Microsoft Active Directory
UK
The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring Active Directory skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 24 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 24 Jan 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 51 | 37 | 32 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -14 | -5 | +4 |
| Contract jobs citing Active Directory | 1,672 | 1,623 | 2,482 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 4.40% | 5.13% | 5.63% |
| As % of the System Software category | 36.34% | 42.58% | 47.77% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 1,179 | 1,030 | 1,716 |
| 10th Percentile | £160 | £174 | £158 |
| 25th Percentile | £213 | £213 | £208 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £450 | £420 | £400 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +7.14% | +5.00% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £571 | £575 | £575 |
| 90th Percentile | £653 | £650 | £681 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £363 | £380 | £363 |
| % change year-on-year | -4.61% | +4.83% | +3.57% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 77 | 59 | 109 |
| 10th Percentile | £15.50 | £15.22 | £14.00 |
| 25th Percentile | £16.00 | £19.99 | £15.50 |
| Median hourly rate | £22.50 | £23.59 | £19.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -4.62% | +24.16% | +2.70% |
| 75th Percentile | £51.25 | £37.63 | £33.75 |
| 90th Percentile | £92.50 | £66.00 | £60.00 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £21.13 | £21.78 | £18.50 |
| % change year-on-year | -2.95% | +17.70% | +5.71% |
All System Software Skills
UK
Active Directory falls under the System Software category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring system software skills.
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for system software skills | 4,601 | 3,812 | 5,196 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK | 12.11% | 12.06% | 11.79% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 3,135 | 2,456 | 3,560 |
| 10th Percentile | £213 | £200 | £190 |
| 25th Percentile | £400 | £363 | £329 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £500 | £512 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -2.27% | +2.32% | -4.76% |
| 75th Percentile | £596 | £625 | £600 |
| 90th Percentile | £695 | £713 | £700 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £475 | £465 | £450 |
| % change year-on-year | +2.26% | +3.22% | -3.23% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 133 | 92 | 229 |
| 10th Percentile | £15.50 | £17.04 | £14.25 |
| 25th Percentile | £20.82 | £21.41 | £18.28 |
| Median hourly rate | £41.94 | £30.75 | £49.88 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +36.39% | -38.35% | +29.56% |
| 75th Percentile | £70.00 | £64.50 | £67.38 |
| 90th Percentile | £90.95 | £75.00 | £79.27 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £58.50 | £37.50 | £50.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +56.00% | -25.00% | +127.27% |
Active Directory
Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Active Directory relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
Active Directory
Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Active Directory.
Active Directory
Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Active Directory over the 6 months to 24 January 2026.
Active Directory
Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Active Directory.
Active Directory
Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Active Directory over the 6 months to 24 January 2026.
Active Directory
Top 17 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Active Directory within the UK over the 6 months to 24 January 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -14 | 1,518 | £450 | +9.09% | 819 |
| UK excluding London | -7 | 1,039 | £363 | -4.61% | 808 |
| London | -18 | 524 | £500 | +11.11% | 180 |
| Work from Home | -11 | 407 | £500 | +2.83% | 307 |
| South East | -4 | 293 | £481 | +13.24% | 283 |
| North of England | -21 | 249 | £290 | +5.45% | 151 |
| Midlands | -10 | 174 | £275 | -16.67% | 104 |
| South West | -10 | 162 | £500 | +17.65% | 115 |
| North West | -16 | 148 | £295 | +7.27% | 71 |
| West Midlands | -25 | 101 | £340 | +22.52% | 39 |
| East of England | -13 | 90 | £228 | -41.29% | 99 |
| Yorkshire | -31 | 84 | £290 | +11.54% | 63 |
| East Midlands | +3 | 73 | £210 | -42.07% | 64 |
| Scotland | -29 | 46 | £363 | -9.38% | 50 |
| Wales | -14 | 25 | £290 | -20.55% | 27 |
| North East | -14 | 19 | £200 | -38.46% | 21 |
| Northern Ireland | -4 | 8 | - | - | 6 |
Active Directory
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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:
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||