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 6 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
6 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 4 10
Rank change year-on-year -3 +6 -6
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 245 170 140
As % of all contract jobs in Manchester 12.49% 17.00% 11.56%
As % of the Vendors category 32.67% 35.71% 31.04%
Number of daily rates quoted 161 115 105
10th Percentile £193 £213 £318
25th Percentile £363 £360 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £450 £500
Median % change year-on-year - -10.00% +8.11%
75th Percentile £525 £559 £613
90th Percentile £599 £631 £650
North West median daily rate £450 £438 £450
% change year-on-year +2.86% -2.78% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 20 22 8
10th Percentile £23.69 £13.00 £18.80
25th Percentile £28.50 £18.92 £26.38
Median hourly rate £30.00 £21.29 £30.50
Median % change year-on-year +40.94% -30.21% +77.74%
75th Percentile £178.75 £22.59 £38.44
90th Percentile - £22.63 £54.79
North West median hourly rate £27.50 £22.32 £16.06
% change year-on-year +23.24% +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 750 476 451
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Manchester 38.23% 47.60% 37.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 440 298 288
10th Percentile £275 £307 £350
25th Percentile £392 £401 £418
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £477 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +0.32% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £583 £600 £601
90th Percentile £650 £707 £675
North West median daily rate £492 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +3.58% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 73 32 25
10th Percentile £22.63 £13.00 £15.78
25th Percentile £24.19 £19.02 £22.00
Median hourly rate £37.50 £22.32 £31.00
Median % change year-on-year +68.05% -28.02% +74.94%
75th Percentile £70.00 £23.67 £60.00
90th Percentile £87.00 £59.55 £86.05
North West median hourly rate £29.00 £28.43 £16.06
% change year-on-year +2.00% +77.02% -45.19%

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 6 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 6 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 6 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% 9
Oldham +3 3 £205 - 6
Salford +1 2 £334 -16.56% 16
Rochdale - 2 - -
Bury - 1 - - 4
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 36 (14.69%) SharePoint
2 21 (8.57%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (3.67%) Confluence
4 7 (2.86%) SharePoint Server
5 2 (0.82%) Apache
5 2 (0.82%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.82%) CMS
5 2 (0.82%) IIS
6 1 (0.41%) CICS
6 1 (0.41%) SharePoint 2013
6 1 (0.41%) WebSphere
Applications
1 29 (11.84%) Microsoft Office
2 25 (10.20%) Microsoft Excel
3 11 (4.49%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 9 (3.67%) Microsoft Project
5 5 (2.04%) MS Visio
6 4 (1.63%) Chatbot
7 2 (0.82%) AutoCAD
8 1 (0.41%) MicroStation
8 1 (0.41%) Navisworks
8 1 (0.41%) ProjectWise
8 1 (0.41%) Revit
Business Applications
1 5 (2.04%) Dynamics CRM
2 4 (1.63%) Primavera
2 4 (1.63%) SAP MM
2 4 (1.63%) SAP S/4HANA
3 3 (1.22%) Elite 3E
4 2 (0.82%) Dynamics AX
5 1 (0.41%) Adobe Campaign
5 1 (0.41%) Integrated Workplace Management System
5 1 (0.41%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 108 (44.08%) Azure
2 91 (37.14%) Microsoft 365
3 49 (20.00%) Power Platform
4 38 (15.51%) Entra ID
5 35 (14.29%) Microsoft Copilot
6 26 (10.61%) AWS
7 25 (10.20%) Power Automate
8 23 (9.39%) PowerApps
9 21 (8.57%) Azure DevOps
10 16 (6.53%) OneDrive
11 12 (4.90%) Dynamics 365
12 11 (4.49%) GCP
13 10 (4.08%) Azure Monitor
14 9 (3.67%) Azure AI
15 8 (3.27%) Microsoft Purview
15 8 (3.27%) Serverless
16 7 (2.86%) OpenShift
17 6 (2.45%) GitHub
18 5 (2.04%) Azure Data Factory
18 5 (2.04%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 17 (6.94%) Firewall
2 9 (3.67%) Network Security
2 9 (3.67%) VPN
3 8 (3.27%) DNS
3 8 (3.27%) SSL
4 6 (2.45%) VLAN
5 5 (2.04%) DHCP
5 5 (2.04%) TCP/IP
6 4 (1.63%) LAN
6 4 (1.63%) NAS
6 4 (1.63%) SAN
6 4 (1.63%) WAN
7 3 (1.22%) Skype
8 2 (0.82%) BGP
8 2 (0.82%) PABX
8 2 (0.82%) SD-WAN
8 2 (0.82%) SMTP
8 2 (0.82%) VoIP
8 2 (0.82%) VSAN
8 2 (0.82%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 27 (11.02%) Power BI
2 23 (9.39%) SQL Server
3 13 (5.31%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 8 (3.27%) MySQL
5 7 (2.86%) Relational Database
6 6 (2.45%) Metadata
7 5 (2.04%) PostgreSQL
8 4 (1.63%) Data Lake
8 4 (1.63%) MongoDB
9 3 (1.22%) Data Warehouse
9 3 (1.22%) NoSQL
9 3 (1.22%) Oracle Reports
9 3 (1.22%) RDBMS
10 2 (0.82%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.82%) Power Query
10 2 (0.82%) SQL Server Analysis Services
10 2 (0.82%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 1 (0.41%) BusinessObjects
11 1 (0.41%) DataStage
11 1 (0.41%) Delta Lake
Development Applications
1 13 (5.31%) JIRA
2 8 (3.27%) Git
3 4 (1.63%) Jenkins
4 3 (1.22%) GitLab
5 2 (0.82%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.41%) Sonatype Nexus
General
1 74 (30.20%) Social Skills
2 53 (21.63%) Finance
3 33 (13.47%) Analytical Skills
4 20 (8.16%) Public Sector
5 19 (7.76%) Banking
6 12 (4.90%) Manufacturing
7 10 (4.08%) Legal
8 9 (3.67%) Organisational Skills
9 7 (2.86%) Retail
10 6 (2.45%) Documentation Skills
10 6 (2.45%) Telecoms
11 5 (2.04%) Games
12 4 (1.63%) Influencing Skills
12 4 (1.63%) Marketing
13 2 (0.82%) Agriculture
13 2 (0.82%) Aviation
13 2 (0.82%) Law
13 2 (0.82%) Military
13 2 (0.82%) Presentation Skills
14 1 (0.41%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 27 (11.02%) Analyst
1 27 (11.02%) IT Support
2 25 (10.20%) Support Engineer
3 19 (7.76%) Architect
4 18 (7.35%) IT Engineer
4 18 (7.35%) IT Support Engineer
5 15 (6.12%) DBA
6 14 (5.71%) Developer
6 14 (5.71%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
7 13 (5.31%) Designer
8 12 (4.90%) Lead
8 12 (4.90%) Senior
8 12 (4.90%) SQL DBA
9 11 (4.49%) Content Designer
10 10 (4.08%) Microsoft Engineer
11 9 (3.67%) IT Analyst
11 9 (3.67%) Support Analyst
12 8 (3.27%) Administrator
12 8 (3.27%) Solutions Architect
13 7 (2.86%) Security Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 5 (2.04%) JSON
1 5 (2.04%) REST
1 5 (2.04%) SAML
2 4 (1.63%) .NET
2 4 (1.63%) Kafka
2 4 (1.63%) Node.js
2 4 (1.63%) Spring
2 4 (1.63%) Spring Boot
2 4 (1.63%) XML
3 3 (1.22%) Microsoft Graph
3 3 (1.22%) React
4 2 (0.82%) A2A Protocol
4 2 (0.82%) ARM Templates
4 2 (0.82%) AWS CDK
4 2 (0.82%) Model Context Protocol
4 2 (0.82%) Next.js
4 2 (0.82%) OAuth
4 2 (0.82%) PySpark
4 2 (0.82%) SailPoint
4 2 (0.82%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 20 (8.16%) Onboarding
2 12 (4.90%) Cloud Native
3 9 (3.67%) Management Information System
4 8 (3.27%) Clustering
4 8 (3.27%) Replication
4 8 (3.27%) Security Posture
5 5 (2.04%) Animation
5 5 (2.04%) Data Centre
5 5 (2.04%) Handset
5 5 (2.04%) Legacy Systems
6 4 (1.63%) Analytical Mindset
6 4 (1.63%) Blackberry
6 4 (1.63%) Cloud Security Posture
6 4 (1.63%) Data Protection Act
6 4 (1.63%) Driving Licence
6 4 (1.63%) Hybrid Cloud
6 4 (1.63%) Linux Command Line
7 3 (1.22%) Life Science
7 3 (1.22%) Product Ownership
8 2 (0.82%) iPhone
Operating Systems
1 57 (23.27%) Windows
2 30 (12.24%) Windows 10
3 19 (7.76%) Windows Server
4 13 (5.31%) Linux
5 6 (2.45%) Unix
6 4 (1.63%) Android
6 4 (1.63%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 4 (1.63%) VMS
7 2 (0.82%) AIX
7 2 (0.82%) Solaris
7 2 (0.82%) Windows Server 2012
8 1 (0.41%) Apple iOS
8 1 (0.41%) HPUX
8 1 (0.41%) Oracle Linux
8 1 (0.41%) SUSE
Processes & Methodologies
1 49 (20.00%) ITIL
2 42 (17.14%) DevOps
3 36 (14.69%) Problem-Solving
4 34 (13.88%) Agile
5 32 (13.06%) CI/CD
6 28 (11.43%) Stakeholder Management
7 27 (11.02%) Business Intelligence
7 27 (11.02%) Customer Service
8 26 (10.61%) Roadmaps
9 25 (10.20%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 22 (8.98%) Analytics
10 22 (8.98%) Migration
11 20 (8.16%) Infrastructure as Code
12 18 (7.35%) AI
13 17 (6.94%) Cloud Security
13 17 (6.94%) Data Modelling
13 17 (6.94%) Performance Tuning
14 16 (6.53%) Continuous Improvement
14 16 (6.53%) Knowledge Transfer
15 15 (6.12%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 45 (18.37%) SQL
2 33 (13.47%) PowerShell
3 31 (12.65%) Python
4 13 (5.31%) T-SQL
5 8 (3.27%) Java
6 7 (2.86%) Bicep
7 6 (2.45%) Bash
7 6 (2.45%) C#
8 4 (1.63%) JavaScript
9 3 (1.22%) TypeScript
9 3 (1.22%) VBScript
10 2 (0.82%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 2 (0.82%) Kusto Query Language
10 2 (0.82%) Search Processing Language
11 1 (0.41%) C++
11 1 (0.41%) COBOL
11 1 (0.41%) VBA
Qualifications
1 48 (19.59%) Degree
2 31 (12.65%) Security Cleared
3 29 (11.84%) SC Cleared
4 23 (9.39%) Microsoft Certification
5 19 (7.76%) BPSS Clearance
6 12 (4.90%) Azure Certification
7 10 (4.08%) Computer Science Degree
8 7 (2.86%) A+ Certification
9 6 (2.45%) CISSP
9 6 (2.45%) Network+ Certification
10 5 (2.04%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
11 4 (1.63%) DBS Check
12 3 (1.22%) Cisco Certification
12 3 (1.22%) Microsoft Certified Professional
13 2 (0.82%) AWS Certification
13 2 (0.82%) CCNA
13 2 (0.82%) GCFA
13 2 (0.82%) GCIH
13 2 (0.82%) ITIL Certification
13 2 (0.82%) Numerate Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (6.53%) GDPR
2 13 (5.31%) Data Quality
3 8 (3.27%) SLA
4 7 (2.86%) PMO
5 6 (2.45%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 5 (2.04%) Accessibility
6 5 (2.04%) NIST
6 5 (2.04%) WCAG
7 3 (1.22%) PCI DSS
8 2 (0.82%) California Consumer Privacy Act
8 2 (0.82%) GRC
8 2 (0.82%) HIPAA
8 2 (0.82%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 2 (0.82%) QA
9 1 (0.41%) Cyber Essentials
9 1 (0.41%) Disclosure Scotland
9 1 (0.41%) ISO 19650
9 1 (0.41%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
9 1 (0.41%) SOC 2
System Software
1 68 (27.76%) Active Directory
2 18 (7.35%) Docker
3 9 (3.67%) Virtual Machines
4 7 (2.86%) VMware Infrastructure
5 4 (1.63%) Hyper-V
6 2 (0.82%) GPFS
6 2 (0.82%) NFS
6 2 (0.82%) Oracle RAC
6 2 (0.82%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.82%) vSphere
7 1 (0.41%) BitLocker
7 1 (0.41%) Virtual Desktop
7 1 (0.41%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 29 (11.84%) Microsoft Intune
2 18 (7.35%) Kubernetes
3 17 (6.94%) Terraform
4 7 (2.86%) Ansible
4 7 (2.86%) SCOM
5 5 (2.04%) Progress Chef
5 5 (2.04%) Single Sign-On
6 4 (1.63%) CASB
6 4 (1.63%) Grafana
7 2 (0.82%) AirWatch
7 2 (0.82%) Data Guard
7 2 (0.82%) Failover Clustering
7 2 (0.82%) SCCM
7 2 (0.82%) vRealize
7 2 (0.82%) VxRail
8 1 (0.41%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 1 (0.41%) Nessus
8 1 (0.41%) Prometheus
8 1 (0.41%) Puppet
Vendors
1 19 (7.76%) ServiceNow
2 14 (5.71%) SAP
3 10 (4.08%) Databricks
3 10 (4.08%) Oracle
4 8 (3.27%) BeyondTrust
4 8 (3.27%) Google
4 8 (3.27%) Red Hat
4 8 (3.27%) Splunk
4 8 (3.27%) VMware
5 6 (2.45%) Cisco
6 5 (2.04%) IBM
6 5 (2.04%) Perforce
7 4 (1.63%) Okta
7 4 (1.63%) Salesforce
7 4 (1.63%) UiPath
8 3 (1.22%) Adobe
8 3 (1.22%) CyberArk
8 3 (1.22%) HP
8 3 (1.22%) Remedy
9 2 (0.82%) Varonis