Desktop Support Contract Job Trends in the Thames Valley

Desktop Support
South East > Thames Valley

The median Desktop Support daily rate in the Thames Valley is £250, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 28 September 2025.

The table below provides contractor rate benchmarking and summary statistics, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
28 Sep 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 104 114 112
Rank change year-on-year +10 -2 +35
Contract jobs requiring a Desktop Support 14 15 34
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the Thames Valley 0.83% 0.68% 1.24%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.92% 0.74% 1.31%
Number of daily rates quoted 10 10 27
10th Percentile £160 £138 £140
25th Percentile £160 £143 £166
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £250 £233 £200
Median % change year-on-year +7.53% +16.25% +5.26%
75th Percentile £268 £244 £218
90th Percentile £280 £245 £219
South East median daily rate £215 £215 £200
% change year-on-year - +7.50% +5.26%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2 1 4
10th Percentile - - £16.55
25th Percentile - - £17.00
Median hourly rate £15.12 £16.00 £19.25
Median % change year-on-year -5.50% -16.88% -8.33%
75th Percentile - - £21.75
90th Percentile - - -
South East median hourly rate £15.12 £34.50 £18.25
% change year-on-year -56.17% +89.04% -13.10%

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 1,530 2,017 2,590
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 90.86% 91.35% 94.53%
Number of daily rates quoted 969 1,132 1,749
10th Percentile £250 £278 £246
25th Percentile £380 £406 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £501 £500
Median % change year-on-year -0.15% +0.15% -
75th Percentile £588 £608 £615
90th Percentile £650 £686 £700
South East median daily rate £500 £505 £500
% change year-on-year -0.99% +1.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 88 95 91
10th Percentile £14.47 £17.19 £16.25
25th Percentile £15.13 £26.00 £21.00
Median hourly rate £25.15 £58.49 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year -57.00% +16.98% +166.67%
75th Percentile £55.00 £69.93 £66.00
90th Percentile £87.50 £92.25 £75.00
South East median hourly rate £25.15 £58.34 £50.00
% change year-on-year -56.89% +16.68% +105.00%

Desktop Support
Job Vacancy Trend in the Thames Valley

Job postings that featured Desktop Support in the job title as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised in the Thames Valley.

Job vacancy trend for Desktop Support in the Thames Valley

Desktop Support
Daily Rate Trend in the Thames Valley

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Desktop Support job vacancies in the Thames Valley.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Desktop Support job vacancies in the Thames Valley

Desktop Support
Daily Rate Histogram in the Thames Valley

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Desktop Support in the Thames Valley over the 6 months to 28 September 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Desktop Support in the Thames Valley

Desktop Support
Hourly Rate Trend in the Thames Valley

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Desktop Support job vacancies in the Thames Valley.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Desktop Support job vacancies in the Thames Valley

Desktop 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 Desktop Support within the Thames Valley region over the 6 months to 28 September 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
Oxfordshire -4 7 £205 +64.00%
Buckinghamshire +6 4 £274 +88.62% 3
Berkshire +7 3 £209 -13.02% 2
Desktop Support
South East

Desktop Support Skill Set
Top 30 Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities in the Thames Valley

For the 6 months to 28 September 2025, Desktop Support contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads across the Thames Valley region featuring Desktop Support in the job title.

1 13 (92.86%) Windows
2 10 (71.43%) Microsoft
2 10 (71.43%) Social Skills
3 8 (57.14%) Customer Service
4 6 (42.86%) Problem-Solving
4 6 (42.86%) Active Directory
4 6 (42.86%) Microsoft Office
5 5 (35.71%) Microsoft 365
6 4 (28.57%) Windows 10
6 4 (28.57%) Finance
7 3 (21.43%) VPN
7 3 (21.43%) ITIL
7 3 (21.43%) Entra ID
7 3 (21.43%) SCCM
7 3 (21.43%) SC Cleared
7 3 (21.43%) Security Cleared
8 2 (14.29%) QA
8 2 (14.29%) Time Management
8 2 (14.29%) Video Conferencing
8 2 (14.29%) Security Patching
8 2 (14.29%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
8 2 (14.29%) Coaching
8 2 (14.29%) Analytical Skills
8 2 (14.29%) ITSM
8 2 (14.29%) McAfee
8 2 (14.29%) Logistics
8 2 (14.29%) Virtual Team
8 2 (14.29%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 1 (7.14%) Public Sector
9 1 (7.14%) Programme Management

Desktop Support Skill Set
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities in the Thames Valley by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Applications
1 6 (42.86%) Microsoft Office
Cloud Services
1 5 (35.71%) Microsoft 365
2 3 (21.43%) Entra ID
3 1 (7.14%) Azure
Communications & Networking
1 3 (21.43%) VPN
General
1 10 (71.43%) Social Skills
2 4 (28.57%) Finance
3 2 (14.29%) Analytical Skills
4 1 (7.14%) Electronics
4 1 (7.14%) Manufacturing
4 1 (7.14%) Marketing
4 1 (7.14%) Public Sector
4 1 (7.14%) Telecoms
Miscellaneous
1 2 (14.29%) Video Conferencing
1 2 (14.29%) Virtual Team
2 1 (7.14%) Enterprise Software
2 1 (7.14%) iPad
2 1 (7.14%) iPhone
Operating Systems
1 13 (92.86%) Windows
2 4 (28.57%) Windows 10
3 1 (7.14%) Android
3 1 (7.14%) Apple iOS
3 1 (7.14%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 8 (57.14%) Customer Service
2 6 (42.86%) Problem-Solving
3 3 (21.43%) ITIL
4 2 (14.29%) Coaching
4 2 (14.29%) Infrastructure Engineering
4 2 (14.29%) ITSM
4 2 (14.29%) Logistics
4 2 (14.29%) Security Patching
4 2 (14.29%) Time Management
5 1 (7.14%) Asset Management
5 1 (7.14%) Business Intelligence
5 1 (7.14%) Digital Marketing
5 1 (7.14%) Investment Management
5 1 (7.14%) IT Asset Management
5 1 (7.14%) Migration
5 1 (7.14%) Patch Management
5 1 (7.14%) Programme Management
5 1 (7.14%) Root Cause Analysis
5 1 (7.14%) Workflow
5 1 (7.14%) Workflow Management
Qualifications
1 3 (21.43%) SC Cleared
1 3 (21.43%) Security Cleared
2 2 (14.29%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
3 1 (7.14%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 2 (14.29%) QA
System Software
1 6 (42.86%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 3 (21.43%) SCCM
2 1 (7.14%) Microsoft Intune
Vendors
1 10 (71.43%) Microsoft
2 2 (14.29%) McAfee
3 1 (7.14%) SAP