Microsoft Office Contract Job Trends

Microsoft Office
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring Microsoft Office skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 21 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
21 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 155 87 64
Rank change year-on-year -68 -23 +13
Contract jobs citing Microsoft Office 794 820 1,321
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.65% 2.82% 3.11%
As % of the Applications category 28.71% 33.32% 40.42%
Number of daily rates quoted 421 473 711
10th Percentile £158 £156 £141
25th Percentile £250 £210 £190
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £350 £315 £263
Median % change year-on-year +11.11% +20.00% -30.00%
75th Percentile £500 £500 £500
90th Percentile £630 £600 £606
UK excluding London median daily rate £344 £250 £225
% change year-on-year +37.60% +11.11% -30.77%
Number of hourly rates quoted 125 94 303
10th Percentile £12.29 £13.96 £11.00
25th Percentile £13.72 £14.90 £12.52
Median hourly rate £18.17 £17.00 £16.00
Median % change year-on-year +6.88% +6.25% -29.72%
75th Percentile £27.50 £23.01 £24.13
90th Percentile £65.43 £26.28 £39.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £17.35 £16.67 £14.94
% change year-on-year +4.11% +11.58% -26.25%

All Software Application Skills
UK

Microsoft Office falls under the Software Applications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring software application skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for software application skills 2,766 2,461 3,268
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 5.73% 8.46% 7.68%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,600 1,427 1,680
10th Percentile £247 £188 £165
25th Percentile £337 £262 £213
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £413 £400
Median % change year-on-year +9.09% +3.13% -5.88%
75th Percentile £568 £538 £538
90th Percentile £650 £650 £650
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £375 £350
% change year-on-year +13.33% +7.14% -11.39%
Number of hourly rates quoted 307 266 627
10th Percentile £13.33 £14.20 £11.50
25th Percentile £16.35 £15.62 £14.00
Median hourly rate £21.72 £22.50 £17.00
Median % change year-on-year -3.49% +32.35% -46.74%
75th Percentile £34.78 £43.94 £38.59
90th Percentile £70.95 £68.75 £57.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.35 £21.70 £16.06
% change year-on-year -6.20% +35.09% -40.24%

Microsoft Office
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Microsoft Office relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Microsoft Office job vacancy trend in the UK

Microsoft Office
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Microsoft Office.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft Office over the 6 months to 21 May 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft Office in the UK

Microsoft Office
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Microsoft Office.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft Office over the 6 months to 21 May 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft Office in the UK

Microsoft Office
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 Microsoft Office within the UK over the 6 months to 21 May 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 -61 706 £399 +27.60% 531
UK excluding London -52 544 £344 +37.60% 498
London -73 211 £413 +10.00% 98
Work from Home -66 173 £350 -12.50% 188
South East -28 140 £431 +32.69% 147
North of England -72 118 £342 +45.53% 134
South West -27 81 £447 +78.80% 57
North West -19 76 £344 +20.70% 70
Midlands -37 75 £319 +1.76% 94
East of England -2 71 £325 +32.65% 43
West Midlands -46 46 £314 -5.56% 57
Yorkshire -78 36 £368 +56.60% 48
East Midlands -16 29 £375 +87.50% 37
Scotland -31 29 £250 - 18
Wales -2 17 £213 -34.62% 14
Northern Ireland -1 15 £350 +70.73% 8
North East -26 6 £263 +34.62% 18

Microsoft Office
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
1 120 (15.11%) SharePoint
2 63 (7.93%) Confluence
3 51 (6.42%) Microsoft Exchange
4 9 (1.13%) Skype for Business
5 7 (0.88%) Apache Airflow
5 7 (0.88%) CMS
6 6 (0.76%) HCL Notes
7 1 (0.13%) Adobe Experience Manager
7 1 (0.13%) Drupal
7 1 (0.13%) IIS
7 1 (0.13%) SAS
7 1 (0.13%) WordPress
Applications
1 307 (38.66%) Microsoft Excel
2 197 (24.81%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 63 (7.93%) MS Visio
4 57 (7.18%) Microsoft Project
5 10 (1.26%) Spreadsheet
6 4 (0.50%) Trello
7 3 (0.38%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 3 (0.38%) Adobe Illustrator
8 1 (0.13%) AutoCAD
8 1 (0.13%) Photoshop
8 1 (0.13%) SOLIDWORKS
8 1 (0.13%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 23 (2.90%) SAP S/4HANA
2 9 (1.13%) Remedy ITSM
3 7 (0.88%) Primavera
4 6 (0.76%) Veritas eDiscovery
5 4 (0.50%) Finacle
5 4 (0.50%) Magento
5 4 (0.50%) Salesforce CRM
5 4 (0.50%) SAP Business One
6 3 (0.38%) Aladdin
6 3 (0.38%) Fidessa
6 3 (0.38%) Maximo
6 3 (0.38%) Oracle Financials
6 3 (0.38%) SAP MM
6 3 (0.38%) SimCorp Dimension
6 3 (0.38%) Teamcenter
7 2 (0.25%) Oracle Payables
7 2 (0.25%) Shopify
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
8 1 (0.13%) SAP EHS
8 1 (0.13%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 150 (18.89%) Microsoft 365
2 89 (11.21%) Azure
3 50 (6.30%) Power Platform
4 38 (4.79%) AWS
5 20 (2.52%) Entra ID
6 17 (2.14%) Google Workspace
7 16 (2.02%) SaaS
8 11 (1.39%) Azure DevOps
8 11 (1.39%) GCP
9 9 (1.13%) OneDrive
10 7 (0.88%) Amazon SageMaker
10 7 (0.88%) Dagster
10 7 (0.88%) GitHub
10 7 (0.88%) GitHub Actions
10 7 (0.88%) Mimecast
11 6 (0.76%) Google Docs
12 5 (0.63%) Dynamics 365
12 5 (0.63%) Google Sheets
12 5 (0.63%) Microsoft Purview
12 5 (0.63%) Snowflake
Communications & Networking
1 40 (5.04%) VPN
2 29 (3.65%) Firewall
3 28 (3.53%) TCP/IP
4 24 (3.02%) Skype
5 20 (2.52%) Wireless
6 19 (2.39%) Wi-Fi
7 17 (2.14%) DNS
8 16 (2.02%) Ethernet
8 16 (2.02%) LAN
9 14 (1.76%) Network Security
9 14 (1.76%) WAN
10 12 (1.51%) DHCP
11 7 (0.88%) Cisco IOS
11 7 (0.88%) Internet
11 7 (0.88%) VoIP
12 6 (0.76%) WebEx
13 5 (0.63%) BGP
13 5 (0.63%) MPLS
13 5 (0.63%) Unified Communications
13 5 (0.63%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 46 (5.79%) Power BI
2 17 (2.14%) SQL Server
3 7 (0.88%) Relational Database
4 6 (0.76%) Tableau
5 5 (0.63%) MySQL
5 5 (0.63%) Oracle Database
5 5 (0.63%) Oracle Reports
5 5 (0.63%) RDBMS
6 4 (0.50%) Azure SQL Database
7 3 (0.38%) BigQuery
7 3 (0.38%) Data Mining
7 3 (0.38%) Looker
7 3 (0.38%) Metadata
7 3 (0.38%) Power Query
8 2 (0.25%) Data Warehouse
8 2 (0.25%) Electronic Patient Records
8 2 (0.25%) PowerPivot
9 1 (0.13%) Amazon Redshift
9 1 (0.13%) EDRMS
9 1 (0.13%) SQLPlus
Development Applications
1 81 (10.20%) JIRA
2 13 (1.64%) Burp Suite
2 13 (1.64%) Git
2 13 (1.64%) Metasploit
3 9 (1.13%) Jenkins
4 8 (1.01%) Subversion
5 7 (0.88%) MLflow
6 4 (0.50%) Toad
7 3 (0.38%) Android Studio
7 3 (0.38%) Bitbucket
7 3 (0.38%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
8 2 (0.25%) JMeter
8 2 (0.25%) Sonatype Nexus
8 2 (0.25%) Tricentis qTest
9 1 (0.13%) Atlassian Bamboo
9 1 (0.13%) GitLab
9 1 (0.13%) LabVIEW
9 1 (0.13%) Rational DOORS
9 1 (0.13%) Team Foundation Server
9 1 (0.13%) Visual Studio
General
1 458 (57.68%) Social Skills
2 222 (27.96%) Finance
3 185 (23.30%) Analytical Skills
4 120 (15.11%) Organisational Skills
5 72 (9.07%) Public Sector
6 68 (8.56%) Banking
7 46 (5.79%) Legal
8 42 (5.29%) Presentation Skills
9 31 (3.90%) Military
10 29 (3.65%) Pharmaceutical
11 25 (3.15%) Marketing
12 24 (3.02%) Documentation Skills
12 24 (3.02%) Telecoms
13 23 (2.90%) Manufacturing
14 21 (2.64%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 20 (2.52%) Retail
16 19 (2.39%) Investment Banking
17 18 (2.27%) Influencing Skills
18 17 (2.14%) Law
19 16 (2.02%) Front Office
Job Titles
1 154 (19.40%) Analyst
2 55 (6.93%) Business Analyst
3 45 (5.67%) Administrator
4 43 (5.42%) IT Support
4 43 (5.42%) Senior
5 40 (5.04%) Support Officer
6 33 (4.16%) Project Officer
6 33 (4.16%) Support Engineer
7 32 (4.03%) Architect
7 32 (4.03%) Project Manager
7 32 (4.03%) Project Support Officer
8 26 (3.27%) IT Analyst
8 26 (3.27%) Support Analyst
8 26 (3.27%) Technical Engineer
9 25 (3.15%) Service Analyst
10 23 (2.90%) Coordinator
11 20 (2.52%) Service Desk Analyst
12 18 (2.27%) 2nd Line Support
12 18 (2.27%) Desktop Engineer
12 18 (2.27%) Technical Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 8 (1.01%) Web Services
2 7 (0.88%) NumPy
2 7 (0.88%) Pandas
2 7 (0.88%) REST
2 7 (0.88%) scikit-learn
2 7 (0.88%) Seaborn
3 6 (0.76%) SOAP
4 5 (0.63%) .NET
4 5 (0.63%) JDO
4 5 (0.63%) VML
5 4 (0.50%) HTML
6 3 (0.38%) Microsoft Graph
6 3 (0.38%) NETCONF
6 3 (0.38%) OpenConfig
6 3 (0.38%) RESTCONF
6 3 (0.38%) YANG
7 2 (0.25%) FHIR
7 2 (0.25%) JSON
7 2 (0.25%) Middleware
7 2 (0.25%) Oracle Fusion
Miscellaneous
1 54 (6.80%) Onboarding
2 47 (5.92%) Self-Motivation
3 41 (5.16%) Management Information System
4 27 (3.40%) Product Ownership
5 20 (2.52%) Robotics
6 19 (2.39%) Data Protection Act
7 18 (2.27%) Social Media
8 16 (2.02%) Industry 4.0
9 13 (1.64%) Data Centre
9 13 (1.64%) Security Posture
9 13 (1.64%) Virtual Team
10 12 (1.51%) Analytical Mindset
11 11 (1.39%) Life Science
12 10 (1.26%) Enterprise Software
12 10 (1.26%) PMI
13 9 (1.13%) Driving Licence
13 9 (1.13%) Insider Threat
13 9 (1.13%) Video Conferencing
14 8 (1.01%) Legacy Systems
14 8 (1.01%) NHS
Operating Systems
1 181 (22.80%) Windows
2 86 (10.83%) Windows 10
3 32 (4.03%) Android
4 20 (2.52%) Linux
5 18 (2.27%) Windows 7
6 13 (1.64%) Windows Server
7 12 (1.51%) Apple iOS
7 12 (1.51%) Mac OS
8 9 (1.13%) Windows Server 2016
9 7 (0.88%) Windows Server 2019
10 5 (0.63%) Unix
11 3 (0.38%) Ubuntu
12 2 (0.25%) AIX
12 2 (0.25%) Solaris
13 1 (0.13%) FreeRTOS
13 1 (0.13%) MVS
13 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2012
13 1 (0.13%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 219 (27.58%) Problem-Solving
2 139 (17.51%) Project Management
3 132 (16.62%) Agile
4 125 (15.74%) Customer Service
5 116 (14.61%) Stakeholder Management
6 96 (12.09%) Continuous Improvement
7 92 (11.59%) ITIL
8 88 (11.08%) Project Delivery
9 78 (9.82%) Decision-Making
10 71 (8.94%) Service Management
11 64 (8.06%) AI
12 63 (7.93%) Change Management
13 60 (7.56%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 60 (7.56%) Time Management
14 59 (7.43%) PRINCE2
15 57 (7.18%) Waterfall
16 50 (6.30%) Analytical Thinking
17 48 (6.05%) Data Protection
18 47 (5.92%) Data Analysis
18 47 (5.92%) ITSM
Programming Languages
1 51 (6.42%) SQL
2 34 (4.28%) PowerShell
3 24 (3.02%) Python
4 17 (2.14%) VB
5 10 (1.26%) VBScript
6 7 (0.88%) JavaScript
6 7 (0.88%) PHP
7 6 (0.76%) VBA
8 5 (0.63%) PL/SQL
9 4 (0.50%) C
9 4 (0.50%) Java
9 4 (0.50%) T-SQL
10 3 (0.38%) C++
10 3 (0.38%) Kusto Query Language
11 2 (0.25%) R
12 1 (0.13%) Ada
12 1 (0.13%) Bash
12 1 (0.13%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 1 (0.13%) Google Apps Script
12 1 (0.13%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 287 (36.15%) Degree
2 186 (23.43%) Security Cleared
3 143 (18.01%) SC Cleared
4 38 (4.79%) DV Cleared
5 22 (2.77%) PMI Certification
5 22 (2.77%) PMP
6 21 (2.64%) Microsoft Certification
7 20 (2.52%) Computer Science Degree
8 17 (2.14%) DBS Check
8 17 (2.14%) TOGAF Certification
9 16 (2.02%) BPSS Clearance
9 16 (2.02%) Cisco Certification
10 13 (1.64%) A+ Certification
10 13 (1.64%) CCNP
10 13 (1.64%) CHECK Team Member
10 13 (1.64%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
11 12 (1.51%) CBAP
12 11 (1.39%) CREST Certified
12 11 (1.39%) Cyber Scheme
12 11 (1.39%) IIBA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 77 (9.70%) PMO
2 38 (4.79%) QA
2 38 (4.79%) SLA
3 27 (3.40%) GDPR
4 24 (3.02%) Data Quality
4 24 (3.02%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 19 (2.39%) PCI DSS
6 10 (1.26%) Accessibility
7 9 (1.13%) Cyber Essentials
8 6 (0.76%) NIST
9 5 (0.63%) MiFID
9 5 (0.63%) P3O
10 4 (0.50%) EMIR
11 3 (0.38%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 3 (0.38%) WCAG
12 2 (0.25%) GRC
12 2 (0.25%) HL7
12 2 (0.25%) ISO 20022
12 2 (0.25%) ISO 9001
12 2 (0.25%) SOC 2
System Software
1 90 (11.34%) Active Directory
2 11 (1.39%) VMware Infrastructure
3 10 (1.26%) BitLocker
4 9 (1.13%) Docker
5 6 (0.76%) Virtual Desktop
6 5 (0.63%) VMware ESXi
7 4 (0.50%) Hyper-V
7 4 (0.50%) XenApp
7 4 (0.50%) XenDesktop
8 3 (0.38%) vSphere
9 1 (0.13%) Citrix Presentation Server
9 1 (0.13%) Firmware
9 1 (0.13%) Job Entry Subsystem
9 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Virtual Server
9 1 (0.13%) Virtual Servers
9 1 (0.13%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 42 (5.29%) SCCM
2 29 (3.65%) Microsoft Intune
3 17 (2.14%) OPNET
4 13 (1.64%) Nmap
5 9 (1.13%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 9 (1.13%) Ansible
6 7 (0.88%) HP Quality Center
7 5 (0.63%) TeamSite
7 5 (0.63%) vCenter Server
8 4 (0.50%) Cisco CUCM
8 4 (0.50%) HP ALM
8 4 (0.50%) SCVMM
8 4 (0.50%) Terraform
9 3 (0.38%) Cisco Prime
9 3 (0.38%) SCOM
9 3 (0.38%) SCSM
9 3 (0.38%) Single Sign-On
9 3 (0.38%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
10 1 (0.13%) Dell DRAC
10 1 (0.13%) WSUS
Vendors
1 544 (68.51%) Microsoft
2 78 (9.82%) ServiceNow
3 54 (6.80%) SAP
4 39 (4.91%) Cisco
5 36 (4.53%) Remedy
6 29 (3.65%) Google
7 27 (3.40%) Atlassian
7 27 (3.40%) Oracle
8 20 (2.52%) Apple
9 17 (2.14%) Citrix
10 16 (2.02%) HP
11 15 (1.89%) Siemens
12 13 (1.64%) VMware
13 12 (1.51%) Adobe
14 10 (1.26%) Salesforce
15 8 (1.01%) Planview
15 8 (1.01%) Workday
16 6 (0.76%) Lotus
17 5 (0.63%) Ariba
17 5 (0.63%) Bloomberg