3rd Line Support Contract Job Trends in the Thames Valley

Third Line Support
South East > Thames Valley

The median Third Line Support daily rate in the Thames Valley is £450, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 1 October 2025.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
1 Oct 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 113 129 132
Rank change year-on-year +16 +3 +34
Contract jobs requiring a 3rd Line Support 1 2 6
As % of all contract jobs in the Thames Valley 0.059% 0.092% 0.22%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.065% 0.10% 0.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 1 2 3
10th Percentile - £340 £225
25th Percentile £425 £344 £244
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £363 £275
Median % change year-on-year +24.14% +31.82% -34.72%
75th Percentile £475 £381 £359
90th Percentile - £385 £410
South East median daily rate £500 £363 £300
% change year-on-year +37.93% +20.83% -17.24%

All Contract IT Job Vacancies
Thames Valley

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in the Thames Valley. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in the Thames Valley with a recognized job title 1,543 1,994 2,548
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 90.87% 91.38% 94.34%
Number of daily rates quoted 974 1,116 1,725
10th Percentile £250 £272 £235
25th Percentile £383 £406 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £503 £500
Median % change year-on-year -0.50% +0.50% -
75th Percentile £588 £608 £620
90th Percentile £650 £675 £700
South East median daily rate £500 £505 £500
% change year-on-year -0.99% +1.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 90 96 89
10th Percentile £14.73 £17.41 £15.80
25th Percentile £15.13 £26.00 £21.00
Median hourly rate £25.15 £58.43 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year -56.96% +16.87% +166.67%
75th Percentile £54.00 £68.05 £66.00
90th Percentile £87.50 £91.88 £74.83
South East median hourly rate £25.15 £58.49 £51.90
% change year-on-year -57.00% +12.70% +110.93%

3rd Line Support
Job Vacancy Trend in the Thames Valley

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring '3rd Line Support' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the Thames Valley.

3rd Line Support job vacancy trend in the Thames Valley

3rd Line Support
Daily Rate Trend in the Thames Valley

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for 3rd Line Support job vacancies in the Thames Valley.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for 3rd Line Support job vacancies in the Thames Valley

3rd Line Support
Hourly Rate Trend in the Thames Valley

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for 3rd Line Support job vacancies in the Thames Valley.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for 3rd Line Support job vacancies in the Thames Valley

3rd Line Support
Contract Job Locations in the Thames Valley

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing 3rd Line Support within the Thames Valley region over the 6 months to 1 October 2025. 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
Buckinghamshire - 1 £450 - 7
3rd Line Support
South East

3rd Line Support Skill Set
Top 12 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the Thames Valley

For the 6 months to 1 October 2025, 3rd Line Support contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads across the Thames Valley region featuring 3rd Line Support in the job title.

1 1 (100.00%) SharePoint
1 1 (100.00%) Microsoft Exchange
1 1 (100.00%) Business Intelligence
1 1 (100.00%) DV Cleared
1 1 (100.00%) Security Cleared
1 1 (100.00%) PowerShell
1 1 (100.00%) Microsoft 365
1 1 (100.00%) Entra ID
1 1 (100.00%) Power BI
1 1 (100.00%) Power Platform
1 1 (100.00%) PowerApps
1 1 (100.00%) Microsoft Purview

3rd Line Support Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the Thames Valley 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 1 (100.00%) Microsoft Exchange
1 1 (100.00%) SharePoint
Cloud Services
1 1 (100.00%) Entra ID
1 1 (100.00%) Microsoft 365
1 1 (100.00%) Microsoft Purview
1 1 (100.00%) Power Platform
1 1 (100.00%) PowerApps
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (100.00%) Power BI
Processes & Methodologies
1 1 (100.00%) Business Intelligence
Programming Languages
1 1 (100.00%) PowerShell
Qualifications
1 1 (100.00%) DV Cleared
1 1 (100.00%) Security Cleared