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 4 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
4 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 5 6
Rank change year-on-year -2 +1 -1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 761 530 792
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 12.00% 16.31% 13.85%
As % of the Vendors category 28.36% 30.44% 29.55%
Number of daily rates quoted 495 351 511
10th Percentile £201 £200 £200
25th Percentile £355 £288 £355
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £469 £475
Median % change year-on-year +1.20% -1.19% +1.60%
75th Percentile £578 £575 £588
90th Percentile £675 £623 £675
England median daily rate £494 £475 £495
% change year-on-year +4.00% -4.04% -1.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 83 36 74
10th Percentile £12.78 £13.75 £11.71
25th Percentile £16.25 £14.20 £12.00
Median hourly rate £30.75 £15.63 £23.51
Median % change year-on-year +96.80% -33.52% +20.54%
75th Percentile £53.88 £28.81 £59.25
90th Percentile £110.75 £32.54 £61.60
England median hourly rate £22.57 £22.41 £16.06
% change year-on-year +0.70% +39.52% -27.82%

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 2,683 1,741 2,680
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 42.31% 53.57% 46.87%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,741 1,135 1,579
10th Percentile £283 £220 £245
25th Percentile £419 £375 £405
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £513
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% -2.44% +2.50%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £608
90th Percentile £694 £650 £700
England median daily rate £510 £513 £517
% change year-on-year -0.49% -0.87% -1.52%
Number of hourly rates quoted 190 110 190
10th Percentile £16.00 £14.20 £12.00
25th Percentile £21.35 £15.41 £18.00
Median hourly rate £50.24 £20.33 £51.50
Median % change year-on-year +147.13% -60.52% +14.44%
75th Percentile £85.00 £37.88 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £67.72 £70.00
England median hourly rate £35.00 £25.50 £25.00
% change year-on-year +37.25% +2.00% -30.56%

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 4 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 4 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 4 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 £493 +9.44% 278
Berkshire -3 217 £500 +1.52% 128
Hampshire -8 152 £538 +2.38% 146
Surrey +3 109 £450 +85.57% 120
Buckinghamshire -4 103 £505 +22.42% 82
Oxfordshire -2 79 £400 +60.00% 77
West Sussex -2 53 £468 +83.33% 44
Kent -3 26 £275 -12.00% 54
East Sussex -2 7 £358 -42.22% 34
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 (9.72%) SharePoint
2 71 (9.33%) Microsoft Exchange
3 10 (1.31%) Confluence
4 2 (0.26%) MS Project Server
5 1 (0.13%) Apache
5 1 (0.13%) Apache Spark
5 1 (0.13%) ArcGIS
5 1 (0.13%) BizTalk Server
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%) Smallworld
5 1 (0.13%) Tomcat
Applications
1 87 (11.43%) Microsoft Excel
2 82 (10.78%) Microsoft Office
3 34 (4.47%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 32 (4.20%) Microsoft Project
5 13 (1.71%) 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 (1.71%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (0.92%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.66%) NEC Housing
3 5 (0.66%) SAP PSCD
4 4 (0.53%) SAP Business One
5 3 (0.39%) Remedy ITSM
6 1 (0.13%) iTrent
6 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.13%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
6 1 (0.13%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 311 (40.87%) Azure
2 191 (25.10%) Microsoft 365
3 147 (19.32%) Entra ID
4 88 (11.56%) Power Platform
5 80 (10.51%) AWS
6 41 (5.39%) Azure DevOps
7 39 (5.12%) Dynamics 365
8 32 (4.20%) OneDrive
9 29 (3.81%) Power Automate
10 27 (3.55%) SaaS
11 23 (3.02%) GCP
12 19 (2.50%) Azure Logic Apps
12 19 (2.50%) Microsoft Purview
13 18 (2.37%) PowerApps
14 17 (2.23%) Azure Monitor
15 15 (1.97%) GitHub
15 15 (1.97%) IaaS
15 15 (1.97%) Serverless
16 14 (1.84%) Azure Functions
17 12 (1.58%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 78 (10.25%) DNS
2 52 (6.83%) DHCP
3 40 (5.26%) Firewall
3 40 (5.26%) Wi-Fi
4 31 (4.07%) LAN
4 31 (4.07%) VPN
5 30 (3.94%) TCP/IP
6 24 (3.15%) WAN
7 16 (2.10%) SD-WAN
8 14 (1.84%) MPLS
9 12 (1.58%) Kerberos
10 11 (1.45%) Unified Communications
10 11 (1.45%) VLAN
11 10 (1.31%) BGP
11 10 (1.31%) Network Security
12 9 (1.18%) DNSSEC
12 9 (1.18%) IPsec
13 7 (0.92%) BIG-IP
13 7 (0.92%) OSPF
14 6 (0.79%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 67 (8.80%) Power BI
2 29 (3.81%) SQL Server
3 12 (1.58%) MySQL
3 12 (1.58%) PostgreSQL
4 9 (1.18%) Azure SQL Database
5 7 (0.92%) Data Warehouse
6 6 (0.79%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 6 (0.79%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 5 (0.66%) Relational Database
8 4 (0.53%) Metadata
8 4 (0.53%) Oracle Database
9 3 (0.39%) Data Mining
9 3 (0.39%) MS Access
9 3 (0.39%) Star Schema
10 2 (0.26%) Amazon RDS
10 2 (0.26%) BusinessObjects
10 2 (0.26%) Data Lake
10 2 (0.26%) Geospatial Data
10 2 (0.26%) Oracle Reports
10 2 (0.26%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 26 (3.42%) JIRA
2 11 (1.45%) Git
3 4 (0.53%) JUnit
3 4 (0.53%) Sonatype Nexus
4 3 (0.39%) Android Studio
4 3 (0.39%) Browser DevTools
4 3 (0.39%) Eclipse
4 3 (0.39%) Gradle
4 3 (0.39%) Maven
4 3 (0.39%) MSI
4 3 (0.39%) Robot Framework
4 3 (0.39%) Xcode
5 2 (0.26%) GitLab
5 2 (0.26%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.13%) Artifactory
6 1 (0.13%) Jenkins
6 1 (0.13%) MLflow
6 1 (0.13%) NUnit
6 1 (0.13%) SonarQube
6 1 (0.13%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 238 (31.27%) Social Skills
2 76 (9.99%) Public Sector
3 75 (9.86%) Analytical Skills
4 70 (9.20%) Finance
5 47 (6.18%) Organisational Skills
6 28 (3.68%) Legal
7 25 (3.29%) Documentation Skills
8 24 (3.15%) Aerospace
9 19 (2.50%) Telecoms
10 15 (1.97%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 15 (1.97%) Military
11 12 (1.58%) Marketing
12 8 (1.05%) Influencing Skills
13 7 (0.92%) Local Government
14 6 (0.79%) Billing
14 6 (0.79%) French Language
14 6 (0.79%) Manufacturing
14 6 (0.79%) Retail
15 5 (0.66%) Arabic Language
15 5 (0.66%) General Ledger
Job Titles
1 87 (11.43%) Architect
2 80 (10.51%) IT Support
3 73 (9.59%) Analyst
4 59 (7.75%) Senior
5 48 (6.31%) Consultant
5 48 (6.31%) Support Engineer
6 46 (6.04%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 46 (6.04%) IT Engineer
6 46 (6.04%) Lead
7 37 (4.86%) IT Support Engineer
8 34 (4.47%) Developer
9 29 (3.81%) Azure Engineer
9 29 (3.81%) IT Analyst
10 27 (3.55%) Solutions Architect
11 26 (3.42%) Administrator
11 26 (3.42%) Support Analyst
12 25 (3.29%) Project Manager
13 24 (3.15%) Cloud Engineer
14 21 (2.76%) IT Support Analyst
14 21 (2.76%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 30 (3.94%) LDAP
2 29 (3.81%) .NET
3 27 (3.55%) OAuth
4 26 (3.42%) SAML
5 25 (3.29%) OpenID
6 18 (2.37%) REST
6 18 (2.37%) Web Services
7 17 (2.23%) Microsoft Graph
7 17 (2.23%) OAuth2
8 14 (1.84%) SailPoint
9 10 (1.31%) JSON
10 8 (1.05%) ARM Templates
10 8 (1.05%) React
10 8 (1.05%) SOAP
10 8 (1.05%) XML
11 7 (0.92%) AngularJS
11 7 (0.92%) CSS
11 7 (0.92%) Middleware
12 6 (0.79%) PySpark
12 6 (0.79%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 49 (6.44%) Onboarding
2 31 (4.07%) Data Centre
3 30 (3.94%) PKI
4 28 (3.68%) Cloud Native
5 25 (3.29%) Hybrid Cloud
6 22 (2.89%) Legacy Systems
6 22 (2.89%) Product Ownership
7 17 (2.23%) Public Cloud
8 16 (2.10%) Replication
9 14 (1.84%) Operational Technology
10 13 (1.71%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
11 12 (1.58%) Security Posture
12 11 (1.45%) Enterprise Software
12 11 (1.45%) Self-Motivation
13 10 (1.31%) Data Structures
14 9 (1.18%) Cyber Defence
14 9 (1.18%) Management Information System
15 8 (1.05%) Driving Licence
15 8 (1.05%) Private Cloud
15 8 (1.05%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 211 (27.73%) Windows
2 63 (8.28%) Windows Server
3 53 (6.96%) Linux
4 28 (3.68%) Windows 10
5 25 (3.29%) Mac OS
6 22 (2.89%) Apple iOS
7 15 (1.97%) Unix
8 12 (1.58%) Android
9 9 (1.18%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 7 (0.92%) Windows 7
10 7 (0.92%) Windows Server 2019
11 6 (0.79%) Windows Server 2012
12 5 (0.66%) Windows Server 2016
13 3 (0.39%) CentOS
13 3 (0.39%) Ubuntu
14 1 (0.13%) OpenVMS
14 1 (0.13%) VMS
14 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 140 (18.40%) Problem-Solving
2 98 (12.88%) ITIL
3 95 (12.48%) Customer Service
4 93 (12.22%) Agile
5 87 (11.43%) DevOps
6 82 (10.78%) Stakeholder Management
7 75 (9.86%) CI/CD
8 74 (9.72%) Migration
9 71 (9.33%) Cybersecurity
10 70 (9.20%) Business Intelligence
11 64 (8.41%) ITSM
12 61 (8.02%) Project Delivery
12 61 (8.02%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 58 (7.62%) Decision-Making
14 57 (7.49%) Analytics
14 57 (7.49%) Infrastructure Engineering
15 53 (6.96%) Continuous Improvement
15 53 (6.96%) Project Management
16 52 (6.83%) AI
17 51 (6.70%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 119 (15.64%) PowerShell
2 72 (9.46%) Python
3 69 (9.07%) SQL
4 28 (3.68%) T-SQL
5 22 (2.89%) Bash
6 19 (2.50%) C#
7 16 (2.10%) Java
7 16 (2.10%) JavaScript
8 13 (1.71%) Bicep
9 8 (1.05%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 7 (0.92%) X++
11 6 (0.79%) Kusto Query Language
12 4 (0.53%) ABAP
13 3 (0.39%) Perl
13 3 (0.39%) TypeScript
14 2 (0.26%) Korn
15 1 (0.13%) Google Apps Script
15 1 (0.13%) Groovy
15 1 (0.13%) Shell Script
15 1 (0.13%) VBA
Qualifications
1 266 (34.95%) Security Cleared
2 193 (25.36%) SC Cleared
3 98 (12.88%) Degree
4 80 (10.51%) DV Cleared
5 37 (4.86%) Microsoft Certification
6 29 (3.81%) Azure Certification
7 17 (2.23%) Cisco Certification
8 13 (1.71%) AWS Certification
9 12 (1.58%) DBS Check
10 11 (1.45%) Computer Science Degree
11 10 (1.31%) BPSS Clearance
11 10 (1.31%) CISSP
12 9 (1.18%) CCNP
12 9 (1.18%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 8 (1.05%) CISM
13 8 (1.05%) GIAC
13 8 (1.05%) MCSA
13 8 (1.05%) MCSE
14 7 (0.92%) PMI Certification
14 7 (0.92%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 35 (4.60%) NIST
2 29 (3.81%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 28 (3.68%) NCSC
4 26 (3.42%) GDPR
5 25 (3.29%) SLA
6 19 (2.50%) Cyber Essentials
7 18 (2.37%) PMO
7 18 (2.37%) QA
8 17 (2.23%) Data Quality
9 6 (0.79%) ISO 31000
10 5 (0.66%) NIST 800
11 4 (0.53%) Accessibility
11 4 (0.53%) PCI DSS
12 3 (0.39%) ISO/IEC 42001
13 2 (0.26%) GRC
13 2 (0.26%) Sarbanes-Oxley
14 1 (0.13%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
14 1 (0.13%) Disclosure Scotland
14 1 (0.13%) ISO 9001
14 1 (0.13%) JSP 440
System Software
1 214 (28.12%) Active Directory
2 69 (9.07%) VMware Infrastructure
3 29 (3.81%) Hyper-V
4 18 (2.37%) vSphere
5 16 (2.10%) Virtual Machines
6 15 (1.97%) VMware ESXi
7 14 (1.84%) VMware NSX
8 11 (1.45%) Virtual Desktop
9 9 (1.18%) Docker
10 5 (0.66%) Firmware
11 3 (0.39%) 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 67 (8.80%) Microsoft Intune
2 46 (6.04%) Terraform
3 26 (3.42%) Active Directory Federation Services
3 26 (3.42%) SCCM
4 18 (2.37%) SCOM
5 17 (2.23%) Ansible
6 15 (1.97%) vCenter Server
7 14 (1.84%) Single Sign-On
8 13 (1.71%) Jamf Pro
8 13 (1.71%) Kubernetes
9 9 (1.18%) Avamar
10 4 (0.53%) Clonezilla
10 4 (0.53%) FortiGate
10 4 (0.53%) Puppet
10 4 (0.53%) QRadar
11 3 (0.39%) Progress Chef
11 3 (0.39%) SCSM
11 3 (0.39%) WMI
12 2 (0.26%) Grafana
12 2 (0.26%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 87 (11.43%) VMware
2 42 (5.52%) Cisco
3 41 (5.39%) ServiceNow
4 35 (4.60%) SAP
5 23 (3.02%) Google
6 21 (2.76%) Meraki
7 15 (1.97%) Dell
7 15 (1.97%) SolarWinds
8 14 (1.84%) Databricks
8 14 (1.84%) Oracle
9 13 (1.71%) Avaya
9 13 (1.71%) Citrix
10 12 (1.58%) F5
10 12 (1.58%) Mitel
11 11 (1.45%) Fortinet
12 10 (1.31%) Palo Alto
12 10 (1.31%) Thales
13 9 (1.18%) Infoblox
13 9 (1.18%) Juniper
13 9 (1.18%) Splunk