Microsoft Contract Job Trends in Manchester

Microsoft
North West > Manchester

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in Manchester 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 19 August 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
19 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 3 13
Rank change year-on-year -3 +10 -9
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 257 176 125
As % of all contract jobs in Manchester 13.03% 17.29% 10.36%
As % of the Vendors category 32.70% 35.41% 27.23%
Number of daily rates quoted 169 119 92
10th Percentile £193 £212 £325
25th Percentile £359 £360 £415
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £450 £500
Median % change year-on-year - -10.00% +11.11%
75th Percentile £525 £553 £638
90th Percentile £599 £639 £661
North West median daily rate £450 £437 £475
% change year-on-year +2.92% -7.95% +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 21 23 7
10th Percentile £19.46 £13.00 £18.40
25th Percentile £28.50 £18.97 £24.25
Median hourly rate £30.00 £22.32 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year +34.44% -25.62% +71.82%
75th Percentile £178.75 £22.63 £33.75
90th Percentile - £25.67 £40.50
North West median hourly rate £26.00 £22.32 £16.06
% change year-on-year +16.51% +38.95% -28.72%

All Vendors
Manchester

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 Manchester.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 786 497 459
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Manchester 39.86% 48.82% 38.06%
Number of daily rates quoted 458 314 285
10th Percentile £275 £311 £355
25th Percentile £380 £401 £419
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £481 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +1.16% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £587 £612 £603
90th Percentile £654 £702 £675
North West median daily rate £498 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +4.74% -5.00% +3.09%
Number of hourly rates quoted 74 33 21
10th Percentile £22.63 £13.00 £15.63
25th Percentile £24.19 £19.07 £20.00
Median hourly rate £37.50 £22.32 £31.00
Median % change year-on-year +68.05% -28.02% +74.94%
75th Percentile £69.25 £26.43 £60.00
90th Percentile £86.75 £59.10 £97.50
North West median hourly rate £29.00 £27.90 £16.06
% change year-on-year +3.93% +73.74% -52.76%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in Manchester

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

Microsoft job vacancy trend in Manchester

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in Manchester

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Manchester citing Microsoft.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Manchester citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in Manchester

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in Manchester over the 6 months to 19 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in Manchester

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in Manchester

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Manchester citing Microsoft.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Manchester citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in Manchester

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in Manchester over the 6 months to 19 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in Manchester

Microsoft
Contract Job Locations in Manchester

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Microsoft within the Manchester region over the 6 months to 19 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
Bolton -3 8 £160 -64.74% 12
Oldham +3 4 £205 - 4
Salford +1 2 £334 -16.56% 11
Rochdale - 2 - - 5
Bury - 1 - - 2
Microsoft
North West

Microsoft
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Manchester 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 38 (14.79%) SharePoint
2 23 (8.95%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (3.50%) Confluence
4 7 (2.72%) SharePoint Server
5 2 (0.78%) Apache
5 2 (0.78%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.78%) CMS
5 2 (0.78%) IIS
6 1 (0.39%) CICS
6 1 (0.39%) SharePoint 2013
6 1 (0.39%) WebSphere
Applications
1 29 (11.28%) Microsoft Office
2 27 (10.51%) Microsoft Excel
3 11 (4.28%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 11 (4.28%) Microsoft Project
4 4 (1.56%) Chatbot
4 4 (1.56%) MS Visio
5 2 (0.78%) AutoCAD
6 1 (0.39%) MicroStation
6 1 (0.39%) Navisworks
6 1 (0.39%) ProjectWise
6 1 (0.39%) Revit
Business Applications
1 5 (1.95%) Dynamics CRM
2 4 (1.56%) Primavera
2 4 (1.56%) SAP MM
2 4 (1.56%) SAP S/4HANA
3 3 (1.17%) Elite 3E
4 2 (0.78%) Dynamics AX
5 1 (0.39%) Adobe Campaign
5 1 (0.39%) Cloudability
5 1 (0.39%) Integrated Workplace Management System
5 1 (0.39%) Oracle Payables
5 1 (0.39%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 113 (43.97%) Azure
2 97 (37.74%) Microsoft 365
3 53 (20.62%) Power Platform
4 46 (17.90%) Entra ID
5 35 (13.62%) Microsoft Copilot
6 28 (10.89%) AWS
7 26 (10.12%) Power Automate
8 23 (8.95%) PowerApps
9 19 (7.39%) Azure DevOps
10 18 (7.00%) OneDrive
11 13 (5.06%) GCP
12 12 (4.67%) Dynamics 365
13 10 (3.89%) Azure Monitor
14 9 (3.50%) Azure AI
15 8 (3.11%) Serverless
16 7 (2.72%) OpenShift
17 6 (2.33%) Azure Data Factory
17 6 (2.33%) GitHub
18 5 (1.95%) Azure Logic Apps
18 5 (1.95%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 15 (5.84%) Firewall
2 10 (3.89%) VPN
3 8 (3.11%) DNS
4 7 (2.72%) SSL
5 6 (2.33%) Network Security
5 6 (2.33%) VLAN
6 5 (1.95%) DHCP
6 5 (1.95%) SAN
7 4 (1.56%) LAN
7 4 (1.56%) NAS
7 4 (1.56%) TCP/IP
7 4 (1.56%) WAN
8 3 (1.17%) Skype
9 2 (0.78%) BGP
9 2 (0.78%) PABX
9 2 (0.78%) SD-WAN
9 2 (0.78%) SMTP
9 2 (0.78%) VoIP
9 2 (0.78%) VSAN
9 2 (0.78%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 31 (12.06%) Power BI
2 23 (8.95%) SQL Server
3 13 (5.06%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 8 (3.11%) MySQL
5 7 (2.72%) Relational Database
6 6 (2.33%) Metadata
7 5 (1.95%) PostgreSQL
8 4 (1.56%) Data Lake
8 4 (1.56%) Data Warehouse
8 4 (1.56%) MongoDB
9 3 (1.17%) NoSQL
9 3 (1.17%) Oracle Reports
9 3 (1.17%) RDBMS
10 2 (0.78%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.78%) Power Query
10 2 (0.78%) SQL Server Analysis Services
10 2 (0.78%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 1 (0.39%) Azure SQL Data Warehouse
11 1 (0.39%) BusinessObjects
11 1 (0.39%) Delta Lake
Development Applications
1 13 (5.06%) JIRA
2 8 (3.11%) Git
3 4 (1.56%) Jenkins
4 3 (1.17%) GitLab
5 2 (0.78%) MSI
5 2 (0.78%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.39%) Sonatype Nexus
General
1 81 (31.52%) Social Skills
2 64 (24.90%) Finance
3 36 (14.01%) Analytical Skills
4 20 (7.78%) Public Sector
5 19 (7.39%) Banking
6 13 (5.06%) Manufacturing
7 10 (3.89%) Documentation Skills
7 10 (3.89%) Organisational Skills
8 9 (3.50%) Legal
9 7 (2.72%) Retail
9 7 (2.72%) Telecoms
10 5 (1.95%) Games
11 4 (1.56%) Influencing Skills
11 4 (1.56%) Marketing
12 3 (1.17%) Military
12 3 (1.17%) Presentation Skills
13 2 (0.78%) Agriculture
13 2 (0.78%) Aviation
13 2 (0.78%) Billing
13 2 (0.78%) Law
Job Titles
1 28 (10.89%) IT Support
2 27 (10.51%) Analyst
3 26 (10.12%) Support Engineer
4 19 (7.39%) Architect
5 18 (7.00%) IT Engineer
5 18 (7.00%) IT Support Engineer
6 15 (5.84%) DBA
7 13 (5.06%) Designer
7 13 (5.06%) Developer
7 13 (5.06%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
8 12 (4.67%) Lead
8 12 (4.67%) Senior
8 12 (4.67%) SQL DBA
9 11 (4.28%) Content Designer
10 10 (3.89%) IT Analyst
11 9 (3.50%) Microsoft Engineer
11 9 (3.50%) Support Analyst
12 8 (3.11%) Administrator
12 8 (3.11%) Consultant
13 7 (2.72%) IT Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 9 (3.50%) SAML
2 6 (2.33%) JSON
3 5 (1.95%) REST
4 4 (1.56%) Kafka
4 4 (1.56%) Microsoft Graph
4 4 (1.56%) Node.js
4 4 (1.56%) Spring
4 4 (1.56%) Spring Boot
4 4 (1.56%) XML
5 3 (1.17%) .NET
5 3 (1.17%) React
6 2 (0.78%) ARM Templates
6 2 (0.78%) AWS CDK
6 2 (0.78%) Flash
6 2 (0.78%) Next.js
6 2 (0.78%) OAuth
6 2 (0.78%) ODBC
6 2 (0.78%) PySpark
6 2 (0.78%) SailPoint
6 2 (0.78%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 22 (8.56%) Onboarding
2 13 (5.06%) Cloud Native
3 8 (3.11%) Clustering
3 8 (3.11%) Data Centre
3 8 (3.11%) Management Information System
3 8 (3.11%) Replication
4 7 (2.72%) Data Protection Act
4 7 (2.72%) Security Posture
5 6 (2.33%) CMDB
6 5 (1.95%) Animation
6 5 (1.95%) Handset
6 5 (1.95%) Legacy Systems
7 4 (1.56%) Analytical Mindset
7 4 (1.56%) Blackberry
7 4 (1.56%) Driving Licence
7 4 (1.56%) Hybrid Cloud
7 4 (1.56%) Linux Command Line
8 3 (1.17%) Enterprise Software
8 3 (1.17%) Life Science
8 3 (1.17%) PKI
Operating Systems
1 63 (24.51%) Windows
2 32 (12.45%) Windows 10
3 22 (8.56%) Windows Server
4 14 (5.45%) Linux
5 6 (2.33%) Unix
6 5 (1.95%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 4 (1.56%) Android
7 4 (1.56%) VMS
8 3 (1.17%) Windows Server 2012
9 2 (0.78%) AIX
9 2 (0.78%) Apple iOS
9 2 (0.78%) Solaris
10 1 (0.39%) HPUX
10 1 (0.39%) Oracle Linux
10 1 (0.39%) SUSE
10 1 (0.39%) Windows Server 2016
10 1 (0.39%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 56 (21.79%) ITIL
2 39 (15.18%) DevOps
2 39 (15.18%) Problem-Solving
3 38 (14.79%) Agile
4 34 (13.23%) Stakeholder Management
5 32 (12.45%) CI/CD
5 32 (12.45%) Roadmaps
6 31 (12.06%) Business Intelligence
7 29 (11.28%) Customer Service
8 24 (9.34%) Analytics
8 24 (9.34%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 23 (8.95%) Migration
10 20 (7.78%) Infrastructure as Code
10 20 (7.78%) Knowledge Transfer
10 20 (7.78%) Service Management
11 19 (7.39%) AI
11 19 (7.39%) Data Modelling
12 18 (7.00%) ERP
12 18 (7.00%) Performance Tuning
13 17 (6.61%) Continuous Improvement
Programming Languages
1 45 (17.51%) SQL
2 36 (14.01%) PowerShell
3 30 (11.67%) Python
4 14 (5.45%) T-SQL
5 8 (3.11%) Java
6 7 (2.72%) Bash
6 7 (2.72%) Bicep
7 5 (1.95%) C#
8 4 (1.56%) JavaScript
9 3 (1.17%) VBScript
10 2 (0.78%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 2 (0.78%) Kusto Query Language
10 2 (0.78%) Search Processing Language
10 2 (0.78%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.39%) COBOL
11 1 (0.39%) VBA
Qualifications
1 47 (18.29%) Degree
2 33 (12.84%) Security Cleared
3 30 (11.67%) SC Cleared
4 23 (8.95%) Microsoft Certification
5 22 (8.56%) BPSS Clearance
6 13 (5.06%) Azure Certification
7 11 (4.28%) Computer Science Degree
8 8 (3.11%) A+ Certification
9 7 (2.72%) Network+ Certification
10 6 (2.33%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
11 5 (1.95%) DBS Check
12 4 (1.56%) CISSP
13 3 (1.17%) AWS Certification
13 3 (1.17%) Cisco Certification
13 3 (1.17%) Microsoft Certified Professional
13 3 (1.17%) PMI Certification
14 2 (0.78%) CCNA
14 2 (0.78%) GCIH
14 2 (0.78%) ITIL Certification
14 2 (0.78%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (7.78%) Data Quality
2 14 (5.45%) GDPR
3 8 (3.11%) SLA
4 7 (2.72%) PMO
5 6 (2.33%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 5 (1.95%) Accessibility
6 5 (1.95%) NIST
6 5 (1.95%) WCAG
7 4 (1.56%) GRC
8 3 (1.17%) PCI DSS
8 3 (1.17%) QA
9 2 (0.78%) California Consumer Privacy Act
9 2 (0.78%) HIPAA
10 1 (0.39%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.39%) ISO 19650
10 1 (0.39%) ISO/IEC 27001
10 1 (0.39%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
10 1 (0.39%) SOC 2
System Software
1 77 (29.96%) Active Directory
2 19 (7.39%) Docker
3 9 (3.50%) Virtual Machines
3 9 (3.50%) VMware Infrastructure
4 4 (1.56%) Hyper-V
5 3 (1.17%) Virtual Desktop
6 2 (0.78%) GPFS
6 2 (0.78%) NFS
6 2 (0.78%) Oracle RAC
6 2 (0.78%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.78%) vSphere
7 1 (0.39%) BitLocker
7 1 (0.39%) Microsoft App-V
7 1 (0.39%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 31 (12.06%) Microsoft Intune
2 19 (7.39%) Kubernetes
3 16 (6.23%) Terraform
4 9 (3.50%) Single Sign-On
5 7 (2.72%) Ansible
5 7 (2.72%) SCOM
6 6 (2.33%) Progress Chef
7 5 (1.95%) SCCM
8 4 (1.56%) Grafana
9 3 (1.17%) CASB
10 2 (0.78%) AirWatch
10 2 (0.78%) Data Guard
10 2 (0.78%) Failover Clustering
10 2 (0.78%) vRealize
10 2 (0.78%) VxRail
11 1 (0.39%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 1 (0.39%) Prometheus
11 1 (0.39%) Puppet
11 1 (0.39%) WSUS
Vendors
1 23 (8.95%) ServiceNow
2 16 (6.23%) SAP
3 14 (5.45%) BeyondTrust
4 11 (4.28%) Google
4 11 (4.28%) Oracle
5 10 (3.89%) VMware
6 9 (3.50%) Databricks
6 9 (3.50%) Red Hat
7 7 (2.72%) Splunk
8 6 (2.33%) IBM
9 5 (1.95%) Cisco
9 5 (1.95%) Perforce
10 4 (1.56%) Adobe
10 4 (1.56%) Salesforce
10 4 (1.56%) UiPath
11 3 (1.17%) HP
11 3 (1.17%) Okta
12 2 (0.78%) Bloomberg
12 2 (0.78%) Citrix
12 2 (0.78%) Clearswift