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 16 November 2025, 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
16 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 3 4 5
Rank change year-on-year +1 +1 +3
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 196 159 249
As % of all contract jobs in Manchester 17.88% 13.34% 15.15%
As % of the Vendors category 37.48% 30.93% 37.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 141 108 198
10th Percentile £300 £313 £225
25th Percentile £356 £400 £257
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £440 £450 £425
Median % change year-on-year -2.22% +5.88% -
75th Percentile £525 £577 £538
90th Percentile £613 £688 £619
North West median daily rate £431 £450 £413
% change year-on-year -4.22% +9.09% -5.71%
Number of hourly rates quoted 29 11 18
10th Percentile £19.07 £28.50 £15.75
25th Percentile £19.75 £29.75 £16.26
Median hourly rate £22.32 £32.50 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year -31.34% +83.41% -9.13%
75th Percentile £31.40 £33.75 £19.94
90th Percentile £31.57 £35.00 £30.00
North West median hourly rate £22.63 £31.00 £22.53
% change year-on-year -27.00% +37.59% +28.74%

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 523 514 673
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Manchester 47.72% 43.12% 40.94%
Number of daily rates quoted 354 296 489
10th Percentile £310 £356 £231
25th Percentile £400 £413 £369
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £490 £500
Median % change year-on-year -8.16% -2.00% +2.56%
75th Percentile £613 £575 £582
90th Percentile £709 £675 £675
North West median daily rate £470 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -6.00% - +5.26%
Number of hourly rates quoted 38 18 26
10th Percentile £19.01 £15.89 £15.75
25th Percentile £19.52 £28.75 £16.26
Median hourly rate £22.57 £32.50 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year -30.57% +83.41% -10.28%
75th Percentile £31.40 £41.56 £39.38
90th Percentile £32.48 £64.13 £52.00
North West median hourly rate £27.38 £35.00 £33.00
% change year-on-year -21.79% +6.06% +67.09%

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 16 November 2025.

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 16 November 2025.

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 16 November 2025. 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 - 14 £396 - 18
Oldham -5 1 - - 9
Rochdale - 1 - - 5
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 15 (7.65%) SharePoint
2 7 (3.57%) Apache Airflow
3 5 (2.55%) CMS
3 5 (2.55%) Confluence
3 5 (2.55%) Microsoft Exchange
4 4 (2.04%) Apache
4 4 (2.04%) JBoss
5 3 (1.53%) IIS
6 2 (1.02%) iPlanet
6 2 (1.02%) SAS
6 2 (1.02%) WebSphere
6 2 (1.02%) WebSphere Application Server
7 1 (0.51%) Apache Spark
7 1 (0.51%) CICS
7 1 (0.51%) Tomcat
Applications
1 35 (17.86%) Microsoft Excel
2 27 (13.78%) Microsoft Office
3 6 (3.06%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (2.04%) Microsoft Project
4 4 (2.04%) MS Visio
5 3 (1.53%) Sketch
5 3 (1.53%) Trello
6 1 (0.51%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.51%) SPSS
Business Applications
1 7 (3.57%) Advent Geneva
2 6 (3.06%) Dynamics CRM
3 2 (1.02%) Kondor
4 1 (0.51%) Maximo
4 1 (0.51%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.51%) SAP SD
Cloud Services
1 46 (23.47%) Azure
2 32 (16.33%) Microsoft 365
3 30 (15.31%) Power Platform
4 19 (9.69%) AWS
5 16 (8.16%) Power Automate
6 15 (7.65%) PowerApps
7 11 (5.61%) Entra ID
8 10 (5.10%) Dynamics 365
9 9 (4.59%) Azure DevOps
9 9 (4.59%) GCP
10 7 (3.57%) GitHub
11 6 (3.06%) Figma
11 6 (3.06%) SaaS
12 4 (2.04%) Azure Sentinel
12 4 (2.04%) Google Tag Manager
12 4 (2.04%) Lucidchart
12 4 (2.04%) Microsoft Copilot
13 3 (1.53%) Google Workspace
13 3 (1.53%) OneDrive
13 3 (1.53%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 9 (4.59%) Network Security
2 5 (2.55%) Firewall
3 3 (1.53%) SSL
3 3 (1.53%) VPN
4 2 (1.02%) DNS
4 2 (1.02%) Kerberos
4 2 (1.02%) TCP/IP
4 2 (1.02%) VoIP
4 2 (1.02%) Wi-Fi
5 1 (0.51%) DHCP
5 1 (0.51%) HTTP
5 1 (0.51%) IP Telephony
5 1 (0.51%) LAN
5 1 (0.51%) Remote Desktop
5 1 (0.51%) SSH
5 1 (0.51%) VLAN
5 1 (0.51%) WAN
5 1 (0.51%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (9.69%) Power BI
2 14 (7.14%) SQL Server
3 13 (6.63%) Relational Database
4 10 (5.10%) MySQL
5 7 (3.57%) DB2
5 7 (3.57%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 5 (2.55%) Data Lake
7 4 (2.04%) BigQuery
7 4 (2.04%) Data Warehouse
7 4 (2.04%) Looker
8 3 (1.53%) Oracle Database
9 2 (1.02%) BusinessObjects
9 2 (1.02%) Power Query
9 2 (1.02%) Snowflake Schema
9 2 (1.02%) Tableau
10 1 (0.51%) Data Mining
10 1 (0.51%) Metadata
10 1 (0.51%) OLAP
10 1 (0.51%) Oracle Discoverer
10 1 (0.51%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 12 (6.12%) JIRA
2 7 (3.57%) Git
3 5 (2.55%) GitLab
4 4 (2.04%) Jenkins
5 3 (1.53%) Gradle
6 2 (1.02%) Bitbucket Server
6 2 (1.02%) CA Release Automation
6 2 (1.02%) Selenium
6 2 (1.02%) Sonatype Nexus
6 2 (1.02%) Storybook
6 2 (1.02%) Xcode
7 1 (0.51%) Browser DevTools
7 1 (0.51%) JUnit
7 1 (0.51%) Maven
7 1 (0.51%) MSI
General
1 66 (33.67%) Social Skills
2 56 (28.57%) Finance
3 42 (21.43%) Analytical Skills
4 28 (14.29%) Public Sector
5 10 (5.10%) Documentation Skills
6 8 (4.08%) Banking
7 6 (3.06%) Manufacturing
8 5 (2.55%) Influencing Skills
8 5 (2.55%) Retail
9 3 (1.53%) Aerospace
9 3 (1.53%) Aviation
9 3 (1.53%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 3 (1.53%) Legal
9 3 (1.53%) Presentation Skills
10 2 (1.02%) Back Office
10 2 (1.02%) Financial Institution
10 2 (1.02%) Military
10 2 (1.02%) Organisational Skills
11 1 (0.51%) Agriculture
11 1 (0.51%) Games
Job Titles
1 38 (19.39%) Analyst
2 29 (14.80%) Developer
3 23 (11.73%) Administrator
4 15 (7.65%) SAP Administrator
4 15 (7.65%) SAP Support
5 13 (6.63%) Support Analyst
6 11 (5.61%) Desktop Support
7 10 (5.10%) Architect
7 10 (5.10%) Lead
7 10 (5.10%) Senior
8 9 (4.59%) Deskside Analyst
8 9 (4.59%) Deskside Support
8 9 (4.59%) Deskside Support Analyst
8 9 (4.59%) Technology Support Analyst
9 8 (4.08%) Business Analyst
9 8 (4.08%) Designer
9 8 (4.08%) Microsoft Developer
10 6 (3.06%) DevOps Engineer
10 6 (3.06%) IT Support
10 6 (3.06%) Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (5.61%) .NET
2 6 (3.06%) HTML
2 6 (3.06%) HTML5 Canvas
2 6 (3.06%) REST
3 5 (2.55%) JSON
3 5 (2.55%) OAuth
4 4 (2.04%) SOAP
5 3 (1.53%) Kafka
5 3 (1.53%) LDAP
5 3 (1.53%) OpenID
5 3 (1.53%) SAML
6 2 (1.02%) D3.js
6 2 (1.02%) ISPF
6 2 (1.02%) Microsoft Graph
6 2 (1.02%) React Native
6 2 (1.02%) Spring
6 2 (1.02%) Spring Boot
6 2 (1.02%) SVG
7 1 (0.51%) PySpark
7 1 (0.51%) Spring Cloud
Miscellaneous
1 15 (7.65%) Onboarding
2 7 (3.57%) Virtual Team
3 5 (2.55%) Analytical Mindset
3 5 (2.55%) Cloud Native
3 5 (2.55%) Clustering
3 5 (2.55%) Data Centre
3 5 (2.55%) Low-Code
3 5 (2.55%) Mobile App
4 4 (2.04%) Product Ownership
5 3 (1.53%) CMDB
5 3 (1.53%) Data Protection Act
5 3 (1.53%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
5 3 (1.53%) Mainframe
5 3 (1.53%) Security Operations Centre
5 3 (1.53%) Security Posture
5 3 (1.53%) Self-Motivation
6 2 (1.02%) Credit Derivative
6 2 (1.02%) Derivative
6 2 (1.02%) Life Science
6 2 (1.02%) Market Risk
Operating Systems
1 30 (15.31%) Windows
2 18 (9.18%) Linux
3 9 (4.59%) Unix
4 5 (2.55%) Android
5 4 (2.04%) Apple iOS
5 4 (2.04%) Windows 10
5 4 (2.04%) Windows Server
6 1 (0.51%) Mac OS
6 1 (0.51%) Mac OS X
6 1 (0.51%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 43 (21.94%) Problem-Solving
2 32 (16.33%) Change Management
3 26 (13.27%) Agile
4 24 (12.24%) Stakeholder Management
5 23 (11.73%) Business Intelligence
5 23 (11.73%) ITIL
6 21 (10.71%) DevOps
7 19 (9.69%) Analytics
8 18 (9.18%) ITSM
8 18 (9.18%) Service Management
9 16 (8.16%) Project Management
10 15 (7.65%) Customer Service
10 15 (7.65%) Cybersecurity
10 15 (7.65%) Data Analysis
10 15 (7.65%) User Experience
11 14 (7.14%) CI/CD
11 14 (7.14%) Continuous Improvement
11 14 (7.14%) Decision-Making
12 13 (6.63%) Incident Response
12 13 (6.63%) Risk Management
Programming Languages
1 29 (14.80%) SQL
2 12 (6.12%) Python
3 8 (4.08%) JavaScript
4 5 (2.55%) Java
4 5 (2.55%) Kusto Query Language
4 5 (2.55%) PowerShell
5 4 (2.04%) C#
5 4 (2.04%) TypeScript
6 2 (1.02%) CLIST
6 2 (1.02%) Groovy
6 2 (1.02%) JCL
6 2 (1.02%) PHP
6 2 (1.02%) PL/SQL
6 2 (1.02%) REXX
6 2 (1.02%) Shell Script
6 2 (1.02%) VBA
7 1 (0.51%) COBOL
7 1 (0.51%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 1 (0.51%) Scala
7 1 (0.51%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 26 (13.27%) Security Cleared
2 20 (10.20%) SC Cleared
3 17 (8.67%) Degree
4 12 (6.12%) BPSS Clearance
5 10 (5.10%) Microsoft Certification
6 4 (2.04%) CISSP
6 4 (2.04%) Computer Science Degree
7 3 (1.53%) Azure Certification
7 3 (1.53%) CISM
8 2 (1.02%) AWS Certification
8 2 (1.02%) CISA
8 2 (1.02%) GCIA
8 2 (1.02%) GCIH
8 2 (1.02%) GSEC
8 2 (1.02%) MCT
8 2 (1.02%) PMI Certification
8 2 (1.02%) PMP
9 1 (0.51%) CCNP
9 1 (0.51%) CTC Cleared
9 1 (0.51%) DV Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (8.16%) Accessibility
2 9 (4.59%) Data Quality
2 9 (4.59%) QA
3 7 (3.57%) GDPR
4 5 (2.55%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 5 (2.55%) NIST
5 3 (1.53%) PCI DSS
5 3 (1.53%) PMO
6 2 (1.02%) Basel III
6 2 (1.02%) HIPAA
6 2 (1.02%) MiFID
6 2 (1.02%) SLA
7 1 (0.51%) California Consumer Privacy Act
7 1 (0.51%) Cyber Essentials
7 1 (0.51%) NCSC
7 1 (0.51%) PMBOK
7 1 (0.51%) PSD2
7 1 (0.51%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 18 (9.18%) Active Directory
2 6 (3.06%) Docker
3 2 (1.02%) Time Sharing Option
3 2 (1.02%) Virtual Desktop
4 1 (0.51%) ACF2
4 1 (0.51%) Hyper-V
4 1 (0.51%) RACF
4 1 (0.51%) Tivoli Directory Server
4 1 (0.51%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.51%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 17 (8.67%) Microsoft Intune
2 7 (3.57%) SCCM
3 6 (3.06%) Kubernetes
4 4 (2.04%) Single Sign-On
5 3 (1.53%) Ansible
5 3 (1.53%) QRadar
6 2 (1.02%) CA Endevor
6 2 (1.02%) CA Single Sign-On
6 2 (1.02%) CA Wily
6 2 (1.02%) Grafana
6 2 (1.02%) Microsoft Clustering
6 2 (1.02%) Progress Chef
6 2 (1.02%) Terraform
6 2 (1.02%) Tivoli
7 1 (0.51%) CASB
7 1 (0.51%) Nessus
7 1 (0.51%) OMEGAMON
7 1 (0.51%) Prometheus
7 1 (0.51%) Tivoli Storage Manager
7 1 (0.51%) WSUS
Vendors
1 18 (9.18%) SAP
2 11 (5.61%) Oracle
3 10 (5.10%) Google
4 7 (3.57%) Advent
4 7 (3.57%) Splunk
5 6 (3.06%) IBM
6 5 (2.55%) Apple
7 4 (2.04%) ServiceNow
8 3 (1.53%) Citrix
8 3 (1.53%) Hopewiser
9 2 (1.02%) AppDynamics
9 2 (1.02%) ArcSight
9 2 (1.02%) BMC
9 2 (1.02%) Broadcom
9 2 (1.02%) Sybase
9 2 (1.02%) Zscaler
10 1 (0.51%) BiZZdesign
10 1 (0.51%) CrowdStrike
10 1 (0.51%) Databricks
10 1 (0.51%) Samsung