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 6 February 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
6 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 6 3
Rank change year-on-year -1 -3 +3
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 637 479 920
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 13.73% 15.13% 16.79%
As % of the Vendors category 28.41% 30.22% 33.44%
Number of daily rates quoted 455 325 641
10th Percentile £200 £206 £170
25th Percentile £269 £356 £213
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £452
Median % change year-on-year - +5.20% -1.20%
75th Percentile £563 £583 £575
90th Percentile £640 £650 £650
England median daily rate £475 £475 £498
% change year-on-year - -4.52% -0.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 66 14 57
10th Percentile £12.39 £15.08 £11.78
25th Percentile £12.66 £18.28 £14.00
Median hourly rate £17.47 £22.50 £23.22
Median % change year-on-year -22.37% -3.08% +20.60%
75th Percentile £21.00 £29.43 £56.40
90th Percentile £44.79 £57.62 £61.60
England median hourly rate £19.14 £22.39 £18.00
% change year-on-year -14.52% +24.36% -13.11%

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 2,242 1,585 2,751
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 48.31% 50.06% 50.21%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,615 1,016 1,745
10th Percentile £255 £238 £205
25th Percentile £406 £407 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £507 £500
Median % change year-on-year -1.33% +1.35% -0.89%
75th Percentile £600 £618 £600
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
England median daily rate £501 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.67% - -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 143 48 161
10th Percentile £12.50 £18.50 £13.15
25th Percentile £15.75 £24.18 £20.25
Median hourly rate £22.50 £30.21 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year -25.51% -36.41% +26.67%
75th Percentile £60.00 £62.81 £63.29
90th Percentile £89.27 £74.91 £76.53
England median hourly rate £23.75 £30.41 £30.00
% change year-on-year -21.89% +1.35% -6.12%

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 6 February 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 6 February 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 6 February 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 +1 307 £475 -5.00% 232
Berkshire +2 203 £480 -4.00% 112
Hampshire -3 142 £538 +8.53% 128
Surrey +7 83 £425 +21.43% 85
Buckinghamshire -2 72 £465 +8.14% 73
West Sussex -6 35 £355 -18.25% 51
Oxfordshire 0 32 £275 +10.00% 50
Kent 0 31 £425 -8.11% 65
East Sussex +7 24 £600 +14.29% 28
Sussex 0 11 £463 +5.11% 9
Home Counties - 3 - -
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 64 (10.05%) SharePoint
2 47 (7.38%) Microsoft Exchange
3 10 (1.57%) Skype for Business
4 8 (1.26%) Confluence
5 7 (1.10%) Mattermost
6 3 (0.47%) Exchange Server 2010
6 3 (0.47%) Exchange Server 2013
6 3 (0.47%) MS Project Server
6 3 (0.47%) SharePoint Server
7 2 (0.31%) ArcGIS
7 2 (0.31%) CMS
7 2 (0.31%) Exchange Server 2003
7 2 (0.31%) Exchange Server 2007
7 2 (0.31%) GeoServer
7 2 (0.31%) Office Communications Server
7 2 (0.31%) Smallworld
8 1 (0.16%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.16%) BizTalk Server
8 1 (0.16%) Headless CMS
Applications
1 120 (18.84%) Microsoft Office
2 72 (11.30%) Microsoft Excel
3 27 (4.24%) Microsoft Project
4 22 (3.45%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 10 (1.57%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.31%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.16%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 11 (1.73%) Dynamics CRM
2 7 (1.10%) Remedy ITSM
3 3 (0.47%) Dynamics AX
4 2 (0.31%) Payment Gateway
4 2 (0.31%) SAP S/4HANA
5 1 (0.16%) iTrent
5 1 (0.16%) NetSuite
5 1 (0.16%) Oracle Applications
5 1 (0.16%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.16%) Oracle ERP
5 1 (0.16%) Sage 50
5 1 (0.16%) Salesforce CRM
5 1 (0.16%) SAP EWM
5 1 (0.16%) SAP WM
5 1 (0.16%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 190 (29.83%) Azure
2 149 (23.39%) Microsoft 365
3 85 (13.34%) Entra ID
4 67 (10.52%) Power Platform
5 65 (10.20%) AWS
6 33 (5.18%) Dynamics 365
7 30 (4.71%) OneDrive
8 28 (4.40%) SaaS
9 27 (4.24%) Microsoft Purview
10 24 (3.77%) Azure DevOps
10 24 (3.77%) Power Automate
11 22 (3.45%) PowerApps
12 19 (2.98%) GitHub
13 16 (2.51%) Google Workspace
13 16 (2.51%) Serverless
14 15 (2.35%) GCP
14 15 (2.35%) Sauce Labs
15 14 (2.20%) Azure Functions
16 12 (1.88%) Copilot Studio
16 12 (1.88%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 56 (8.79%) DNS
2 47 (7.38%) DHCP
3 35 (5.49%) Firewall
4 24 (3.77%) Wi-Fi
5 22 (3.45%) TCP/IP
6 18 (2.83%) VPN
7 16 (2.51%) Wireless
8 15 (2.35%) VLAN
9 13 (2.04%) Kerberos
10 12 (1.88%) Unified Communications
11 9 (1.41%) 4G
11 9 (1.41%) Network Security
12 8 (1.26%) SAN
12 8 (1.26%) Skype
13 7 (1.10%) WebEx
14 6 (0.94%) VSAN
15 5 (0.78%) LAN
15 5 (0.78%) WAN
16 4 (0.63%) SSL
16 4 (0.63%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 48 (7.54%) Power BI
2 37 (5.81%) SQL Server
3 24 (3.77%) Relational Database
4 18 (2.83%) MySQL
5 14 (2.20%) Azure SQL Database
6 13 (2.04%) Oracle Database
7 10 (1.57%) Data Warehouse
7 10 (1.57%) Metadata
8 9 (1.41%) BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
9 7 (1.10%) Data Lake
9 7 (1.10%) PostgreSQL
10 6 (0.94%) RDBMS
10 6 (0.94%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 5 (0.78%) SQL Server Integration Services
12 4 (0.63%) Amazon RDS
12 4 (0.63%) MongoDB
12 4 (0.63%) Oracle Reports
13 3 (0.47%) GIS
13 3 (0.47%) SQL Server Analysis Services
13 3 (0.47%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 18 (2.83%) Android Studio
2 16 (2.51%) Browser DevTools
3 15 (2.35%) Eclipse
3 15 (2.35%) Xcode
4 14 (2.20%) JIRA
5 13 (2.04%) Git
6 9 (1.41%) Jenkins
7 5 (0.78%) JUnit
8 4 (0.63%) Gradle
9 3 (0.47%) Bitbucket
9 3 (0.47%) Cucumber
9 3 (0.47%) Maven
9 3 (0.47%) MSI
9 3 (0.47%) Subversion
10 2 (0.31%) JMeter
10 2 (0.31%) Oracle APEX
10 2 (0.31%) Oracle Forms
10 2 (0.31%) Sonatype Nexus
11 1 (0.16%) Gatling
11 1 (0.16%) Postman
General
1 234 (36.73%) Social Skills
2 99 (15.54%) Finance
3 76 (11.93%) Analytical Skills
4 62 (9.73%) Organisational Skills
5 51 (8.01%) Public Sector
6 18 (2.83%) Manufacturing
7 14 (2.20%) Documentation Skills
8 11 (1.73%) Legal
9 10 (1.57%) Influencing Skills
9 10 (1.57%) Retail
10 8 (1.26%) Telecoms
11 7 (1.10%) Marketing
11 7 (1.10%) Presentation Skills
12 6 (0.94%) Military
13 5 (0.78%) Billing
14 4 (0.63%) Banking
14 4 (0.63%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 3 (0.47%) Automotive
15 3 (0.47%) Aviation
15 3 (0.47%) Electronics
Job Titles
1 93 (14.60%) Architect
2 76 (11.93%) Analyst
3 72 (11.30%) Support Engineer
4 54 (8.48%) IT Support
5 45 (7.06%) Senior
6 43 (6.75%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 29 (4.55%) Developer
8 27 (4.24%) IT Engineer
9 23 (3.61%) IT Support Engineer
9 23 (3.61%) Lead
10 22 (3.45%) Consultant
10 22 (3.45%) Solutions Architect
11 21 (3.30%) Infrastructure Support
12 20 (3.14%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
12 20 (3.14%) Technical Support
13 19 (2.98%) Infrastructure Architect
13 19 (2.98%) Support Officer
14 18 (2.83%) Technical Engineer
14 18 (2.83%) Technical Support Engineer
15 17 (2.67%) Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (3.30%) .NET
2 19 (2.98%) CSS
2 19 (2.98%) React
3 18 (2.83%) GraphQL
4 16 (2.51%) Ajax
4 16 (2.51%) AngularJS
4 16 (2.51%) LDAP
5 10 (1.57%) ARM Templates
5 10 (1.57%) REST
6 8 (1.26%) OAuth
7 7 (1.10%) SAML
8 6 (0.94%) ADO
8 6 (0.94%) Spring
9 5 (0.78%) OpenID
10 4 (0.63%) Microsoft Graph
10 4 (0.63%) Middleware
10 4 (0.63%) OAuth2
10 4 (0.63%) PySpark
10 4 (0.63%) SailPoint
10 4 (0.63%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 32 (5.02%) PKI
2 31 (4.87%) Onboarding
3 30 (4.71%) Analytical Mindset
4 20 (3.14%) Mobile App
5 19 (2.98%) Replication
6 18 (2.83%) Product Ownership
7 17 (2.67%) Enterprise Software
8 16 (2.51%) Self-Motivation
9 15 (2.35%) Driving Licence
10 13 (2.04%) Fat Client
10 13 (2.04%) Management Information System
10 13 (2.04%) Thin Client
11 12 (1.88%) Operational Technology
12 11 (1.73%) Cloud Native
13 9 (1.41%) Video Conferencing
14 8 (1.26%) Security Operations Centre
15 7 (1.10%) Cyber Defence
15 7 (1.10%) Data Centre
16 6 (0.94%) Legacy Systems
17 5 (0.78%) CMDB
Operating Systems
1 191 (29.98%) Windows
2 78 (12.24%) Linux
3 37 (5.81%) Windows 10
4 27 (4.24%) Windows Server
5 20 (3.14%) Android
5 20 (3.14%) Unix
6 16 (2.51%) Mac OS
7 11 (1.73%) Windows 7
8 6 (0.94%) Windows Server 2019
9 5 (0.78%) Windows Server 2012
9 5 (0.78%) Windows Server 2016
10 3 (0.47%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.31%) Apple iOS
11 2 (0.31%) Ubuntu
11 2 (0.31%) Windows Server 2003
12 1 (0.16%) CentOS
12 1 (0.16%) Debian
Processes & Methodologies
1 104 (16.33%) Problem-Solving
2 83 (13.03%) Agile
3 75 (11.77%) Customer Service
4 74 (11.62%) ITIL
5 69 (10.83%) Cybersecurity
6 59 (9.26%) Business Intelligence
7 58 (9.11%) Stakeholder Management
8 54 (8.48%) DevOps
9 53 (8.32%) Migration
10 52 (8.16%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 52 (8.16%) Project Management
11 47 (7.38%) Continuous Improvement
11 47 (7.38%) Project Delivery
12 43 (6.75%) Time Management
13 41 (6.44%) CI/CD
14 38 (5.97%) Analytics
15 37 (5.81%) Validation
16 36 (5.65%) User Experience
17 34 (5.34%) Roadmaps
17 34 (5.34%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 85 (13.34%) PowerShell
2 72 (11.30%) Python
3 64 (10.05%) SQL
4 26 (4.08%) Java
4 26 (4.08%) JavaScript
5 17 (2.67%) Perl
6 15 (2.35%) Bash
6 15 (2.35%) C#
7 4 (0.63%) Bicep
7 4 (0.63%) Kusto Query Language
7 4 (0.63%) PL/SQL
7 4 (0.63%) X++
8 3 (0.47%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 3 (0.47%) T-SQL
9 2 (0.31%) PHP
9 2 (0.31%) Shell Script
10 1 (0.16%) VB
Qualifications
1 218 (34.22%) Security Cleared
2 142 (22.29%) SC Cleared
3 66 (10.36%) DV Cleared
4 59 (9.26%) Degree
5 38 (5.97%) Microsoft Certification
6 22 (3.45%) Azure Certification
7 20 (3.14%) CISSP
8 11 (1.73%) ITIL Certification
8 11 (1.73%) Network+ Certification
8 11 (1.73%) PMI Certification
8 11 (1.73%) Server+ Certification
9 10 (1.57%) DBS Check
9 10 (1.57%) GIAC
10 9 (1.41%) CISM
10 9 (1.41%) Computer Science Degree
11 8 (1.26%) PMP
11 8 (1.26%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
12 7 (1.10%) Cisco Certification
12 7 (1.10%) Master's Degree
13 6 (0.94%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (4.08%) PMO
2 25 (3.92%) GDPR
3 23 (3.61%) NIST
4 19 (2.98%) SLA
5 18 (2.83%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 15 (2.35%) Data Quality
7 13 (2.04%) QA
8 6 (0.94%) Cyber Essentials
9 4 (0.63%) Accessibility
9 4 (0.63%) NCSC
10 3 (0.47%) Actionable Recommendations
10 3 (0.47%) NIST 800
10 3 (0.47%) P3O
10 3 (0.47%) PCI DSS
10 3 (0.47%) RMADS
11 2 (0.31%) ISO/IEC 19770
12 1 (0.16%) COSHH
12 1 (0.16%) Disclosure Scotland
12 1 (0.16%) ISO/IEC 27005
12 1 (0.16%) PSD2
System Software
1 172 (27.00%) Active Directory
2 51 (8.01%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (3.14%) Hyper-V
4 12 (1.88%) Virtual Desktop
5 11 (1.73%) vSphere
6 9 (1.41%) Docker
7 8 (1.26%) VMware ESXi
8 4 (0.63%) VMware NSX
9 3 (0.47%) DFS Replication
10 2 (0.31%) Brightmail
10 2 (0.31%) ISA Server
10 2 (0.31%) NFS
10 2 (0.31%) Virtual Machines
11 1 (0.16%) BitLocker
11 1 (0.16%) Sendmail
Systems Management
1 49 (7.69%) Microsoft Intune
2 47 (7.38%) SCCM
3 22 (3.45%) Single Sign-On
4 20 (3.14%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 19 (2.98%) Terraform
6 14 (2.20%) Ansible
6 14 (2.20%) WMI
7 9 (1.41%) Jamf Pro
7 9 (1.41%) Kubernetes
8 8 (1.26%) SCOM
9 7 (1.10%) HP SiteScope
10 6 (0.94%) vCenter Server
11 3 (0.47%) Cisco CUCM
11 3 (0.47%) Grafana
11 3 (0.47%) Microsoft Clustering
11 3 (0.47%) PaperCut
11 3 (0.47%) Puppet
11 3 (0.47%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
12 2 (0.31%) FTK
12 2 (0.31%) Progress Chef
Vendors
1 70 (10.99%) VMware
2 53 (8.32%) ServiceNow
3 38 (5.97%) Oracle
4 34 (5.34%) Splunk
5 25 (3.92%) SAP
6 22 (3.45%) Cisco
7 18 (2.83%) Citrix
8 16 (2.51%) Databricks
9 9 (1.41%) CrowdStrike
9 9 (1.41%) Thales
10 7 (1.10%) CyberArk
10 7 (1.10%) Remedy
10 7 (1.10%) Tenable
11 6 (0.94%) Fortinet
11 6 (0.94%) Informatica
11 6 (0.94%) Red Hat
12 5 (0.78%) F5
12 5 (0.78%) Google
12 5 (0.78%) Salesforce
12 5 (0.78%) Tanium