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 10 January 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
10 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 8 4
Rank change year-on-year +1 -4 +1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 607 490 808
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 14.02% 14.32% 16.27%
As % of the Vendors category 28.02% 28.62% 31.65%
Number of daily rates quoted 430 343 561
10th Percentile £200 £200 £163
25th Percentile £263 £350 £213
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £465 £465
Median % change year-on-year +2.15% +0.01% +3.33%
75th Percentile £564 £594 £575
90th Percentile £640 £675 £650
England median daily rate £475 £475 £500
% change year-on-year - -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 66 15 30
10th Percentile £12.50 £16.28 £13.06
25th Percentile £14.50 £19.99 £15.69
Median hourly rate £17.50 £25.00 £21.68
Median % change year-on-year -30.00% +15.34% +17.16%
75th Percentile £25.88 £48.13 £54.69
90th Percentile £84.50 £57.62 £60.54
England median hourly rate £19.91 £22.27 £22.00
% change year-on-year -10.60% +1.23% +4.94%

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 2,166 1,712 2,553
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 50.03% 50.04% 51.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,560 1,122 1,639
10th Percentile £240 £243 £205
25th Percentile £406 £402 £365
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £515 £511
Median % change year-on-year -2.91% +0.78% +2.20%
75th Percentile £600 £625 £613
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
England median daily rate £505 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -3.81% - -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 137 48 127
10th Percentile £13.35 £19.99 £15.63
25th Percentile £16.50 £24.18 £23.81
Median hourly rate £22.50 £40.25 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year -44.10% -26.82% +74.44%
75th Percentile £65.00 £64.06 £67.26
90th Percentile £89.63 £72.34 £77.70
England median hourly rate £23.83 £30.20 £44.50
% change year-on-year -21.11% -32.13% +53.45%

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 10 January 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 10 January 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 10 January 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 +2 295 £475 -1.81% 260
Berkshire +1 188 £480 -6.34% 137
Hampshire -1 140 £535 +6.47% 132
Surrey +7 74 £244 -25.00% 97
Buckinghamshire -2 71 £475 +14.46% 79
Oxfordshire 0 36 £275 -35.29% 45
West Sussex -7 32 £231 -46.72% 48
Kent 0 28 £450 +111.76% 98
East Sussex +7 24 £550 +4.76% 47
Sussex -1 11 £463 +5.11% 11
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 58 (9.56%) SharePoint
2 49 (8.07%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (2.31%) Skype for Business
4 8 (1.32%) Confluence
4 8 (1.32%) Exchange Server 2010
5 7 (1.15%) Exchange Server 2013
5 7 (1.15%) Mattermost
5 7 (1.15%) SharePoint Server
6 6 (0.99%) Exchange Server 2003
6 6 (0.99%) Exchange Server 2007
6 6 (0.99%) Office Communications Server
7 2 (0.33%) ArcGIS
7 2 (0.33%) CMS
7 2 (0.33%) GeoServer
7 2 (0.33%) MS Project Server
7 2 (0.33%) Smallworld
8 1 (0.16%) Headless CMS
Applications
1 123 (20.26%) Microsoft Office
2 69 (11.37%) Microsoft Excel
3 24 (3.95%) Microsoft Project
4 19 (3.13%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 8 (1.32%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.16%) SOLIDWORKS
6 1 (0.16%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 11 (1.81%) Dynamics CRM
2 7 (1.15%) Remedy ITSM
3 4 (0.66%) NetSuite
3 4 (0.66%) SAP S/4HANA
4 3 (0.49%) Dynamics AX
5 2 (0.33%) Payment Gateway
5 2 (0.33%) SAP CO
5 2 (0.33%) SAP FI
5 2 (0.33%) SAP FI/CO
6 1 (0.16%) iTrent
6 1 (0.16%) Oracle Applications
6 1 (0.16%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.16%) Oracle ERP
6 1 (0.16%) Sage 50
6 1 (0.16%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.16%) SAP EWM
6 1 (0.16%) SAP WM
6 1 (0.16%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 154 (25.37%) Azure
2 139 (22.90%) Microsoft 365
3 64 (10.54%) AWS
4 59 (9.72%) Entra ID
5 54 (8.90%) Power Platform
6 33 (5.44%) Dynamics 365
7 30 (4.94%) SaaS
8 24 (3.95%) Microsoft Purview
9 23 (3.79%) OneDrive
10 19 (3.13%) Power Automate
10 19 (3.13%) PowerApps
10 19 (3.13%) Sauce Labs
11 16 (2.64%) Azure DevOps
11 16 (2.64%) GCP
11 16 (2.64%) Google Workspace
12 12 (1.98%) GitHub
13 11 (1.81%) Serverless
14 10 (1.65%) IaaS
15 9 (1.48%) Azure Functions
16 8 (1.32%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 56 (9.23%) DNS
2 44 (7.25%) DHCP
2 44 (7.25%) Firewall
3 29 (4.78%) TCP/IP
4 24 (3.95%) Wireless
5 23 (3.79%) VPN
6 18 (2.97%) Wi-Fi
7 15 (2.47%) VLAN
8 12 (1.98%) SAN
8 12 (1.98%) Unified Communications
9 10 (1.65%) Network Security
10 9 (1.48%) 4G
11 8 (1.32%) Skype
12 7 (1.15%) WebEx
13 6 (0.99%) DDNS
13 6 (0.99%) Fibre Channel
13 6 (0.99%) VSAN
14 5 (0.82%) WAN
15 4 (0.66%) S/MIME
15 4 (0.66%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 40 (6.59%) SQL Server
2 35 (5.77%) Power BI
3 29 (4.78%) Relational Database
4 22 (3.62%) MySQL
5 17 (2.80%) Oracle Database
6 10 (1.65%) Azure SQL Database
6 10 (1.65%) Metadata
7 9 (1.48%) BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
8 7 (1.15%) Data Warehouse
8 7 (1.15%) PostgreSQL
9 6 (0.99%) RDBMS
10 5 (0.82%) Data Lake
11 4 (0.66%) Amazon RDS
11 4 (0.66%) MongoDB
11 4 (0.66%) Oracle Reports
12 3 (0.49%) GIS
12 3 (0.49%) SQL Server Reporting Services
13 2 (0.33%) Apache Cassandra
13 2 (0.33%) Crystal Reports
13 2 (0.33%) NoSQL
Development Applications
1 22 (3.62%) Android Studio
2 20 (3.29%) Browser DevTools
3 19 (3.13%) Eclipse
3 19 (3.13%) Xcode
4 16 (2.64%) JIRA
5 11 (1.81%) Jenkins
6 5 (0.82%) Git
7 3 (0.49%) Bitbucket
7 3 (0.49%) Cucumber
7 3 (0.49%) Subversion
8 2 (0.33%) JMeter
8 2 (0.33%) JUnit
8 2 (0.33%) MSI
8 2 (0.33%) Oracle APEX
8 2 (0.33%) Oracle Forms
8 2 (0.33%) Sonatype Nexus
9 1 (0.16%) Fiddler
9 1 (0.16%) Gatling
9 1 (0.16%) Gradle
9 1 (0.16%) Postman
General
1 236 (38.88%) Social Skills
2 96 (15.82%) Finance
3 80 (13.18%) Analytical Skills
4 63 (10.38%) Organisational Skills
5 41 (6.75%) Public Sector
6 19 (3.13%) Manufacturing
7 11 (1.81%) Documentation Skills
7 11 (1.81%) Legal
8 10 (1.65%) Retail
9 9 (1.48%) Influencing Skills
10 8 (1.32%) Marketing
11 7 (1.15%) Presentation Skills
12 6 (0.99%) Telecoms
13 5 (0.82%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 4 (0.66%) Aerospace
14 4 (0.66%) Banking
14 4 (0.66%) Billing
14 4 (0.66%) Electronics
14 4 (0.66%) Military
15 3 (0.49%) Automotive
Job Titles
1 90 (14.83%) Architect
2 81 (13.34%) Support Engineer
3 78 (12.85%) Analyst
4 55 (9.06%) IT Support
5 44 (7.25%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 43 (7.08%) Senior
7 24 (3.95%) Developer
7 24 (3.95%) IT Engineer
7 24 (3.95%) Technical Support
8 22 (3.62%) Consultant
8 22 (3.62%) Support Officer
8 22 (3.62%) Technical Engineer
8 22 (3.62%) Technical Support Engineer
9 21 (3.46%) Infrastructure Support
10 20 (3.29%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
10 20 (3.29%) IT Support Engineer
10 20 (3.29%) Solutions Architect
10 20 (3.29%) UX Engineer
11 19 (3.13%) Lead
12 18 (2.97%) Infrastructure Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 25 (4.12%) React
2 22 (3.62%) GraphQL
3 20 (3.29%) Ajax
3 20 (3.29%) AngularJS
3 20 (3.29%) CSS
4 16 (2.64%) .NET
5 8 (1.32%) OAuth
5 8 (1.32%) REST
6 7 (1.15%) Middleware
6 7 (1.15%) SAML
7 5 (0.82%) ARM Templates
7 5 (0.82%) LDAP
7 5 (0.82%) OpenID
8 4 (0.66%) ADO
8 4 (0.66%) OAuth2
8 4 (0.66%) SailPoint
8 4 (0.66%) Spring
9 3 (0.49%) Microsoft Graph
9 3 (0.49%) PySpark
10 2 (0.33%) .NET Core
Miscellaneous
1 34 (5.60%) PKI
2 31 (5.11%) Onboarding
3 29 (4.78%) Analytical Mindset
4 24 (3.95%) Mobile App
5 20 (3.29%) Management Information System
6 15 (2.47%) Enterprise Software
6 15 (2.47%) Product Ownership
6 15 (2.47%) Self-Motivation
7 14 (2.31%) Driving Licence
7 14 (2.31%) Security Operations Centre
8 13 (2.14%) Fat Client
8 13 (2.14%) Thin Client
9 12 (1.98%) Replication
10 11 (1.81%) Operational Technology
11 10 (1.65%) Video Conferencing
12 9 (1.48%) Data Centre
13 8 (1.32%) Cyber Threat
14 7 (1.15%) Cloud Native
14 7 (1.15%) Cyber Defence
15 6 (0.99%) CMDB
Operating Systems
1 201 (33.11%) Windows
2 82 (13.51%) Linux
3 41 (6.75%) Windows 10
4 32 (5.27%) Windows Server
5 24 (3.95%) Android
5 24 (3.95%) Unix
6 14 (2.31%) Mac OS
7 12 (1.98%) Windows 7
8 8 (1.32%) Windows Server 2016
8 8 (1.32%) Windows Server 2019
9 7 (1.15%) Windows Server 2012
10 6 (0.99%) Windows Server 2003
11 3 (0.49%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 2 (0.33%) Apple iOS
12 2 (0.33%) Ubuntu
13 1 (0.16%) CentOS
13 1 (0.16%) Debian
Processes & Methodologies
1 114 (18.78%) Problem-Solving
2 81 (13.34%) Agile
3 79 (13.01%) ITIL
4 67 (11.04%) Cybersecurity
5 66 (10.87%) Customer Service
6 53 (8.73%) Infrastructure Engineering
7 50 (8.24%) Business Intelligence
7 50 (8.24%) Stakeholder Management
8 47 (7.74%) Continuous Improvement
9 44 (7.25%) Migration
9 44 (7.25%) Project Management
10 40 (6.59%) Time Management
11 39 (6.43%) DevOps
12 38 (6.26%) Project Delivery
13 37 (6.10%) SIEM
14 35 (5.77%) ITSM
14 35 (5.77%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 33 (5.44%) CI/CD
16 31 (5.11%) Collaborative Working
16 31 (5.11%) Validation
Programming Languages
1 73 (12.03%) Python
2 70 (11.53%) PowerShell
3 65 (10.71%) SQL
4 33 (5.44%) Java
5 30 (4.94%) JavaScript
6 21 (3.46%) Perl
7 12 (1.98%) Bash
7 12 (1.98%) C#
8 4 (0.66%) PL/SQL
8 4 (0.66%) X++
9 3 (0.49%) Kusto Query Language
10 2 (0.33%) Go
10 2 (0.33%) PHP
10 2 (0.33%) Shell Script
11 1 (0.16%) Bicep
11 1 (0.16%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 1 (0.16%) T-SQL
11 1 (0.16%) VB
Qualifications
1 208 (34.27%) Security Cleared
2 132 (21.75%) SC Cleared
3 69 (11.37%) DV Cleared
4 63 (10.38%) Degree
5 42 (6.92%) Microsoft Certification
6 23 (3.79%) CISSP
7 20 (3.29%) Azure Certification
8 11 (1.81%) A+ Certification
8 11 (1.81%) ITIL Certification
8 11 (1.81%) Network+ Certification
8 11 (1.81%) Server+ Certification
9 10 (1.65%) Cisco Certification
9 10 (1.65%) CISM
9 10 (1.65%) Computer Science Degree
9 10 (1.65%) GIAC
10 9 (1.48%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
11 8 (1.32%) GCFA
11 8 (1.32%) GCIH
11 8 (1.32%) PMI Certification
12 7 (1.15%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (5.27%) GDPR
2 25 (4.12%) NIST
3 23 (3.79%) PMO
4 21 (3.46%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 18 (2.97%) SLA
6 15 (2.47%) Data Quality
7 10 (1.65%) QA
8 5 (0.82%) Cyber Essentials
9 4 (0.66%) Accessibility
10 3 (0.49%) Actionable Recommendations
10 3 (0.49%) HIPAA
10 3 (0.49%) P3O
10 3 (0.49%) RMADS
11 2 (0.33%) ISO/IEC 19770
11 2 (0.33%) NCSC
11 2 (0.33%) PCI DSS
12 1 (0.16%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 1 (0.16%) GRC
12 1 (0.16%) NIST 800
12 1 (0.16%) PSD2
System Software
1 152 (25.04%) Active Directory
2 49 (8.07%) VMware Infrastructure
3 22 (3.62%) Hyper-V
4 13 (2.14%) vSphere
5 11 (1.81%) VMware ESXi
6 8 (1.32%) Docker
7 7 (1.15%) Virtual Desktop
8 6 (0.99%) Brightmail
8 6 (0.99%) ISA Server
9 4 (0.66%) NFS
10 3 (0.49%) DFS Replication
10 3 (0.49%) Terminal Services
10 3 (0.49%) Virtual Machines
10 3 (0.49%) VMware NSX
11 1 (0.16%) Sendmail
Systems Management
1 41 (6.75%) SCCM
2 34 (5.60%) Microsoft Intune
3 18 (2.97%) Single Sign-On
4 15 (2.47%) Ansible
5 13 (2.14%) Kubernetes
5 13 (2.14%) Terraform
5 13 (2.14%) WMI
6 12 (1.98%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 8 (1.32%) SCOM
7 8 (1.32%) vCenter Server
8 7 (1.15%) HP SiteScope
8 7 (1.15%) Jamf Pro
8 7 (1.15%) Microsoft Clustering
9 3 (0.49%) Cisco CUCM
9 3 (0.49%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
9 3 (0.49%) PaperCut
9 3 (0.49%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
10 2 (0.33%) EnCase
10 2 (0.33%) FTK
10 2 (0.33%) Grafana
Vendors
1 68 (11.20%) VMware
2 57 (9.39%) ServiceNow
3 47 (7.74%) Oracle
4 41 (6.75%) Splunk
5 25 (4.12%) Cisco
6 24 (3.95%) SAP
7 17 (2.80%) Citrix
8 11 (1.81%) Databricks
9 10 (1.65%) CrowdStrike
10 9 (1.48%) Thales
11 8 (1.32%) Palo Alto
11 8 (1.32%) Remedy
12 7 (1.15%) CyberArk
12 7 (1.15%) Tenable
13 6 (0.99%) CheckPoint
13 6 (0.99%) Informatica
13 6 (0.99%) Red Hat
14 5 (0.82%) Google
14 5 (0.82%) NetApp
14 5 (0.82%) Veeam