Microsoft Contract Job Trends in County Antrim

Microsoft
Northern Ireland > County Antrim

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in County Antrim 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 12 April 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
12 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 9 12 3
Rank change year-on-year +3 -9 +2
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 19 18 28
As % of all contract jobs in County Antrim 10.92% 13.24% 20.74%
As % of the Vendors category 42.22% 33.96% 48.28%
Number of daily rates quoted 7 9 17
10th Percentile £260 £190 £224
25th Percentile £375 - £500
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £325 £550
Median % change year-on-year +38.46% -40.91% +175.00%
75th Percentile £488 £438 £625
90th Percentile £615 £478 £688
Northern Ireland median daily rate £450 £325 £550
% change year-on-year +38.46% -40.91% +120.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 7 1 1
10th Percentile £13.92 - -
25th Percentile £17.05 £45.32 -
Median hourly rate £19.10 £48.82 £12.99
Median % change year-on-year -60.87% +275.79% -16.19%
75th Percentile £26.61 £52.31 -
90th Percentile £32.70 - -
Northern Ireland median hourly rate £19.10 £48.82 £12.99
% change year-on-year -60.87% +275.79% -16.19%

All Vendors
County Antrim

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 County Antrim.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 45 53 58
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in County Antrim 25.86% 38.97% 42.96%
Number of daily rates quoted 30 31 28
10th Percentile £340 £155 £203
25th Percentile £378 £325 £475
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £463 £425 £538
Median % change year-on-year +8.82% -20.93% +34.38%
75th Percentile £513 £488 £625
90th Percentile £600 £575 £661
Northern Ireland median daily rate £475 £425 £550
% change year-on-year +11.76% -22.73% +37.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 7 6 7
10th Percentile £13.92 £22.50 -
25th Percentile £17.05 £22.92 £12.25
Median hourly rate £19.10 £24.18 £12.99
Median % change year-on-year -21.01% +86.14% -16.19%
75th Percentile £26.61 - £24.00
90th Percentile £32.70 £38.24 £31.88
Northern Ireland median hourly rate £19.10 £24.18 £14.56
% change year-on-year -21.01% +66.13% -6.10%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in County Antrim

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

Microsoft job vacancy trend in County Antrim

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in County Antrim

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in County Antrim citing Microsoft.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in County Antrim citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in County Antrim

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in County Antrim over the 6 months to 12 April 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in County Antrim

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in County Antrim

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in County Antrim citing Microsoft.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in County Antrim citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in County Antrim

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in County Antrim over the 6 months to 12 April 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in County Antrim

Microsoft
Contract Job Locations in County Antrim

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Microsoft within the County Antrim region 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
Belfast +4 16 £450 +38.46% 26
Ballymena - 2 - -
Larne - 1 - -
Microsoft
Northern Ireland

Microsoft
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in County Antrim 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:

Applications
1 6 (31.58%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (21.05%) Microsoft Excel
3 2 (10.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (5.26%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 3 (15.79%) Dynamics CRM
Cloud Services
1 7 (36.84%) Microsoft 365
2 4 (21.05%) Azure
3 3 (15.79%) Dynamics 365
4 2 (10.53%) Power Platform
5 1 (5.26%) Azure DevOps
5 1 (5.26%) Microsoft Purview
Communications & Networking
1 1 (5.26%) Cisco IOS
1 1 (5.26%) Internet
1 1 (5.26%) Intranet
1 1 (5.26%) Remote Desktop
General
1 10 (52.63%) Social Skills
2 8 (42.11%) Analytical Skills
3 5 (26.32%) Finance
3 5 (26.32%) Public Sector
4 3 (15.79%) Manufacturing
4 3 (15.79%) Telecoms
5 2 (10.53%) Organisational Skills
6 1 (5.26%) Front Office
6 1 (5.26%) Presentation Skills
6 1 (5.26%) Retail
Job Titles
1 5 (26.32%) Project Manager
2 3 (15.79%) Analyst
3 1 (5.26%) Administrator
3 1 (5.26%) Consultant
3 1 (5.26%) Desktop Engineer
3 1 (5.26%) Desktop Support Engineer
3 1 (5.26%) ERP Manager
3 1 (5.26%) ERP Project Manager
3 1 (5.26%) ICT Technician
3 1 (5.26%) Infrastructure Analyst
3 1 (5.26%) Infrastructure Architect
3 1 (5.26%) Infrastructure Specialist
3 1 (5.26%) IT Analyst
3 1 (5.26%) IT Architect
3 1 (5.26%) IT Manager
3 1 (5.26%) IT Project Manager
3 1 (5.26%) QA Leader
3 1 (5.26%) Support Analyst
3 1 (5.26%) Support Engineer
3 1 (5.26%) Test Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (5.26%) Middleware
1 1 (5.26%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 3 (15.79%) Driving Licence
2 1 (5.26%) Data Protection Act
2 1 (5.26%) e-Learning
2 1 (5.26%) Management Information System
2 1 (5.26%) Onboarding
2 1 (5.26%) Self-Motivation
2 1 (5.26%) Web Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 5 (26.32%) Windows
2 1 (5.26%) Android
2 1 (5.26%) Windows 10
2 1 (5.26%) Windows 7
2 1 (5.26%) Windows Server
2 1 (5.26%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 6 (31.58%) Problem-Solving
2 4 (21.05%) Continuous Improvement
2 4 (21.05%) Stakeholder Management
3 3 (15.79%) Agile
3 3 (15.79%) CRM
3 3 (15.79%) Migration
3 3 (15.79%) Risk Management
4 2 (10.53%) Budgeting and Resource Allocation
4 2 (10.53%) Data Migration
4 2 (10.53%) DevOps
4 2 (10.53%) ERP
4 2 (10.53%) People Management
4 2 (10.53%) PRINCE2
4 2 (10.53%) Programme Management
4 2 (10.53%) Project Delivery
4 2 (10.53%) Project Management
4 2 (10.53%) Project Planning
4 2 (10.53%) Resource Allocation
4 2 (10.53%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 2 (10.53%) Translating Business Requirements
Programming Languages
1 2 (10.53%) JavaScript
Qualifications
1 8 (42.11%) Degree
2 3 (15.79%) HND
3 1 (5.26%) A+ Certification
3 1 (5.26%) HNC
3 1 (5.26%) Microsoft Certification
3 1 (5.26%) Microsoft Certified Professional
3 1 (5.26%) PMI Certification
3 1 (5.26%) PMP
3 1 (5.26%) Postgraduate
3 1 (5.26%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 2 (10.53%) Data Quality
2 1 (5.26%) PMO
2 1 (5.26%) QA
2 1 (5.26%) Sarbanes-Oxley
2 1 (5.26%) SLA
System Software
1 2 (10.53%) Active Directory
2 1 (5.26%) VMware Infrastructure
Vendors
1 2 (10.53%) Cisco
2 1 (5.26%) Apple
2 1 (5.26%) CheckPoint
2 1 (5.26%) Salesforce
2 1 (5.26%) VMware