Microsoft Contract Job Trends in the South East

Microsoft
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the South East requiring knowledge or experience of Microsoft products and/or services. It includes a benchmarking guide to contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Microsoft over the 6 months leading up to 18 May 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

The figures below represent the IT contractor job market in general and are not representative of contractor rates within the Microsoft Corporation.

6 months to
18 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 8 6 5
Rank change year-on-year -2 -1 0
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 667 467 800
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 11.23% 15.50% 14.67%
As % of the Vendors category 26.97% 29.21% 31.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 467 316 528
10th Percentile £202 £206 £194
25th Percentile £361 £300 £346
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £478 £465
Median % change year-on-year -0.52% +2.69% +1.08%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £577
90th Percentile £660 £623 £675
England median daily rate £500 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +5.26% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 59 31 73
10th Percentile £12.29 - £11.71
25th Percentile £15.00 £14.20 £12.00
Median hourly rate £30.75 £15.00 £22.50
Median % change year-on-year +105.00% -33.33% +12.50%
75th Percentile £53.75 £24.38 £53.75
90th Percentile £89.40 £32.05 £61.60
England median hourly rate £20.35 £18.75 £15.00
% change year-on-year +8.53% +25.00% -28.59%

All Vendors
South East

Microsoft falls under the Vendor Products and Services category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring knowledge or experience of all vendor products and services in the South East.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 2,473 1,599 2,547
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 41.64% 53.07% 46.71%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,708 1,070 1,546
10th Percentile £300 £225 £213
25th Percentile £413 £400 £397
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £508 £500
Median % change year-on-year +0.99% +1.50% -
75th Percentile £610 £603 £600
90th Percentile £700 £663 £688
England median daily rate £500 £525 £518
% change year-on-year -4.76% +1.35% -3.36%
Number of hourly rates quoted 158 88 182
10th Percentile £15.00 £14.20 £12.00
25th Percentile £25.95 £16.95 £16.25
Median hourly rate £47.54 £24.66 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year +92.78% -48.08% +5.56%
75th Percentile £85.81 £58.70 £61.30
90th Percentile £88.00 £72.00 £67.02
England median hourly rate £32.50 £26.39 £22.50
% change year-on-year +23.14% +17.30% -40.00%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

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

Microsoft job vacancy trend in the South East

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Microsoft.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in the South East over the 6 months to 18 May 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Microsoft.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in the South East over the 6 months to 18 May 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Contract Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Microsoft within the South East region over the 6 months to 18 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
Thames Valley -1 342 £490 +3.16% 272
Berkshire -11 161 £500 +4.44% 125
Hampshire -9 132 £538 +7.50% 132
Buckinghamshire -4 109 £500 -9.09% 90
Surrey +12 94 £450 -6.44% 65
Oxfordshire 0 72 £433 +73.00% 64
West Sussex -1 45 £475 +35.71% 35
Kent -2 29 £284 +8.10% 53
East Sussex -2 10 £538 -2.27% 16
Home Counties +2 4 - - 1
Sussex -5 1 - - 3
Microsoft
England

Microsoft
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 74 (11.09%) SharePoint
2 72 (10.79%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.80%) Confluence
4 3 (0.45%) ArcGIS
4 3 (0.45%) MS Project Server
4 3 (0.45%) Smallworld
5 2 (0.30%) GeoServer
6 1 (0.15%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.15%) BizTalk Server
6 1 (0.15%) Exchange Server 2010
6 1 (0.15%) SharePoint 2010
6 1 (0.15%) SharePoint 2013
Applications
1 79 (11.84%) Microsoft Office
2 73 (10.94%) Microsoft Excel
3 31 (4.65%) Microsoft Project
4 27 (4.05%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 11 (1.65%) MS Visio
6 3 (0.45%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.15%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.15%) Adobe Illustrator
7 1 (0.15%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.15%) InDesign
7 1 (0.15%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.15%) Photoshop
7 1 (0.15%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.15%) Trello
Business Applications
1 9 (1.35%) SAP S/4HANA
2 4 (0.60%) SAP Business One
3 3 (0.45%) Dynamics CRM
4 1 (0.15%) iTrent
4 1 (0.15%) NEC Housing
4 1 (0.15%) Oracle EBS
4 1 (0.15%) Oracle ERP
4 1 (0.15%) SAP PSCD
4 1 (0.15%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 256 (38.38%) Azure
2 188 (28.19%) Microsoft 365
3 120 (17.99%) Entra ID
4 86 (12.89%) Power Platform
5 61 (9.15%) AWS
6 38 (5.70%) Azure DevOps
7 31 (4.65%) Power Automate
8 29 (4.35%) Dynamics 365
8 29 (4.35%) OneDrive
9 24 (3.60%) Microsoft Purview
9 24 (3.60%) SaaS
10 22 (3.30%) PowerApps
11 19 (2.85%) IaaS
12 18 (2.70%) Microsoft Copilot
13 17 (2.55%) GitHub
14 16 (2.40%) Serverless
15 15 (2.25%) Azure Functions
15 15 (2.25%) Azure Logic Apps
16 14 (2.10%) Azure Monitor
17 13 (1.95%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 61 (9.15%) DNS
2 45 (6.75%) DHCP
3 34 (5.10%) Wi-Fi
4 32 (4.80%) Firewall
5 22 (3.30%) VPN
6 19 (2.85%) LAN
7 16 (2.40%) WAN
8 15 (2.25%) TCP/IP
9 12 (1.80%) Kerberos
10 10 (1.50%) SD-WAN
10 10 (1.50%) Unified Communications
11 8 (1.20%) MPLS
11 8 (1.20%) VLAN
12 7 (1.05%) Network Security
13 6 (0.90%) SAN
14 5 (0.75%) BGP
14 5 (0.75%) IPsec
14 5 (0.75%) SNMP
14 5 (0.75%) VSAN
14 5 (0.75%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 64 (9.60%) Power BI
2 31 (4.65%) SQL Server
3 15 (2.25%) Azure SQL Database
4 13 (1.95%) MySQL
5 10 (1.50%) Metadata
6 9 (1.35%) PostgreSQL
7 8 (1.20%) Relational Database
8 7 (1.05%) Data Lake
8 7 (1.05%) Data Warehouse
9 6 (0.90%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 4 (0.60%) BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
10 4 (0.60%) Oracle Database
10 4 (0.60%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 3 (0.45%) Amazon RDS
11 3 (0.45%) Data Mining
11 3 (0.45%) GIS
11 3 (0.45%) Star Schema
12 2 (0.30%) MS Access
12 2 (0.30%) Oracle Reports
12 2 (0.30%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 20 (3.00%) JIRA
2 12 (1.80%) Git
3 9 (1.35%) Android Studio
4 6 (0.90%) Browser DevTools
4 6 (0.90%) Eclipse
4 6 (0.90%) Xcode
5 4 (0.60%) MSI
6 3 (0.45%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.45%) Gradle
6 3 (0.45%) Jenkins
6 3 (0.45%) JUnit
6 3 (0.45%) Maven
6 3 (0.45%) Robot Framework
6 3 (0.45%) Subversion
7 2 (0.30%) Sonatype Nexus
8 1 (0.15%) Artifactory
8 1 (0.15%) MLflow
8 1 (0.15%) NUnit
8 1 (0.15%) Postman
8 1 (0.15%) Visual Studio
General
1 186 (27.89%) Social Skills
2 69 (10.34%) Finance
3 68 (10.19%) Public Sector
4 61 (9.15%) Analytical Skills
5 42 (6.30%) Organisational Skills
6 19 (2.85%) Legal
7 18 (2.70%) Documentation Skills
8 15 (2.25%) Military
9 9 (1.35%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 8 (1.20%) Retail
10 8 (1.20%) Telecoms
11 7 (1.05%) Aerospace
11 7 (1.05%) Influencing Skills
12 6 (0.90%) Local Government
12 6 (0.90%) Manufacturing
12 6 (0.90%) Marketing
13 5 (0.75%) Presentation Skills
14 4 (0.60%) Aviation
14 4 (0.60%) General Ledger
14 4 (0.60%) Police
Job Titles
1 88 (13.19%) Architect
2 64 (9.60%) Analyst
3 63 (9.45%) IT Support
4 55 (8.25%) Senior
5 52 (7.80%) Infrastructure Engineer
5 52 (7.80%) Support Engineer
6 43 (6.45%) IT Engineer
7 35 (5.25%) IT Support Engineer
8 34 (5.10%) Lead
9 33 (4.95%) Consultant
10 28 (4.20%) Developer
11 26 (3.90%) Solutions Architect
12 23 (3.45%) Azure Engineer
13 19 (2.85%) IT Analyst
14 18 (2.70%) Administrator
14 18 (2.70%) Technical Architect
15 17 (2.55%) Project Manager
16 16 (2.40%) DevOps Engineer
16 16 (2.40%) Support Analyst
17 15 (2.25%) 2nd Line Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (3.60%) .NET
2 19 (2.85%) LDAP
3 15 (2.25%) OAuth
4 14 (2.10%) REST
4 14 (2.10%) SAML
5 13 (1.95%) OpenID
6 11 (1.65%) SailPoint
6 11 (1.65%) Web Services
7 10 (1.50%) OAuth2
7 10 (1.50%) React
8 9 (1.35%) ARM Templates
8 9 (1.35%) CSS
9 8 (1.20%) Microsoft Graph
10 7 (1.05%) XML
11 6 (0.90%) ADO
11 6 (0.90%) Ajax
11 6 (0.90%) AngularJS
11 6 (0.90%) GraphQL
11 6 (0.90%) JSON
11 6 (0.90%) Middleware
Miscellaneous
1 49 (7.35%) Onboarding
2 30 (4.50%) PKI
3 21 (3.15%) Data Centre
3 21 (3.15%) Product Ownership
4 20 (3.00%) Cloud Native
5 17 (2.55%) Hybrid Cloud
5 17 (2.55%) Legacy Systems
6 15 (2.25%) Replication
7 14 (2.10%) Operational Technology
7 14 (2.10%) Public Cloud
8 12 (1.80%) Self-Motivation
9 11 (1.65%) Analytical Mindset
9 11 (1.65%) Driving Licence
10 9 (1.35%) Cyber Defence
10 9 (1.35%) Enterprise Software
10 9 (1.35%) Mobile App
11 8 (1.20%) Security Posture
11 8 (1.20%) Virtual Team
12 6 (0.90%) Data Structures
12 6 (0.90%) Management Information System
Operating Systems
1 193 (28.94%) Windows
2 65 (9.75%) Linux
3 56 (8.40%) Windows Server
4 24 (3.60%) Windows 10
5 18 (2.70%) Mac OS
6 15 (2.25%) Android
7 14 (2.10%) Unix
8 13 (1.95%) Apple iOS
9 10 (1.50%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 9 (1.35%) Windows 7
11 8 (1.20%) Windows Server 2019
12 7 (1.05%) Windows Server 2012
13 5 (0.75%) Windows Server 2016
14 4 (0.60%) Ubuntu
15 3 (0.45%) CentOS
16 1 (0.15%) Debian
16 1 (0.15%) OpenVMS
16 1 (0.15%) VMS
16 1 (0.15%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 98 (14.69%) Problem-Solving
2 80 (11.99%) Agile
2 80 (11.99%) DevOps
2 80 (11.99%) ITIL
3 74 (11.09%) Customer Service
4 72 (10.79%) Business Intelligence
5 69 (10.34%) Migration
6 64 (9.60%) CI/CD
7 61 (9.15%) Cybersecurity
8 59 (8.85%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 56 (8.40%) Stakeholder Management
10 55 (8.25%) Analytics
11 52 (7.80%) Project Management
12 48 (7.20%) Decision-Making
13 44 (6.60%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 43 (6.45%) Project Delivery
15 41 (6.15%) ITSM
16 39 (5.85%) User Experience
17 38 (5.70%) SIEM
18 37 (5.55%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 98 (14.69%) PowerShell
2 66 (9.90%) Python
3 57 (8.55%) SQL
4 23 (3.45%) T-SQL
5 17 (2.55%) Bash
5 17 (2.55%) C#
6 15 (2.25%) JavaScript
7 12 (1.80%) Java
8 10 (1.50%) Bicep
9 8 (1.20%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 7 (1.05%) Kusto Query Language
11 6 (0.90%) Perl
12 3 (0.45%) TypeScript
13 2 (0.30%) Korn
13 2 (0.30%) X++
14 1 (0.15%) Google Apps Script
14 1 (0.15%) PL/SQL
14 1 (0.15%) Shell Script
14 1 (0.15%) VBA
Qualifications
1 231 (34.63%) Security Cleared
2 161 (24.14%) SC Cleared
3 75 (11.24%) Degree
4 70 (10.49%) DV Cleared
5 23 (3.45%) Microsoft Certification
6 13 (1.95%) Azure Certification
6 13 (1.95%) CISSP
7 12 (1.80%) Computer Science Degree
7 12 (1.80%) GIAC
8 11 (1.65%) Cisco Certification
9 9 (1.35%) BPSS Clearance
9 9 (1.35%) CISM
10 8 (1.20%) AWS Certification
10 8 (1.20%) DBS Check
11 7 (1.05%) PMI Certification
11 7 (1.05%) PMP
12 5 (0.75%) ACCA
12 5 (0.75%) CIMA
12 5 (0.75%) SANS
12 5 (0.75%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (4.80%) NIST
2 23 (3.45%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 20 (3.00%) Cyber Essentials
4 19 (2.85%) NCSC
4 19 (2.85%) PMO
5 18 (2.70%) SLA
6 16 (2.40%) Data Quality
6 16 (2.40%) GDPR
7 11 (1.65%) QA
8 6 (0.90%) ISO 31000
8 6 (0.90%) NIST 800
9 5 (0.75%) Accessibility
10 3 (0.45%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 3 (0.45%) PCI DSS
11 2 (0.30%) JSP 440
12 1 (0.15%) Actionable Recommendations
12 1 (0.15%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 1 (0.15%) Disclosure Scotland
12 1 (0.15%) ISO 9001
12 1 (0.15%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 208 (31.18%) Active Directory
2 68 (10.19%) VMware Infrastructure
3 28 (4.20%) Hyper-V
4 14 (2.10%) vSphere
5 13 (1.95%) Docker
5 13 (1.95%) Virtual Desktop
6 12 (1.80%) Virtual Machines
7 10 (1.50%) VMware ESXi
7 10 (1.50%) VMware NSX
8 5 (0.75%) Firmware
9 3 (0.45%) DFS Replication
10 2 (0.30%) UAG
11 1 (0.15%) BitLocker
11 1 (0.15%) Citrix Hypervisor
11 1 (0.15%) Oracle RAC
11 1 (0.15%) Sendmail
11 1 (0.15%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 58 (8.70%) Microsoft Intune
2 33 (4.95%) Terraform
3 28 (4.20%) SCCM
4 18 (2.70%) Active Directory Federation Services
4 18 (2.70%) Single Sign-On
5 15 (2.25%) Ansible
6 13 (1.95%) Kubernetes
7 11 (1.65%) SCOM
8 10 (1.50%) Jamf Pro
9 8 (1.20%) vCenter Server
10 6 (0.90%) WMI
11 4 (0.60%) Avamar
11 4 (0.60%) QRadar
12 3 (0.45%) Nessus
12 3 (0.45%) SCSM
12 3 (0.45%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
12 3 (0.45%) WSUS
13 2 (0.30%) Grafana
13 2 (0.30%) Oracle RMAN
13 2 (0.30%) Puppet
Vendors
1 80 (11.99%) VMware
2 30 (4.50%) Cisco
2 30 (4.50%) SAP
3 21 (3.15%) ServiceNow
4 18 (2.70%) Meraki
5 16 (2.40%) Databricks
6 15 (2.25%) Oracle
7 14 (2.10%) Citrix
8 12 (1.80%) Splunk
9 11 (1.65%) Thales
10 10 (1.50%) Avaya
10 10 (1.50%) Dell
11 9 (1.35%) Google
11 9 (1.35%) Mitel
12 8 (1.20%) Fortinet
13 7 (1.05%) F5
13 7 (1.05%) Red Hat
13 7 (1.05%) SolarWinds
13 7 (1.05%) Veeam
14 6 (0.90%) CheckPoint