
17 12 (1.45%) Azure Functions
17 12 (1.45%) Azure Sentinel
17 12 (1.45%) Serverless
18 11 (1.33%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 86 (10.39%) DNS
2 57 (6.88%) DHCP
3 46 (5.56%) Firewall
4 43 (5.19%) Wi-Fi
5 37 (4.47%) TCP/IP
5 37 (4.47%) VPN
6 32 (3.86%) LAN
7 25 (3.02%) WAN
8 15 (1.81%) MPLS
8 15 (1.81%) SD-WAN
9 14 (1.69%) Network Security
10 13 (1.57%) VLAN
11 12 (1.45%) Kerberos
12 11 (1.33%) BGP
12 11 (1.33%) Unified Communications
13 9 (1.09%) DNSSEC
14 8 (0.97%) IPsec
15 7 (0.85%) OSPF
15 7 (0.85%) Wireless
16 6 (0.72%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 69 (8.33%) Power BI
2 32 (3.86%) SQL Server
3 13 (1.57%) MySQL
4 12 (1.45%) PostgreSQL
5 10 (1.21%) Data Warehouse
6 8 (0.97%) Oracle Database
7 7 (0.85%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 7 (0.85%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 6 (0.72%) Azure SQL Database
8 6 (0.72%) Metadata
9 5 (0.60%) Relational Database
10 3 (0.36%) Data Mining
10 3 (0.36%) MS Access
10 3 (0.36%) SQL Server Analysis Services
10 3 (0.36%) Star Schema
11 2 (0.24%) Amazon RDS
11 2 (0.24%) BusinessObjects
11 2 (0.24%) Data Lake
11 2 (0.24%) Geospatial Data
11 2 (0.24%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 25 (3.02%) JIRA
2 11 (1.33%) Git
3 5 (0.60%) MSI
4 4 (0.48%) Sonatype Nexus
5 3 (0.36%) Android Studio
5 3 (0.36%) Browser DevTools
5 3 (0.36%) Eclipse
5 3 (0.36%) Robot Framework
5 3 (0.36%) Xcode
6 2 (0.24%) Jenkins
6 2 (0.24%) JUnit
6 2 (0.24%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
7 1 (0.12%) ERwin
7 1 (0.12%) GitLab
7 1 (0.12%) Gradle
7 1 (0.12%) Maven
7 1 (0.12%) NUnit
7 1 (0.12%) SonarQube
7 1 (0.12%) Visual Studio
7 1 (0.12%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 263 (31.76%) Social Skills
2 98 (11.84%) Analytical Skills
3 86 (10.39%) Public Sector
4 80 (9.66%) Finance
5 50 (6.04%) Organisational Skills
6 30 (3.62%) Documentation Skills
7 28 (3.38%) Legal
8 26 (3.14%) Aerospace
9 22 (2.66%) Telecoms
10 17 (2.05%) Marketing
10 17 (2.05%) Military
11 16 (1.93%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 9 (1.09%) Manufacturing
13 8 (0.97%) Influencing Skills
14 7 (0.85%) Billing
14 7 (0.85%) French Language
14 7 (0.85%) Retail
15 6 (0.72%) Aviation
15 6 (0.72%) Local Government
16 5 (0.60%) Arabic Language
Job Titles
1 86 (10.39%) IT Support
2 85 (10.27%) Architect
3 82 (9.90%) Analyst
4 64 (7.73%) Senior
5 57 (6.88%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 52 (6.28%) Consultant
7 50 (6.04%) Support Engineer
8 49 (5.92%) IT Engineer
9 47 (5.68%) Lead
10 40 (4.83%) IT Support Engineer
11 36 (4.35%) Developer
12 32 (3.86%) Azure Engineer
13 31 (3.74%) Cloud Engineer
14 30 (3.62%) IT Analyst
15 27 (3.26%) Administrator
15 27 (3.26%) Project Manager
15 27 (3.26%) Support Analyst
16 26 (3.14%) Solutions Architect
17 23 (2.78%) IT Support Analyst
18 21 (2.54%) 3rd Line Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 33 (3.99%) LDAP
2 32 (3.86%) OAuth
3 30 (3.62%) OpenID
3 30 (3.62%) SAML
4 27 (3.26%) .NET
5 22 (2.66%) OAuth2
6 20 (2.42%) Web Services
7 18 (2.17%) Microsoft Graph
7 18 (2.17%) REST
7 18 (2.17%) SailPoint
8 11 (1.33%) JSON
9 10 (1.21%) ARM Templates
10 9 (1.09%) XML
11 8 (0.97%) React
11 8 (0.97%) SOAP
12 7 (0.85%) AngularJS
12 7 (0.85%) CSS
12 7 (0.85%) Middleware
12 7 (0.85%) PySpark
12 7 (0.85%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 69 (8.33%) Onboarding
2 33 (3.99%) Hybrid Cloud
3 32 (3.86%) Data Centre
4 30 (3.62%) Cloud Native
4 30 (3.62%) PKI
5 27 (3.26%) Product Ownership
6 22 (2.66%) Legacy Systems
7 20 (2.42%) Public Cloud
8 17 (2.05%) Operational Technology
9 16 (1.93%) Replication
10 15 (1.81%) Security Posture
11 14 (1.69%) Enterprise Software
12 13 (1.57%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
12 13 (1.57%) Management Information System
13 12 (1.45%) Self-Motivation
14 10 (1.21%) Cyber Defence
14 10 (1.21%) Data Structures
15 9 (1.09%) Analytical Mindset
15 9 (1.09%) Private Cloud
16 8 (0.97%) Enterprise Cloud
Operating Systems
1 232 (28.02%) Windows
2 74 (8.94%) Windows Server
3 66 (7.97%) Linux
4 32 (3.86%) Windows 10
5 24 (2.90%) Mac OS
6 22 (2.66%) Apple iOS
7 15 (1.81%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 15 (1.81%) Unix
8 12 (1.45%) Android
9 7 (0.85%) Windows Server 2019
10 6 (0.72%) Windows 7
11 5 (0.60%) Windows Server 2012
12 4 (0.48%) CentOS
12 4 (0.48%) Ubuntu
12 4 (0.48%) Windows Server 2016
13 1 (0.12%) OpenVMS
13 1 (0.12%) VMS
13 1 (0.12%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 155 (18.72%) Problem-Solving
2 110 (13.29%) ITIL
3 102 (12.32%) Agile
4 99 (11.96%) Customer Service
5 92 (11.11%) Stakeholder Management
6 90 (10.87%) DevOps
7 83 (10.02%) Migration
8 82 (9.90%) CI/CD
9 81 (9.78%) ITSM
10 78 (9.42%) Cybersecurity
11 75 (9.06%) Continuous Improvement
12 73 (8.82%) Business Intelligence
12 73 (8.82%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 71 (8.57%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 68 (8.21%) Decision-Making
15 67 (8.09%) Analytics
16 65 (7.85%) Project Delivery
17 60 (7.25%) Project Management
18 55 (6.64%) Roadmaps
19 54 (6.52%) AI
Programming Languages
1 141 (17.03%) PowerShell
2 76 (9.18%) Python
3 72 (8.70%) SQL
4 31 (3.74%) Bash
5 28 (3.38%) T-SQL
6 20 (2.42%) Bicep
7 17 (2.05%) C#
8 14 (1.69%) Java
8 14 (1.69%) JavaScript
9 12 (1.45%) Kusto Query Language
10 9 (1.09%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 7 (0.85%) X++
12 4 (0.48%) ABAP
13 3 (0.36%) Perl
13 3 (0.36%) TypeScript
14 2 (0.24%) Korn
14 2 (0.24%) VBA
15 1 (0.12%) Google Apps Script
15 1 (0.12%) Groovy
15 1 (0.12%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 302 (36.47%) Security Cleared
2 213 (25.72%) SC Cleared
3 117 (14.13%) Degree
4 94 (11.35%) DV Cleared
5 47 (5.68%) Microsoft Certification
6 35 (4.23%) Azure Certification
7 18 (2.17%) Cisco Certification
8 16 (1.93%) AWS Certification
9 13 (1.57%) BPSS Clearance
9 13 (1.57%) PMI Certification
9 13 (1.57%) PMP
10 12 (1.45%) Computer Science Degree
10 12 (1.45%) DBS Check
11 9 (1.09%) CCNP
11 9 (1.09%) MCSA
11 9 (1.09%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
11 9 (1.09%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
12 8 (0.97%) CISSP
12 8 (0.97%) MCSE
13 7 (0.85%) CCIE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 37 (4.47%) NIST
2 33 (3.99%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 28 (3.38%) GDPR
3 28 (3.38%) NCSC
4 26 (3.14%) Data Quality
4 26 (3.14%) SLA
5 24 (2.90%) PMO
6 20 (2.42%) QA
7 18 (2.17%) Cyber Essentials
8 6 (0.72%) ISO 31000
9 4 (0.48%) Accessibility
9 4 (0.48%) NIST 800
10 3 (0.36%) GRC
10 3 (0.36%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 3 (0.36%) PCI DSS
10 3 (0.36%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 2 (0.24%) Disclosure Scotland
12 1 (0.12%) GxP
12 1 (0.12%) ISO 9001
12 1 (0.12%) JSP 440
System Software
1 231 (27.90%) Active Directory
2 73 (8.82%) VMware Infrastructure
3 30 (3.62%) Hyper-V
4 19 (2.29%) Virtual Machines
5 18 (2.17%) vSphere
6 14 (1.69%) VMware ESXi
7 13 (1.57%) Virtual Desktop
7 13 (1.57%) VMware NSX
8 8 (0.97%) Docker
9 5 (0.60%) Firmware
10 3 (0.36%) OpenAM
11 2 (0.24%) UAG
12 1 (0.12%) BitLocker
12 1 (0.12%) Citrix Hypervisor
12 1 (0.12%) Dovecot
12 1 (0.12%) Oracle RAC
12 1 (0.12%) Postfix
12 1 (0.12%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 73 (8.82%) Microsoft Intune
2 57 (6.88%) Terraform
3 33 (3.99%) SCCM
4 25 (3.02%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 23 (2.78%) Ansible
6 20 (2.42%) SCOM
7 19 (2.29%) Kubernetes
8 18 (2.17%) vCenter Server
9 14 (1.69%) Single Sign-On
10 12 (1.45%) Jamf Pro
11 11 (1.33%) Avamar
12 5 (0.60%) Progress Chef
12 5 (0.60%) Puppet
12 5 (0.60%) QRadar
13 4 (0.48%) Clonezilla
13 4 (0.48%) FortiGate
13 4 (0.48%) WMI
14 3 (0.36%) SCSM
15 2 (0.24%) vMotion
15 2 (0.24%) WSUS
Vendors
1 91 (10.99%) VMware
2 52 (6.28%) ServiceNow
3 43 (5.19%) Cisco
4 38 (4.59%) SAP
5 26 (3.14%) Google
6 22 (2.66%) Meraki
7 19 (2.29%) Oracle
8 18 (2.17%) Dell
9 15 (1.81%) SolarWinds
10 14 (1.69%) Avaya
11 13 (1.57%) Citrix
11 13 (1.57%) Mitel
12 12 (1.45%) Databricks
12 12 (1.45%) F5
13 11 (1.33%) Fortinet
13 11 (1.33%) Thales
14 10 (1.21%) Juniper
14 10 (1.21%) Palo Alto
15 9 (1.09%) Splunk
15 9 (1.09%) Veeam