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 19 May 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
19 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 8 6 5
Rank change year-on-year -2 -1 +1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 663 464 800
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 11.20% 15.48% 14.67%
As % of the Vendors category 27.01% 29.13% 31.40%
Number of daily rates quoted 470 314 528
10th Percentile £202 £206 £194
25th Percentile £361 £300 £346
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £476 £465
Median % change year-on-year -0.26% +2.43% +2.19%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £577
90th Percentile £660 £623 £675
England median daily rate £500 £476 £488
% change year-on-year +5.15% -2.46% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 54 31 73
10th Percentile £12.29 - £11.71
25th Percentile £13.81 £14.20 £12.00
Median hourly rate £26.00 £15.00 £22.50
Median % change year-on-year +73.33% -33.33% +12.50%
75th Percentile £42.63 £24.38 £53.75
90th Percentile £57.85 £32.05 £61.60
England median hourly rate £20.09 £18.76 £15.00
% change year-on-year +7.10% +25.05% -28.59%

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 2,455 1,593 2,548
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 41.48% 53.14% 46.72%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,706 1,066 1,546
10th Percentile £300 £223 £213
25th Percentile £413 £400 £397
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £508 £500
Median % change year-on-year +0.99% +1.50% -
75th Percentile £610 £603 £600
90th Percentile £700 £664 £688
England median daily rate £501 £525 £518
% change year-on-year -4.67% +1.35% -3.36%
Number of hourly rates quoted 149 88 182
10th Percentile £14.80 £14.20 £12.00
25th Percentile £21.35 £16.95 £16.25
Median hourly rate £47.50 £24.66 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year +92.62% -48.08% +5.56%
75th Percentile £83.00 £58.70 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £72.00 £67.02
England median hourly rate £32.11 £26.34 £22.50
% change year-on-year +21.94% +17.04% -40.00%

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 19 May 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 19 May 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 19 May 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 -1 335 £486 +2.21% 265
Berkshire -10 154 £500 +4.44% 128
Hampshire -9 132 £538 +7.50% 138
Buckinghamshire -4 109 £500 -9.09% 82
Surrey +12 96 £438 -9.04% 68
Oxfordshire 0 72 £433 +73.00% 60
West Sussex -1 46 £475 +35.71% 35
Kent -3 29 £284 +8.10% 57
East Sussex -3 10 £538 -2.27% 18
Home Counties +2 4 - - 1
Sussex -5 1 - - 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 75 (11.31%) SharePoint
2 69 (10.41%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.81%) Confluence
4 3 (0.45%) ArcGIS
4 3 (0.45%) MS Project Server
4 3 (0.45%) Smallworld
5 2 (0.30%) GeoServer
6 1 (0.15%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.15%) BizTalk Server
6 1 (0.15%) Exchange Server 2010
6 1 (0.15%) SharePoint 2010
6 1 (0.15%) SharePoint 2013
Applications
1 78 (11.76%) Microsoft Office
2 71 (10.71%) Microsoft Excel
3 31 (4.68%) Microsoft Project
4 26 (3.92%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 11 (1.66%) MS Visio
6 3 (0.45%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.15%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.15%) Adobe Illustrator
7 1 (0.15%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.15%) InDesign
7 1 (0.15%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.15%) Photoshop
7 1 (0.15%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.15%) Trello
Business Applications
1 9 (1.36%) SAP S/4HANA
2 4 (0.60%) SAP Business One
3 3 (0.45%) Dynamics CRM
4 1 (0.15%) iTrent
4 1 (0.15%) NEC Housing
4 1 (0.15%) Oracle EBS
4 1 (0.15%) Oracle ERP
4 1 (0.15%) SAP PSCD
4 1 (0.15%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 254 (38.31%) Azure
2 185 (27.90%) Microsoft 365
3 120 (18.10%) Entra ID
4 85 (12.82%) Power Platform
5 53 (7.99%) AWS
6 38 (5.73%) Azure DevOps
7 29 (4.37%) Dynamics 365
7 29 (4.37%) OneDrive
8 28 (4.22%) Power Automate
9 24 (3.62%) Microsoft Purview
10 22 (3.32%) PowerApps
10 22 (3.32%) SaaS
11 19 (2.87%) IaaS
12 18 (2.71%) Microsoft Copilot
13 17 (2.56%) GitHub
14 16 (2.41%) Serverless
15 15 (2.26%) Azure Functions
15 15 (2.26%) Azure Logic Apps
16 14 (2.11%) Azure Monitor
17 13 (1.96%) Copilot Studio
Communications & Networking
1 57 (8.60%) DNS
2 41 (6.18%) DHCP
3 34 (5.13%) Wi-Fi
4 28 (4.22%) Firewall
5 23 (3.47%) VPN
6 20 (3.02%) LAN
7 17 (2.56%) WAN
8 12 (1.81%) Kerberos
9 11 (1.66%) TCP/IP
10 10 (1.51%) SD-WAN
10 10 (1.51%) Unified Communications
11 9 (1.36%) MPLS
12 8 (1.21%) VLAN
13 7 (1.06%) Network Security
14 6 (0.90%) SAN
15 5 (0.75%) BGP
15 5 (0.75%) IPsec
15 5 (0.75%) SNMP
15 5 (0.75%) VSAN
15 5 (0.75%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 66 (9.95%) Power BI
2 31 (4.68%) SQL Server
3 15 (2.26%) Azure SQL Database
4 13 (1.96%) MySQL
5 10 (1.51%) Metadata
6 9 (1.36%) PostgreSQL
7 8 (1.21%) Relational Database
8 7 (1.06%) Data Lake
8 7 (1.06%) Data Warehouse
9 6 (0.90%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 4 (0.60%) Oracle Database
10 4 (0.60%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 3 (0.45%) Amazon RDS
11 3 (0.45%) BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
11 3 (0.45%) Data Mining
11 3 (0.45%) GIS
11 3 (0.45%) Star Schema
12 2 (0.30%) MS Access
12 2 (0.30%) Oracle Reports
12 2 (0.30%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 17 (2.56%) JIRA
2 12 (1.81%) Git
3 9 (1.36%) Android Studio
4 6 (0.90%) Browser DevTools
4 6 (0.90%) Eclipse
4 6 (0.90%) Xcode
5 4 (0.60%) MSI
6 3 (0.45%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.45%) Gradle
6 3 (0.45%) Jenkins
6 3 (0.45%) JUnit
6 3 (0.45%) Maven
6 3 (0.45%) Robot Framework
6 3 (0.45%) Subversion
7 2 (0.30%) Sonatype Nexus
8 1 (0.15%) Artifactory
8 1 (0.15%) GitLab
8 1 (0.15%) NUnit
8 1 (0.15%) SonarQube
8 1 (0.15%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 187 (28.21%) Social Skills
2 69 (10.41%) Public Sector
3 68 (10.26%) Finance
4 61 (9.20%) Analytical Skills
5 43 (6.49%) Organisational Skills
6 21 (3.17%) Legal
7 18 (2.71%) Documentation Skills
8 15 (2.26%) Military
9 9 (1.36%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 9 (1.36%) Telecoms
10 8 (1.21%) Retail
11 7 (1.06%) Influencing Skills
12 6 (0.90%) Aerospace
12 6 (0.90%) Local Government
12 6 (0.90%) Manufacturing
12 6 (0.90%) Marketing
13 5 (0.75%) Presentation Skills
14 4 (0.60%) Advertising
14 4 (0.60%) Aviation
14 4 (0.60%) Police
Job Titles
1 88 (13.27%) Architect
2 64 (9.65%) Analyst
3 63 (9.50%) IT Support
4 53 (7.99%) Senior
5 52 (7.84%) Support Engineer
6 48 (7.24%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 43 (6.49%) IT Engineer
8 35 (5.28%) IT Support Engineer
9 34 (5.13%) Lead
10 33 (4.98%) Consultant
11 30 (4.52%) Developer
12 26 (3.92%) Solutions Architect
13 23 (3.47%) Azure Engineer
14 19 (2.87%) IT Analyst
15 18 (2.71%) Administrator
15 18 (2.71%) Project Manager
15 18 (2.71%) Technical Architect
16 16 (2.41%) DevOps Engineer
16 16 (2.41%) Support Analyst
17 15 (2.26%) Microsoft Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 26 (3.92%) .NET
2 19 (2.87%) LDAP
3 15 (2.26%) OAuth
4 14 (2.11%) REST
4 14 (2.11%) SAML
5 13 (1.96%) OpenID
6 11 (1.66%) SailPoint
6 11 (1.66%) Web Services
7 10 (1.51%) OAuth2
7 10 (1.51%) React
8 9 (1.36%) ARM Templates
8 9 (1.36%) CSS
9 8 (1.21%) AngularJS
9 8 (1.21%) Microsoft Graph
10 7 (1.06%) XML
11 6 (0.90%) ADO
11 6 (0.90%) Ajax
11 6 (0.90%) GraphQL
11 6 (0.90%) JSON
11 6 (0.90%) Middleware
Miscellaneous
1 46 (6.94%) Onboarding
2 23 (3.47%) PKI
3 22 (3.32%) Data Centre
4 21 (3.17%) Product Ownership
5 20 (3.02%) Cloud Native
6 17 (2.56%) Hybrid Cloud
6 17 (2.56%) Legacy Systems
7 15 (2.26%) Replication
8 14 (2.11%) Operational Technology
8 14 (2.11%) Public Cloud
9 12 (1.81%) Self-Motivation
10 11 (1.66%) Driving Licence
11 10 (1.51%) Analytical Mindset
12 9 (1.36%) Cyber Defence
12 9 (1.36%) Enterprise Software
12 9 (1.36%) Mobile App
13 8 (1.21%) Security Posture
13 8 (1.21%) Virtual Team
14 6 (0.90%) Data Structures
15 5 (0.75%) Management Information System
Operating Systems
1 189 (28.51%) Windows
2 61 (9.20%) Linux
3 56 (8.45%) Windows Server
4 24 (3.62%) Windows 10
5 18 (2.71%) Mac OS
6 15 (2.26%) Android
7 14 (2.11%) Unix
8 13 (1.96%) Apple iOS
9 10 (1.51%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 9 (1.36%) Windows 7
11 8 (1.21%) Windows Server 2019
12 7 (1.06%) Windows Server 2012
13 5 (0.75%) Windows Server 2016
14 4 (0.60%) Ubuntu
15 3 (0.45%) CentOS
16 1 (0.15%) Debian
16 1 (0.15%) OpenVMS
16 1 (0.15%) VMS
16 1 (0.15%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 93 (14.03%) Problem-Solving
2 80 (12.07%) DevOps
3 78 (11.76%) Agile
4 76 (11.46%) ITIL
5 75 (11.31%) Customer Service
6 73 (11.01%) Business Intelligence
7 69 (10.41%) Migration
8 62 (9.35%) CI/CD
9 57 (8.60%) Cybersecurity
10 56 (8.45%) Analytics
11 55 (8.30%) Infrastructure Engineering
11 55 (8.30%) Stakeholder Management
12 52 (7.84%) Project Management
13 48 (7.24%) Decision-Making
14 44 (6.64%) Project Delivery
15 41 (6.18%) Stakeholder Engagement
16 39 (5.88%) User Experience
17 38 (5.73%) ITSM
18 34 (5.13%) SIEM
19 33 (4.98%) Change Control
Programming Languages
1 94 (14.18%) PowerShell
2 62 (9.35%) Python
3 58 (8.75%) SQL
4 24 (3.62%) T-SQL
5 19 (2.87%) C#
6 15 (2.26%) JavaScript
7 13 (1.96%) Bash
8 12 (1.81%) Java
9 10 (1.51%) Bicep
10 8 (1.21%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 7 (1.06%) Kusto Query Language
12 6 (0.90%) Perl
13 3 (0.45%) TypeScript
14 2 (0.30%) Korn
14 2 (0.30%) X++
15 1 (0.15%) Google Apps Script
15 1 (0.15%) PL/SQL
15 1 (0.15%) Shell Script
15 1 (0.15%) VBA
Qualifications
1 224 (33.79%) Security Cleared
2 156 (23.53%) SC Cleared
3 73 (11.01%) Degree
4 69 (10.41%) DV Cleared
5 23 (3.47%) Microsoft Certification
6 13 (1.96%) Azure Certification
6 13 (1.96%) CISSP
7 12 (1.81%) Cisco Certification
7 12 (1.81%) Computer Science Degree
7 12 (1.81%) GIAC
8 9 (1.36%) BPSS Clearance
8 9 (1.36%) CISM
9 8 (1.21%) DBS Check
10 7 (1.06%) PMI Certification
10 7 (1.06%) PMP
11 5 (0.75%) (ISC)2 CCSP
11 5 (0.75%) ACCA
11 5 (0.75%) CESG Certified Professional
11 5 (0.75%) CIMA
11 5 (0.75%) SANS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (4.83%) NIST
2 23 (3.47%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 20 (3.02%) Cyber Essentials
4 19 (2.87%) NCSC
4 19 (2.87%) PMO
5 18 (2.71%) SLA
6 16 (2.41%) Data Quality
6 16 (2.41%) GDPR
7 11 (1.66%) QA
8 6 (0.90%) ISO 31000
8 6 (0.90%) NIST 800
9 5 (0.75%) Accessibility
10 3 (0.45%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 3 (0.45%) PCI DSS
11 2 (0.30%) JSP 440
12 1 (0.15%) Actionable Recommendations
12 1 (0.15%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 1 (0.15%) Disclosure Scotland
12 1 (0.15%) ISO 9001
12 1 (0.15%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 201 (30.32%) Active Directory
2 64 (9.65%) VMware Infrastructure
3 24 (3.62%) Hyper-V
4 14 (2.11%) vSphere
5 13 (1.96%) Virtual Desktop
6 12 (1.81%) Virtual Machines
7 10 (1.51%) VMware ESXi
7 10 (1.51%) VMware NSX
8 9 (1.36%) Docker
9 5 (0.75%) Firmware
10 3 (0.45%) DFS Replication
11 2 (0.30%) UAG
12 1 (0.15%) BitLocker
12 1 (0.15%) Citrix Hypervisor
12 1 (0.15%) Oracle RAC
12 1 (0.15%) Sendmail
12 1 (0.15%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 58 (8.75%) Microsoft Intune
2 29 (4.37%) Terraform
3 28 (4.22%) SCCM
4 18 (2.71%) Active Directory Federation Services
4 18 (2.71%) Single Sign-On
5 11 (1.66%) Ansible
5 11 (1.66%) SCOM
6 10 (1.51%) Jamf Pro
7 9 (1.36%) Kubernetes
8 8 (1.21%) vCenter Server
9 6 (0.90%) WMI
10 4 (0.60%) Avamar
10 4 (0.60%) QRadar
11 3 (0.45%) Nessus
11 3 (0.45%) SCSM
11 3 (0.45%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
11 3 (0.45%) WSUS
12 2 (0.30%) Grafana
12 2 (0.30%) Oracle RMAN
12 2 (0.30%) Puppet
Vendors
1 76 (11.46%) VMware
2 31 (4.68%) Cisco
3 29 (4.37%) SAP
4 18 (2.71%) Meraki
4 18 (2.71%) ServiceNow
5 16 (2.41%) Databricks
6 15 (2.26%) Oracle
7 14 (2.11%) Citrix
8 12 (1.81%) Splunk
9 11 (1.66%) Thales
10 10 (1.51%) Avaya
10 10 (1.51%) Dell
11 9 (1.36%) Fortinet
11 9 (1.36%) Google
11 9 (1.36%) Mitel
12 8 (1.21%) F5
13 7 (1.06%) Juniper
13 7 (1.06%) Red Hat
13 7 (1.06%) SolarWinds
13 7 (1.06%) Veeam