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 3 April 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
3 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 9 7 5
Rank change year-on-year -2 -2 0
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 644 450 843
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 11.64% 15.18% 14.94%
As % of the Vendors category 26.25% 28.90% 31.07%
Number of daily rates quoted 440 307 570
10th Percentile £204 £218 £194
25th Percentile £357 £363 £267
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £483 £500 £464
Median % change year-on-year -3.50% +7.82% -2.37%
75th Percentile £588 £589 £575
90th Percentile £662 £650 £675
England median daily rate £492 £475 £489
% change year-on-year +3.58% -2.81% -2.25%
Number of hourly rates quoted 69 25 68
10th Percentile £12.46 £13.53 £11.71
25th Percentile £14.50 £14.20 £12.54
Median hourly rate £17.50 £15.00 £22.54
Median % change year-on-year +16.67% -33.45% +11.39%
75th Percentile £31.88 £20.00 £54.06
90th Percentile £67.00 £26.50 £61.60
England median hourly rate £20.00 £22.18 £15.00
% change year-on-year -9.83% +47.87% -28.96%

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 2,453 1,557 2,713
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 44.35% 52.51% 48.09%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,730 1,045 1,656
10th Percentile £306 £246 £213
25th Percentile £413 £408 £378
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £525 £500
Median % change year-on-year -2.38% +5.00% -0.10%
75th Percentile £610 £613 £600
90th Percentile £700 £675 £688
England median daily rate £500 £525 £515
% change year-on-year -4.76% +1.94% -4.19%
Number of hourly rates quoted 167 88 179
10th Percentile £13.35 £14.20 £12.93
25th Percentile £17.25 £16.95 £18.29
Median hourly rate £37.12 £24.83 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year +49.50% -47.73% +5.56%
75th Percentile £85.63 £62.50 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £75.66 £67.02
England median hourly rate £25.77 £29.00 £23.36
% change year-on-year -11.14% +24.16% -36.87%

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 3 April 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 3 April 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 3 April 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 0 340 £475 -5.00% 240
Berkshire -5 194 £491 -1.80% 103
Hampshire -7 137 £550 +4.76% 139
Buckinghamshire -7 95 £475 +2.15% 88
Surrey +12 75 £450 -3.33% 87
Oxfordshire -1 51 £275 +10.00% 57
West Sussex -7 31 £445 +5.45% 42
Kent 0 28 £413 +35.25% 47
East Sussex +2 19 £600 +9.09% 29
Sussex +2 8 £463 -7.50% 11
Home Counties +1 4 - -
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 61 (9.47%) SharePoint
2 59 (9.16%) Microsoft Exchange
3 10 (1.55%) Confluence
4 3 (0.47%) ArcGIS
4 3 (0.47%) MS Project Server
4 3 (0.47%) Smallworld
5 2 (0.31%) GeoServer
6 1 (0.16%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.16%) BizTalk Server
6 1 (0.16%) Exchange Server 2010
6 1 (0.16%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 100 (15.53%) Microsoft Office
2 83 (12.89%) Microsoft Excel
3 31 (4.81%) Microsoft Project
4 28 (4.35%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 10 (1.55%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.31%) SOLIDWORKS
6 2 (0.31%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.16%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.16%) Adobe Illustrator
7 1 (0.16%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.16%) InDesign
7 1 (0.16%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.16%) Photoshop
7 1 (0.16%) Trello
Business Applications
1 7 (1.09%) Dynamics CRM
2 1 (0.16%) NEC Housing
2 1 (0.16%) Oracle EBS
2 1 (0.16%) Oracle ERP
2 1 (0.16%) Sage 50
2 1 (0.16%) Salesforce CRM
2 1 (0.16%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 215 (33.39%) Azure
2 179 (27.80%) Microsoft 365
3 103 (15.99%) Entra ID
4 63 (9.78%) AWS
5 60 (9.32%) Power Platform
6 32 (4.97%) Azure DevOps
7 30 (4.66%) OneDrive
8 28 (4.35%) Dynamics 365
9 27 (4.19%) Power Automate
10 23 (3.57%) Microsoft Purview
10 23 (3.57%) SaaS
11 22 (3.42%) PowerApps
12 21 (3.26%) GitHub
13 18 (2.80%) Serverless
14 17 (2.64%) Azure Functions
15 15 (2.33%) IaaS
15 15 (2.33%) Microsoft Copilot
16 13 (2.02%) Azure Logic Apps
16 13 (2.02%) Azure Monitor
17 12 (1.86%) Copilot Studio
Communications & Networking
1 55 (8.54%) DNS
2 37 (5.75%) DHCP
3 35 (5.43%) Firewall
4 32 (4.97%) Wi-Fi
5 19 (2.95%) VPN
6 16 (2.48%) Unified Communications
7 14 (2.17%) LAN
7 14 (2.17%) TCP/IP
8 12 (1.86%) Kerberos
8 12 (1.86%) Wireless
9 11 (1.71%) Network Security
9 11 (1.71%) WAN
10 8 (1.24%) BGP
10 8 (1.24%) MPLS
11 6 (0.93%) SAN
11 6 (0.93%) SD-WAN
11 6 (0.93%) SNMP
11 6 (0.93%) SSL
12 5 (0.78%) 4G
12 5 (0.78%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 47 (7.30%) Power BI
2 35 (5.43%) SQL Server
3 15 (2.33%) Azure SQL Database
3 15 (2.33%) Relational Database
4 12 (1.86%) MySQL
5 10 (1.55%) Metadata
5 10 (1.55%) PostgreSQL
6 8 (1.24%) Data Warehouse
6 8 (1.24%) Oracle Database
7 7 (1.09%) Data Lake
8 6 (0.93%) BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
8 6 (0.93%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 5 (0.78%) SQL Server Reporting Services
10 4 (0.62%) GIS
10 4 (0.62%) Oracle Reports
10 4 (0.62%) RDBMS
11 3 (0.47%) Amazon RDS
11 3 (0.47%) Star Schema
12 2 (0.31%) Geospatial Data
12 2 (0.31%) QGIS
Development Applications
1 16 (2.48%) JIRA
2 14 (2.17%) Git
3 11 (1.71%) Android Studio
4 9 (1.40%) Jenkins
5 8 (1.24%) Browser DevTools
5 8 (1.24%) Eclipse
5 8 (1.24%) Xcode
6 5 (0.78%) JUnit
7 4 (0.62%) Gradle
7 4 (0.62%) MSI
8 3 (0.47%) Bitbucket
8 3 (0.47%) Cucumber
8 3 (0.47%) Maven
8 3 (0.47%) Sonatype Nexus
8 3 (0.47%) Subversion
9 2 (0.31%) JMeter
9 2 (0.31%) Oracle APEX
9 2 (0.31%) Oracle Forms
9 2 (0.31%) Robot Framework
10 1 (0.16%) SonarQube
General
1 221 (34.32%) Social Skills
2 69 (10.71%) Finance
3 64 (9.94%) Analytical Skills
4 63 (9.78%) Organisational Skills
5 56 (8.70%) Public Sector
6 15 (2.33%) Manufacturing
7 14 (2.17%) Legal
8 13 (2.02%) Documentation Skills
8 13 (2.02%) Military
9 12 (1.86%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 9 (1.40%) Retail
11 8 (1.24%) Influencing Skills
12 7 (1.09%) Presentation Skills
12 7 (1.09%) Telecoms
13 5 (0.78%) Marketing
14 4 (0.62%) Advertising
14 4 (0.62%) Pharmaceutical
14 4 (0.62%) Police
15 3 (0.47%) Banking
15 3 (0.47%) Billing
Job Titles
1 96 (14.91%) Architect
2 66 (10.25%) IT Support
3 63 (9.78%) Analyst
4 57 (8.85%) Support Engineer
5 52 (8.07%) Senior
6 44 (6.83%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 41 (6.37%) IT Engineer
8 34 (5.28%) IT Support Engineer
9 30 (4.66%) Developer
10 29 (4.50%) Lead
11 25 (3.88%) Solutions Architect
12 23 (3.57%) Consultant
13 20 (3.11%) Administrator
14 18 (2.80%) Azure Engineer
14 18 (2.80%) Infrastructure Architect
14 18 (2.80%) IT Analyst
15 15 (2.33%) Project Manager
15 15 (2.33%) Support Analyst
15 15 (2.33%) Support Officer
16 14 (2.17%) IT Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (3.73%) .NET
2 13 (2.02%) LDAP
2 13 (2.02%) REST
3 12 (1.86%) React
4 11 (1.71%) ARM Templates
4 11 (1.71%) CSS
5 10 (1.55%) GraphQL
6 9 (1.40%) OAuth
7 8 (1.24%) Ajax
7 8 (1.24%) AngularJS
7 8 (1.24%) OpenID
7 8 (1.24%) SAML
8 7 (1.09%) ADO
9 6 (0.93%) OAuth2
9 6 (0.93%) Spring
9 6 (0.93%) XML
10 5 (0.78%) .NET Core
10 5 (0.78%) .NET Framework
10 5 (0.78%) Microsoft Graph
10 5 (0.78%) PySpark
Miscellaneous
1 36 (5.59%) PKI
2 35 (5.43%) Onboarding
3 20 (3.11%) Product Ownership
4 18 (2.80%) Cloud Native
5 17 (2.64%) Analytical Mindset
5 17 (2.64%) Legacy Systems
5 17 (2.64%) Replication
6 16 (2.48%) Self-Motivation
7 14 (2.17%) Enterprise Software
7 14 (2.17%) Hybrid Cloud
8 12 (1.86%) Driving Licence
9 11 (1.71%) Data Centre
9 11 (1.71%) Mobile App
9 11 (1.71%) Operational Technology
10 10 (1.55%) Management Information System
11 9 (1.40%) Public Cloud
12 8 (1.24%) Fat Client
12 8 (1.24%) Thin Client
13 7 (1.09%) Security Operations Centre
14 6 (0.93%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 185 (28.73%) Windows
2 64 (9.94%) Linux
3 44 (6.83%) Windows Server
4 26 (4.04%) Windows 10
5 17 (2.64%) Mac OS
6 13 (2.02%) Android
7 9 (1.40%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 9 (1.40%) Unix
8 7 (1.09%) Windows 7
8 7 (1.09%) Windows Server 2012
9 6 (0.93%) Windows Server 2016
9 6 (0.93%) Windows Server 2019
10 4 (0.62%) Ubuntu
11 3 (0.47%) CentOS
12 1 (0.16%) Apple iOS
12 1 (0.16%) Debian
12 1 (0.16%) OpenVMS
12 1 (0.16%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 98 (15.22%) Problem-Solving
2 85 (13.20%) Customer Service
3 73 (11.34%) Agile
3 73 (11.34%) Cybersecurity
4 72 (11.18%) DevOps
5 67 (10.40%) Migration
6 59 (9.16%) ITIL
7 58 (9.01%) Business Intelligence
8 57 (8.85%) Project Management
9 55 (8.54%) CI/CD
10 53 (8.23%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 53 (8.23%) Project Delivery
10 53 (8.23%) Stakeholder Management
11 44 (6.83%) Analytics
12 43 (6.68%) Time Management
13 37 (5.75%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 36 (5.59%) Continuous Improvement
15 35 (5.43%) Infrastructure as Code
16 34 (5.28%) Roadmaps
17 33 (5.12%) SIEM
Programming Languages
1 90 (13.98%) PowerShell
2 71 (11.02%) Python
3 50 (7.76%) SQL
4 21 (3.26%) C#
4 21 (3.26%) JavaScript
5 18 (2.80%) Bash
5 18 (2.80%) Java
6 10 (1.55%) Bicep
6 10 (1.55%) T-SQL
7 9 (1.40%) Perl
8 7 (1.09%) Kusto Query Language
9 4 (0.62%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 4 (0.62%) PL/SQL
10 2 (0.31%) Korn
10 2 (0.31%) PHP
10 2 (0.31%) Shell Script
10 2 (0.31%) TypeScript
10 2 (0.31%) X++
11 1 (0.16%) Google Apps Script
11 1 (0.16%) VBA
Qualifications
1 217 (33.70%) Security Cleared
2 145 (22.52%) SC Cleared
3 70 (10.87%) DV Cleared
4 66 (10.25%) Degree
5 23 (3.57%) Microsoft Certification
6 16 (2.48%) CISSP
7 13 (2.02%) Azure Certification
8 12 (1.86%) DBS Check
9 11 (1.71%) PMI Certification
9 11 (1.71%) PMP
10 10 (1.55%) Computer Science Degree
11 9 (1.40%) GIAC
12 8 (1.24%) A+ Certification
13 7 (1.09%) BPSS Clearance
13 7 (1.09%) Cisco Certification
13 7 (1.09%) Master's Degree
14 6 (0.93%) AWS Certification
14 6 (0.93%) CISM
15 5 (0.78%) CCIE
15 5 (0.78%) CEH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (4.04%) NIST
2 24 (3.73%) PMO
3 20 (3.11%) SLA
4 18 (2.80%) GDPR
5 15 (2.33%) Data Quality
6 13 (2.02%) Cyber Essentials
6 13 (2.02%) NCSC
7 12 (1.86%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 9 (1.40%) QA
9 5 (0.78%) NIST 800
10 4 (0.62%) Accessibility
11 3 (0.47%) P3O
12 2 (0.31%) JSP 440
13 1 (0.16%) Actionable Recommendations
13 1 (0.16%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 1 (0.16%) Disclosure Scotland
13 1 (0.16%) GRC
13 1 (0.16%) ISO 9001
13 1 (0.16%) ISO/IEC 27005
13 1 (0.16%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 189 (29.35%) Active Directory
2 52 (8.07%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (3.57%) Hyper-V
4 13 (2.02%) Docker
5 12 (1.86%) Virtual Desktop
6 8 (1.24%) VMware NSX
7 7 (1.09%) vSphere
8 5 (0.78%) Firmware
8 5 (0.78%) Virtual Machines
8 5 (0.78%) VMware ESXi
9 3 (0.47%) DFS Replication
10 1 (0.16%) BitLocker
10 1 (0.16%) Citrix Hypervisor
10 1 (0.16%) Oracle RAC
10 1 (0.16%) Sendmail
Systems Management
1 61 (9.47%) Microsoft Intune
2 39 (6.06%) SCCM
3 34 (5.28%) Terraform
4 19 (2.95%) Ansible
4 19 (2.95%) Single Sign-On
5 15 (2.33%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 14 (2.17%) Kubernetes
7 10 (1.55%) Jamf Pro
7 10 (1.55%) WMI
8 3 (0.47%) Grafana
8 3 (0.47%) Nessus
8 3 (0.47%) PaperCut
8 3 (0.47%) Puppet
8 3 (0.47%) SCOM
8 3 (0.47%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
8 3 (0.47%) WSUS
9 2 (0.31%) Cisco CUCM
9 2 (0.31%) Oracle RMAN
9 2 (0.31%) Progress Chef
9 2 (0.31%) SCSM
Vendors
1 67 (10.40%) VMware
2 30 (4.66%) ServiceNow
3 28 (4.35%) Cisco
4 19 (2.95%) Oracle
4 19 (2.95%) SAP
5 18 (2.80%) Splunk
6 17 (2.64%) Databricks
7 16 (2.48%) Citrix
8 11 (1.71%) Fortinet
8 11 (1.71%) Meraki
9 10 (1.55%) Tenable
10 9 (1.40%) Avaya
10 9 (1.40%) Thales
11 8 (1.24%) F5
11 8 (1.24%) Mitel
11 8 (1.24%) Red Hat
12 7 (1.09%) Palo Alto
13 6 (0.93%) CrowdStrike
13 6 (0.93%) Google
13 6 (0.93%) Juniper