Desktop Support Contract Job Trends

Desktop Support
UK

The median Desktop Support daily rate in the UK is £195, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 28 March 2026.

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

6 months to
28 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 421 315 287
Rank change year-on-year -106 -28 +28
Contract jobs requiring a Desktop Support 209 215 336
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.47% 0.74% 0.76%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.51% 0.80% 0.82%
Number of daily rates quoted 157 135 239
10th Percentile £150 £150 £124
25th Percentile £156 £175 £143
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £195 £200 £200
Median % change year-on-year -2.50% - -1.64%
75th Percentile £230 £238 £225
90th Percentile £274 £276 £300
UK excluding London median daily rate £175 £200 £203
% change year-on-year -12.50% -1.23% +1.25%
Number of hourly rates quoted 34 17 30
10th Percentile £16.25 £17.55 £16.93
25th Percentile £19.54 £21.25 £18.94
Median hourly rate £19.91 £23.00 £21.00
Median % change year-on-year -13.43% +9.52% +5.00%
75th Percentile £21.46 £30.68 £25.71
90th Percentile - £37.20 £30.38
UK excluding London median hourly rate £19.91 £23.00 £20.00
% change year-on-year -13.43% +15.00% +2.15%

All Contract IT Job Roles
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies. 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 UK with a recognized job title 40,899 26,977 41,058
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.01% 92.83% 92.83%
Number of daily rates quoted 25,498 17,746 26,889
10th Percentile £313 £300 £275
25th Percentile £413 £406 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £520 £525
Median % change year-on-year -3.85% -0.95% -3.67%
75th Percentile £613 £630 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £485 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +2.11% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,538 929 2,519
10th Percentile £15.00 £15.19 £12.86
25th Percentile £19.51 £21.00 £16.25
Median hourly rate £37.54 £32.50 £33.00
Median % change year-on-year +15.51% -1.52% -23.26%
75th Percentile £65.00 £64.52 £60.00
90th Percentile £77.50 £77.25 £71.90
UK excluding London median hourly rate £38.63 £32.50 £33.00
% change year-on-year +18.86% -1.52% -18.70%

Desktop Support
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Desktop Support' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Desktop Support job vacancy trend in the UK

Desktop Support
Daily Rate Trend

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

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

Desktop Support
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Desktop Support over the 6 months to 28 March 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Desktop Support in the UK

Desktop Support
Hourly Rate Trend

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

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

Desktop Support
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Desktop Support over the 6 months to 28 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Desktop Support in the UK

Desktop Support
Top 16 Contract Job Locations

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 UK over the 6 months to 28 March 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 -102 194 £195 -2.50% 22
UK excluding London -89 166 £175 -12.50% 25
London -59 41 £213 +6.25% 8
Midlands -56 35 £175 -12.50%
East of England -13 34 £195 -7.14% 1
North of England -69 31 £188 -3.85% 6
East Midlands -10 27 £200 +1.66%
South West -38 26 £210 -6.67% 2
South East -56 25 £172 -12.05% 11
Work from Home -23 14 £163 -46.28% 2
North West -38 14 £175 -15.66% 5
Yorkshire -50 13 £230 +2.22% 1
Wales -8 9 £160 - 1
West Midlands -61 8 £140 -30.00%
Scotland -9 6 £213 +38.17% 5
North East -16 4 £175 +12.90%

Desktop Support Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 28 March 2026, Desktop 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 featuring Desktop Support in the job title.

1 120 (57.42%) Windows
2 91 (43.54%) Microsoft
3 84 (40.19%) Microsoft 365
4 73 (34.93%) Customer Service
5 72 (34.45%) Active Directory
6 58 (27.75%) SC Cleared
6 58 (27.75%) Security Cleared
6 58 (27.75%) Windows 10
7 36 (17.22%) Azure
7 36 (17.22%) Microsoft Intune
8 34 (16.27%) Mac OS
8 34 (16.27%) Microsoft Office
9 31 (14.83%) ITIL
10 29 (13.88%) Android
11 28 (13.40%) Problem-Solving
12 27 (12.92%) Cisco
12 27 (12.92%) Migration
12 27 (12.92%) SLA
13 25 (11.96%) Apple
13 25 (11.96%) HP
13 25 (11.96%) SCCM
13 25 (11.96%) Service Delivery
14 23 (11.00%) Business Intelligence
14 23 (11.00%) Digital Marketing
14 23 (11.00%) Programme Management
14 23 (11.00%) SAP
14 23 (11.00%) Wireless
15 22 (10.53%) Dell
16 21 (10.05%) Continuous Improvement
16 21 (10.05%) SharePoint

Desktop Support Skill Set
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:

Application Platforms
1 21 (10.05%) SharePoint
2 14 (6.70%) Microsoft Exchange
Applications
1 34 (16.27%) Microsoft Office
2 14 (6.70%) Spreadsheet
3 8 (3.83%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.48%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 2 (0.96%) assyst
2 1 (0.48%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 84 (40.19%) Microsoft 365
2 36 (17.22%) Azure
3 13 (6.22%) Entra ID
4 5 (2.39%) OneDrive
5 4 (1.91%) Google Ads
5 4 (1.91%) Google Workspace
5 4 (1.91%) Slack
6 2 (0.96%) Microsoft Copilot
7 1 (0.48%) Google Drive
7 1 (0.48%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 23 (11.00%) Wireless
2 17 (8.13%) VPN
3 10 (4.78%) DNS
4 9 (4.31%) Skype
4 9 (4.31%) TCP/IP
5 8 (3.83%) Cisco IOS
5 8 (3.83%) DHCP
6 6 (2.87%) PABX
7 4 (1.91%) Wi-Fi
8 3 (1.44%) Softphone
9 2 (0.96%) Firewall
9 2 (0.96%) LAN
10 1 (0.48%) IPv4
10 1 (0.48%) Network Security
10 1 (0.48%) Telepresence
10 1 (0.48%) Unified Communications
10 1 (0.48%) VoIP
Development Applications
1 4 (1.91%) JIRA
General
1 79 (37.80%) Social Skills
2 35 (16.75%) Finance
3 28 (13.40%) Public Sector
4 26 (12.44%) Telecoms
5 24 (11.48%) Manufacturing
6 23 (11.00%) Electronics
6 23 (11.00%) Marketing
7 18 (8.61%) Analytical Skills
8 9 (4.31%) Retail
9 7 (3.35%) Organisational Skills
10 6 (2.87%) Law
11 4 (1.91%) Aerospace
11 4 (1.91%) Banking
12 3 (1.44%) Documentation Skills
13 2 (0.96%) Legal
13 2 (0.96%) Local Government
13 2 (0.96%) Pharmaceutical
14 1 (0.48%) Financial Institution
14 1 (0.48%) Investment Banking
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (0.48%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 25 (11.96%) Self-Motivation
2 23 (11.00%) Smartphone
3 17 (8.13%) Data Centre
4 12 (5.74%) Onboarding
5 10 (4.78%) Mobile App
6 8 (3.83%) Hybrid Cloud
6 8 (3.83%) Management Information System
7 6 (2.87%) iPhone
8 5 (2.39%) Enterprise Software
8 5 (2.39%) iPad
9 3 (1.44%) Hedge funds
9 3 (1.44%) Video Conferencing
9 3 (1.44%) Virtual Team
10 2 (0.96%) Tandem
11 1 (0.48%) Analytical Mindset
11 1 (0.48%) Augmented Reality
11 1 (0.48%) Data Protection Act
11 1 (0.48%) Driving Licence
11 1 (0.48%) Virtual Reality
Operating Systems
1 120 (57.42%) Windows
2 58 (27.75%) Windows 10
3 34 (16.27%) Mac OS
4 29 (13.88%) Android
5 10 (4.78%) Apple iOS
5 10 (4.78%) Windows Server
6 6 (2.87%) Windows 7
7 4 (1.91%) Windows 8
8 1 (0.48%) Linux
8 1 (0.48%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 73 (34.93%) Customer Service
2 31 (14.83%) ITIL
3 28 (13.40%) Problem-Solving
4 27 (12.92%) Migration
5 25 (11.96%) Service Delivery
6 23 (11.00%) Business Intelligence
6 23 (11.00%) Digital Marketing
6 23 (11.00%) Programme Management
7 21 (10.05%) Continuous Improvement
8 20 (9.57%) Time Management
9 17 (8.13%) Asset Management
10 16 (7.66%) Logistics
11 13 (6.22%) Incident Management
12 11 (5.26%) ITSM
13 10 (4.78%) Computer Science
13 10 (4.78%) Inventory Management
14 9 (4.31%) Infrastructure Management
14 9 (4.31%) Project Delivery
14 9 (4.31%) Service Management
15 8 (3.83%) Workflow
Programming Languages
1 13 (6.22%) PowerShell
2 1 (0.48%) Python
Qualifications
1 58 (27.75%) SC Cleared
1 58 (27.75%) Security Cleared
2 14 (6.70%) Degree
3 13 (6.22%) ITIL Certification
4 8 (3.83%) A+ Certification
5 2 (0.96%) Computer Science Degree
5 2 (0.96%) Microsoft Certification
6 1 (0.48%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (12.92%) SLA
2 3 (1.44%) GDPR
3 2 (0.96%) QA
System Software
1 72 (34.45%) Active Directory
2 5 (2.39%) Firmware
3 1 (0.48%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 36 (17.22%) Microsoft Intune
2 25 (11.96%) SCCM
3 2 (0.96%) Jamf Pro
Vendors
1 91 (43.54%) Microsoft
2 27 (12.92%) Cisco
3 25 (11.96%) Apple
3 25 (11.96%) HP
4 23 (11.00%) SAP
5 22 (10.53%) Dell
6 19 (9.09%) ServiceNow
7 8 (3.83%) Starlink
8 7 (3.35%) McAfee
9 5 (2.39%) Google
10 4 (1.91%) Remedy
11 3 (1.44%) Bloomberg
12 2 (0.96%) Salesforce
13 1 (0.48%) Altiris
13 1 (0.48%) Barracuda Networks
13 1 (0.48%) Citrix
13 1 (0.48%) CrowdStrike
13 1 (0.48%) Nexthink
13 1 (0.48%) SolarWinds
13 1 (0.48%) Veeam