Visual Studio Contract Job Trends

Microsoft Visual Studio
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring Visual Studio skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 20 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 552 453 325
Rank change year-on-year -99 -128 +146
Contract jobs citing Visual Studio 115 99 252
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.21% 0.30% 0.65%
As % of the Development Applications category 1.85% 2.00% 5.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 57 46 157
10th Percentile £363 £364 £335
25th Percentile £415 £456 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £508 £513
Median % change year-on-year -1.48% -0.98% -1.44%
75th Percentile £550 £575 £619
90th Percentile £607 £720 £663
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £500 £513
% change year-on-year -15.00% -2.53% +8.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 18 21 34
10th Percentile £56.53 - £57.50
25th Percentile £62.19 - -
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
75th Percentile - £65.75 -
90th Percentile £68.00 £67.00 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
% change year-on-year - - +23.81%

All Development Application Skills
UK

Visual Studio falls under the Development Applications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring development application skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for development application skills 6,218 4,950 5,016
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 11.62% 15.08% 12.93%
Number of daily rates quoted 4,000 3,338 3,271
10th Percentile £354 £325 £350
25th Percentile £413 £406 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year - -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £597 £600 £625
90th Percentile £694 £688 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £475 £500
% change year-on-year - -5.00% -0.60%
Number of hourly rates quoted 263 114 199
10th Percentile £35.00 £28.08 £25.99
25th Percentile £56.25 £50.00 £46.63
Median hourly rate £67.50 £65.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year +3.85% - +4.00%
75th Percentile £74.38 £73.75 £70.00
90th Percentile £87.97 £84.58 £73.80
UK excluding London median hourly rate £68.00 £65.00 £65.00
% change year-on-year +4.62% - +2.46%

Visual Studio
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Visual Studio job vacancy trend in the UK

Visual Studio
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Visual Studio.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Visual Studio

Visual Studio
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Visual Studio over the 6 months to 20 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Visual Studio in the UK

Visual Studio
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Visual Studio.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Visual Studio

Visual Studio
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Visual Studio over the 6 months to 20 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Visual Studio in the UK

Visual Studio
Top 14 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Visual Studio within the UK over the 6 months to 20 August 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 -102 103 £468 -7.78% 44
UK excluding London -118 62 £425 -15.00% 39
London -49 44 £525 -20.15% 8
Work from Home -73 31 £425 -27.66% 19
East of England -30 15 £510 +2.00% 5
West Midlands -43 13 £421 +8.71% 1
Midlands -46 13 £421 +9.42% 6
South East -50 13 £500 +2.04% 11
South West -30 12 £294 -17.54% 7
North of England -64 5 £494 -1.25% 9
Yorkshire -44 4 £494 +26.60% 2
Wales - 3 £700 -
Scotland -26 1 £368 -26.50% 1
North West -40 1 - - 7

Visual Studio
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 11 (9.57%) SharePoint
2 8 (6.96%) IIS
3 2 (1.74%) Confluence
3 2 (1.74%) Microsoft Exchange
4 1 (0.87%) CMS
4 1 (0.87%) Umbraco
Applications
1 12 (10.43%) Microsoft Excel
2 7 (6.09%) Microsoft Office
3 3 (2.61%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 2 (1.74%) MS Visio
4 2 (1.74%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 4 (3.48%) Dynamics CRM
2 2 (1.74%) Dynamics GP
3 1 (0.87%) Maximo
Cloud Services
1 49 (42.61%) Azure
2 37 (32.17%) Azure DevOps
3 26 (22.61%) Power Platform
4 25 (21.74%) Dynamics 365
5 21 (18.26%) PowerApps
6 20 (17.39%) Power Automate
7 16 (13.91%) GitHub
8 11 (9.57%) Microsoft Copilot
9 9 (7.83%) Copilot Studio
10 8 (6.96%) Serverless
11 7 (6.09%) Azure Functions
12 6 (5.22%) Entra ID
12 6 (5.22%) SaaS
13 5 (4.35%) Azure API Management
13 5 (4.35%) Azure Data Factory
13 5 (4.35%) Azure Service Bus
14 4 (3.48%) Azure App Service
14 4 (3.48%) Azure Monitor
14 4 (3.48%) IaaS
14 4 (3.48%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 14 (12.17%) Ethernet
1 14 (12.17%) TCP/IP
2 4 (3.48%) Network Security
3 2 (1.74%) Wireshark
4 1 (0.87%) DHCP
4 1 (0.87%) DNS
4 1 (0.87%) Firewall
4 1 (0.87%) LAN
4 1 (0.87%) RS-232
4 1 (0.87%) RS-422
4 1 (0.87%) Unified Communications
4 1 (0.87%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 33 (28.70%) SQL Server
2 10 (8.70%) Relational Database
2 10 (8.70%) SQL Server Integration Services
3 6 (5.22%) Azure SQL Database
3 6 (5.22%) MS Access
3 6 (5.22%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 4 (3.48%) Power BI
5 3 (2.61%) NoSQL
6 2 (1.74%) Oracle Database
7 1 (0.87%) Data Lake
7 1 (0.87%) Data Warehouse
7 1 (0.87%) DynamoDB
7 1 (0.87%) GIS
7 1 (0.87%) MySQL
7 1 (0.87%) PostgreSQL
7 1 (0.87%) Snowflake Schema
7 1 (0.87%) SSDT
7 1 (0.87%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 31 (26.96%) Git
2 20 (17.39%) Team Foundation Server
3 14 (12.17%) Eclipse
4 10 (8.70%) Jenkins
5 6 (5.22%) Selenium
5 6 (5.22%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 5 (4.35%) JIRA
6 5 (4.35%) JMeter
7 4 (3.48%) JetBrains Rider
7 4 (3.48%) MSBuild
7 4 (3.48%) MSTest
7 4 (3.48%) Sonatype Nexus
7 4 (3.48%) Visual Studio Code
8 3 (2.61%) GitLab
8 3 (2.61%) Postman
8 3 (2.61%) Rational DOORS
9 2 (1.74%) Fiddler
9 2 (1.74%) MSI
10 1 (0.87%) REST Assured
10 1 (0.87%) Visual Studio Coded UI
General
1 30 (26.09%) Finance
2 28 (24.35%) Social Skills
3 14 (12.17%) Military
4 9 (7.83%) Analytical Skills
5 8 (6.96%) Presentation Skills
6 7 (6.09%) Banking
7 5 (4.35%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 4 (3.48%) General Ledger
8 4 (3.48%) Public Sector
9 2 (1.74%) Aerospace
9 2 (1.74%) Documentation Skills
9 2 (1.74%) Health Technology
9 2 (1.74%) Influencing Skills
9 2 (1.74%) Marketing
9 2 (1.74%) Pharmaceutical
9 2 (1.74%) Retail
10 1 (0.87%) Back Office
10 1 (0.87%) Law
10 1 (0.87%) Legal
10 1 (0.87%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 69 (60.00%) Developer
2 18 (15.65%) Software Engineer
3 15 (13.04%) Software Developer
4 13 (11.30%) C# Software Engineer
5 12 (10.43%) C# Developer
5 12 (10.43%) Dynamics 365 Developer
6 10 (8.70%) .NET Developer
7 9 (7.83%) C++ Software Engineer
8 8 (6.96%) Full-Stack Developer
8 8 (6.96%) Microsoft Developer
9 6 (5.22%) Senior
10 5 (4.35%) C# .NET Developer
10 5 (4.35%) DevOps Engineer
10 5 (4.35%) Lead
10 5 (4.35%) VB Developer
10 5 (4.35%) VB6 Developer
11 4 (3.48%) Lead Software Developer
11 4 (3.48%) Lecturer
11 4 (3.48%) SQL Developer
11 4 (3.48%) Tester
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 59 (51.30%) .NET
2 23 (20.00%) Web Services
3 21 (18.26%) .NET Framework
3 21 (18.26%) XML
4 15 (13.04%) RESTful
5 14 (12.17%) WinForms
6 13 (11.30%) ActiveX
6 13 (11.30%) Node.js
6 13 (11.30%) REST
6 13 (11.30%) SOAP
7 12 (10.43%) ASP.NET
8 11 (9.57%) Entity Framework
9 10 (8.70%) ASP.NET Web API
10 9 (7.83%) JSON
10 9 (7.83%) React
11 8 (6.96%) .NET Core
11 8 (6.96%) WCF
12 7 (6.09%) HTML
12 7 (6.09%) XSLT
13 6 (5.22%) Middleware
Miscellaneous
1 8 (6.96%) Low-Code
2 6 (5.22%) Replication
2 6 (5.22%) Self-Motivation
3 5 (4.35%) Cloud Native
4 3 (2.61%) BYOD
4 3 (2.61%) Data Structures
4 3 (2.61%) Enterprise Software
5 2 (1.74%) AI Agents
5 2 (1.74%) Data Protection Act
5 2 (1.74%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
5 2 (1.74%) Greenfield Project
5 2 (1.74%) Legacy Applications
5 2 (1.74%) Legacy Systems
5 2 (1.74%) Team-Oriented Environment
6 1 (0.87%) Credit Derivative
6 1 (0.87%) Derivative
6 1 (0.87%) Driving Licence
6 1 (0.87%) Management Information System
6 1 (0.87%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 36 (31.30%) Windows
2 15 (13.04%) Linux
3 4 (3.48%) Windows Server
4 1 (0.87%) Unix
4 1 (0.87%) Windows 10
4 1 (0.87%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 57 (49.57%) Agile
2 43 (37.39%) CI/CD
3 41 (35.65%) DevOps
4 34 (29.57%) Unit Testing
5 25 (21.74%) Software Engineering
6 21 (18.26%) Scrum
7 18 (15.65%) Continuous Integration
8 17 (14.78%) Continuous Improvement
9 16 (13.91%) AI
9 16 (13.91%) Continuous Delivery
9 16 (13.91%) SDLC
9 16 (13.91%) Validation
10 15 (13.04%) TDD
11 14 (12.17%) Digital Twin
11 14 (12.17%) Problem-Solving
11 14 (12.17%) Synthetic Environment
12 13 (11.30%) ERP
12 13 (11.30%) Full-Stack Development
12 13 (11.30%) Verification and Validation
12 13 (11.30%) Visualisation
Programming Languages
1 83 (72.17%) C#
2 42 (36.52%) SQL
3 28 (24.35%) C++
3 28 (24.35%) JavaScript
4 19 (16.52%) VBA
5 16 (13.91%) X++
6 14 (12.17%) Java
6 14 (12.17%) Python
6 14 (12.17%) VB
6 14 (12.17%) VB6
7 12 (10.43%) T-SQL
8 11 (9.57%) TypeScript
8 11 (9.57%) VB.NET
9 9 (7.83%) PL/SQL
10 8 (6.96%) PowerShell
11 5 (4.35%) VBScript
11 5 (4.35%) XPath
12 4 (3.48%) C
13 2 (1.74%) Bicep
13 2 (1.74%) XAML
Qualifications
1 52 (45.22%) Security Cleared
2 43 (37.39%) SC Cleared
3 17 (14.78%) Degree
4 14 (12.17%) BPSS Clearance
5 7 (6.09%) DV Cleared
6 6 (5.22%) ISTQB
7 4 (3.48%) Computer Science Degree
7 4 (3.48%) DBS Check
7 4 (3.48%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
8 3 (2.61%) Microsoft Certification
9 2 (1.74%) Master's Degree
9 2 (1.74%) PhD
10 1 (0.87%) AWS Certification
10 1 (0.87%) Azure Certification
10 1 (0.87%) ISEB
10 1 (0.87%) Numerate Degree
10 1 (0.87%) PMI Certification
10 1 (0.87%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 5 (4.35%) QA
2 4 (3.48%) Data Quality
3 3 (2.61%) HMG Security Policy Framework
3 3 (2.61%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 3 (2.61%) SLA
4 1 (0.87%) Accessibility
4 1 (0.87%) MIL-STD-1553
System Software
1 4 (3.48%) Docker
2 1 (0.87%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 10 (8.70%) Single Sign-On
2 4 (3.48%) Ansible
3 3 (2.61%) Microsoft Intune
4 1 (0.87%) PTC Integrity
4 1 (0.87%) SCCM
Vendors
1 60 (52.17%) Microsoft
2 12 (10.43%) Oracle
3 3 (2.61%) Citrix
4 2 (1.74%) IBM
4 2 (1.74%) ServiceNow
5 1 (0.87%) Atlassian
5 1 (0.87%) CrowdStrike
5 1 (0.87%) Databricks
5 1 (0.87%) F5
5 1 (0.87%) Green Hills
5 1 (0.87%) MuleSoft
5 1 (0.87%) PTC
5 1 (0.87%) Salesforce