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 12 April 2026.

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

6 months to
12 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 428 320 301
Rank change year-on-year -108 -19 +9
Contract jobs requiring a Desktop Support 204 217 329
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.44% 0.74% 0.75%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.48% 0.80% 0.81%
Number of daily rates quoted 154 132 236
10th Percentile £150 £150 £123
25th Percentile £156 £175 £141
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £195 £200 £200
Median % change year-on-year -2.50% - -
75th Percentile £224 £239 £225
90th Percentile £261 £279 £300
UK excluding London median daily rate £177 £200 £200
% change year-on-year -11.72% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 33 21 30
10th Percentile £16.25 £16.67 £16.25
25th Percentile £19.54 £17.30 £18.44
Median hourly rate £19.91 £23.00 £21.00
Median % change year-on-year -13.43% +9.52% +5.00%
75th Percentile £21.46 £24.66 £25.71
90th Percentile £23.27 £30.68 £30.38
UK excluding London median hourly rate £19.91 £23.00 £20.00
% change year-on-year -13.43% +15.00% +5.18%

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 42,310 27,110 40,746
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 92.27% 92.64% 92.78%
Number of daily rates quoted 26,286 17,809 26,634
10th Percentile £313 £300 £275
25th Percentile £413 £407 £409
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £520 £525
Median % change year-on-year -3.85% -0.95% -2.78%
75th Percentile £613 £629 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £745
UK excluding London median daily rate £488 £475 £490
% change year-on-year +2.63% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,662 974 2,583
10th Percentile £15.00 £14.84 £12.86
25th Percentile £20.09 £20.00 £16.25
Median hourly rate £41.16 £31.51 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year +30.61% -9.97% -22.22%
75th Percentile £65.00 £63.75 £60.00
90th Percentile £77.50 £76.03 £72.26
UK excluding London median hourly rate £42.25 £30.10 £35.00
% change year-on-year +40.37% -14.00% -17.38%

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 12 April 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 12 April 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Desktop Support in the UK

Desktop Support
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 Desktop Support within the UK over the 6 months to 12 April 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 -114 185 £195 -2.50% 13
UK excluding London -91 162 £177 -11.72% 13
London -72 40 £213 +6.25% 3
Midlands -48 33 £187 -6.38% 2
East of England -25 32 £195 -10.34% 1
North of England -82 28 £213 +8.97% 6
East Midlands -13 25 £200 +1.66%
South West -37 25 £210 -6.67% 1
South East -56 25 £172 -12.05% 2
Work from Home -31 14 £163 -46.28% 3
North West -38 13 £200 -3.61% 4
Yorkshire -55 12 £230 +8.24% 2
Wales -3 10 £160 -
Scotland -4 8 £213 +34.84% 1
West Midlands -69 8 £140 -30.00% 2
North East -26 3 £175 +12.90% 1
Northern Ireland -9 1 £175 +16.67%

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

For the 6 months to 12 April 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.

1 123 (60.29%) Windows
2 93 (45.59%) Microsoft
3 76 (37.25%) Microsoft 365
4 74 (36.27%) Customer Service
5 73 (35.78%) Active Directory
6 57 (27.94%) Windows 10
7 48 (23.53%) SC Cleared
7 48 (23.53%) Security Cleared
8 37 (18.14%) Azure
8 37 (18.14%) Microsoft Intune
9 32 (15.69%) ITIL
10 31 (15.20%) Problem-Solving
11 29 (14.22%) Mac OS
11 29 (14.22%) Microsoft Office
12 27 (13.24%) Migration
13 24 (11.76%) SLA
14 23 (11.27%) Android
14 23 (11.27%) SCCM
14 23 (11.27%) Service Delivery
15 22 (10.78%) SharePoint
16 21 (10.29%) Cisco
16 21 (10.29%) Continuous Improvement
17 19 (9.31%) Apple
18 18 (8.82%) Asset Management
18 18 (8.82%) HP
18 18 (8.82%) Logistics
18 18 (8.82%) ServiceNow
19 17 (8.33%) Time Management
20 16 (7.84%) Business Intelligence
20 16 (7.84%) Degree

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 22 (10.78%) SharePoint
2 15 (7.35%) Microsoft Exchange
Applications
1 29 (14.22%) Microsoft Office
2 12 (5.88%) Spreadsheet
3 5 (2.45%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.49%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 2 (0.98%) assyst
2 1 (0.49%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 76 (37.25%) Microsoft 365
2 37 (18.14%) Azure
3 13 (6.37%) Entra ID
4 5 (2.45%) OneDrive
5 4 (1.96%) Google Ads
5 4 (1.96%) Google Workspace
5 4 (1.96%) Slack
6 2 (0.98%) Microsoft Copilot
7 1 (0.49%) Google Drive
7 1 (0.49%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 16 (7.84%) VPN
1 16 (7.84%) Wireless
2 9 (4.41%) Cisco IOS
2 9 (4.41%) DNS
2 9 (4.41%) Skype
3 8 (3.92%) TCP/IP
4 7 (3.43%) DHCP
5 4 (1.96%) Wi-Fi
6 3 (1.47%) PABX
6 3 (1.47%) Softphone
7 2 (0.98%) Firewall
7 2 (0.98%) LAN
8 1 (0.49%) IPv4
8 1 (0.49%) Remote Desktop
8 1 (0.49%) Telepresence
8 1 (0.49%) Unified Communications
8 1 (0.49%) VoIP
Development Applications
1 4 (1.96%) JIRA
General
1 75 (36.76%) Social Skills
2 27 (13.24%) Finance
3 20 (9.80%) Public Sector
3 20 (9.80%) Telecoms
4 19 (9.31%) Analytical Skills
5 17 (8.33%) Manufacturing
6 16 (7.84%) Electronics
6 16 (7.84%) Marketing
7 9 (4.41%) Retail
8 6 (2.94%) Law
8 6 (2.94%) Organisational Skills
9 3 (1.47%) Aerospace
9 3 (1.47%) Banking
10 2 (0.98%) Legal
10 2 (0.98%) Local Government
10 2 (0.98%) Pharmaceutical
11 1 (0.49%) Documentation Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (0.49%) Software Packaging
1 1 (0.49%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 23 (11.27%) Self-Motivation
2 21 (10.29%) Smartphone
3 11 (5.39%) Onboarding
4 10 (4.90%) Data Centre
4 10 (4.90%) Mobile App
5 8 (3.92%) Hybrid Cloud
5 8 (3.92%) Management Information System
6 7 (3.43%) iPhone
7 5 (2.45%) Enterprise Software
8 4 (1.96%) iPad
9 2 (0.98%) Data Protection Act
9 2 (0.98%) Hedge funds
9 2 (0.98%) Tandem
9 2 (0.98%) Video Conferencing
9 2 (0.98%) Virtual Team
10 1 (0.49%) Analytical Mindset
10 1 (0.49%) Augmented Reality
10 1 (0.49%) Driving Licence
10 1 (0.49%) Virtual Reality
Operating Systems
1 123 (60.29%) Windows
2 57 (27.94%) Windows 10
3 29 (14.22%) Mac OS
4 23 (11.27%) Android
5 12 (5.88%) Apple iOS
6 9 (4.41%) Windows Server
7 7 (3.43%) Windows 7
8 4 (1.96%) Windows 8
9 1 (0.49%) Linux
9 1 (0.49%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 74 (36.27%) Customer Service
2 32 (15.69%) ITIL
3 31 (15.20%) Problem-Solving
4 27 (13.24%) Migration
5 23 (11.27%) Service Delivery
6 21 (10.29%) Continuous Improvement
7 18 (8.82%) Asset Management
7 18 (8.82%) Logistics
8 17 (8.33%) Time Management
9 16 (7.84%) Business Intelligence
9 16 (7.84%) Digital Marketing
9 16 (7.84%) Programme Management
10 13 (6.37%) Incident Management
11 11 (5.39%) Computer Science
12 10 (4.90%) ITSM
12 10 (4.90%) Service Management
13 9 (4.41%) Infrastructure Management
13 9 (4.41%) Inventory Management
13 9 (4.41%) Project Delivery
14 8 (3.92%) Software Licensing
Programming Languages
1 12 (5.88%) PowerShell
2 1 (0.49%) Python
Qualifications
1 48 (23.53%) SC Cleared
1 48 (23.53%) Security Cleared
2 16 (7.84%) Degree
3 12 (5.88%) ITIL Certification
4 9 (4.41%) A+ Certification
5 3 (1.47%) Microsoft Certification
6 2 (0.98%) Computer Science Degree
7 1 (0.49%) Microsoft Certified Professional
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (11.76%) SLA
2 2 (0.98%) QA
3 1 (0.49%) GDPR
System Software
1 73 (35.78%) Active Directory
2 4 (1.96%) Firmware
3 2 (0.98%) Virtual Desktop
4 1 (0.49%) VMware Infrastructure
Systems Management
1 37 (18.14%) Microsoft Intune
2 23 (11.27%) SCCM
3 2 (0.98%) Jamf Pro
Vendors
1 93 (45.59%) Microsoft
2 21 (10.29%) Cisco
3 19 (9.31%) Apple
4 18 (8.82%) HP
4 18 (8.82%) ServiceNow
5 16 (7.84%) SAP
6 15 (7.35%) Dell
7 9 (4.41%) Starlink
8 7 (3.43%) McAfee
9 5 (2.45%) Google
10 4 (1.96%) Remedy
11 3 (1.47%) Bloomberg
12 2 (0.98%) Citrix
12 2 (0.98%) Salesforce
13 1 (0.49%) Altiris
13 1 (0.49%) Barracuda Networks
13 1 (0.49%) CrowdStrike
13 1 (0.49%) SolarWinds
13 1 (0.49%) Veeam
13 1 (0.49%) VMware