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 27 July 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
27 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 8 4 8
Rank change year-on-year -4 +4 -4
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 234 165 152
As % of all contract jobs in Manchester 11.90% 16.50% 11.93%
As % of the Vendors category 31.88% 34.66% 32.27%
Number of daily rates quoted 156 110 113
10th Percentile £193 £207 £301
25th Percentile £369 £357 £401
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £449 £500
Median % change year-on-year +0.33% -10.30% +5.26%
75th Percentile £525 £547 £588
90th Percentile £597 £624 £649
North West median daily rate £450 £438 £450
% change year-on-year +2.86% -2.78% -2.70%
Number of hourly rates quoted 19 21 10
10th Percentile £23.89 £13.00 £13.31
25th Percentile £28.50 £18.87 £14.52
Median hourly rate £30.00 £22.32 £18.02
Median % change year-on-year +34.44% +23.82% +5.03%
75th Percentile £178.75 £22.63 £34.38
90th Percentile - - £50.76
North West median hourly rate £29.00 £22.47 £16.06
% change year-on-year +29.05% +39.93% -23.52%

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 734 476 471
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Manchester 37.32% 47.60% 36.97%
Number of daily rates quoted 440 297 312
10th Percentile £275 £299 £350
25th Percentile £400 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year - -5.00% -
75th Percentile £575 £604 £600
90th Percentile £650 £716 £675
North West median daily rate £489 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +2.84% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 67 31 27
10th Percentile £22.63 £13.00 £13.31
25th Percentile £24.19 £18.97 £15.84
Median hourly rate £30.00 £22.32 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year +34.44% -25.62% +69.30%
75th Percentile £75.38 £24.59 £60.00
90th Percentile £90.50 £60.00 £80.33
North West median hourly rate £29.96 £28.75 £16.06
% change year-on-year +4.21% +79.02% -44.04%

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 27 July 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 27 July 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 27 July 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 -5 6 £400 +63.27% 7
Oldham +2 2 £205 +2.50% 10
Salford +1 2 £334 -16.56% 9
Rochdale - 1 - - 2
Bury - 1 - - 6
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 30 (12.82%) SharePoint
2 17 (7.26%) Microsoft Exchange
3 10 (4.27%) Confluence
4 5 (2.14%) SharePoint Server
5 2 (0.85%) Apache
5 2 (0.85%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.85%) CMS
5 2 (0.85%) IIS
6 1 (0.43%) CICS
6 1 (0.43%) SharePoint 2013
6 1 (0.43%) WebSphere
Applications
1 27 (11.54%) Microsoft Office
2 22 (9.40%) Microsoft Excel
3 11 (4.70%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 10 (4.27%) Microsoft Project
5 6 (2.56%) MS Visio
6 4 (1.71%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.43%) AutoCAD
7 1 (0.43%) MicroStation
Business Applications
1 5 (2.14%) Dynamics CRM
1 5 (2.14%) Primavera
1 5 (2.14%) SAP MM
2 4 (1.71%) SAP S/4HANA
3 3 (1.28%) Elite 3E
4 2 (0.85%) Dynamics AX
5 1 (0.43%) Adobe Campaign
5 1 (0.43%) Infor M3
5 1 (0.43%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 100 (42.74%) Azure
2 80 (34.19%) Microsoft 365
3 43 (18.38%) Power Platform
4 33 (14.10%) Entra ID
4 33 (14.10%) Microsoft Copilot
5 23 (9.83%) AWS
5 23 (9.83%) Power Automate
6 21 (8.97%) PowerApps
7 20 (8.55%) Azure DevOps
8 13 (5.56%) OneDrive
9 12 (5.13%) Dynamics 365
10 10 (4.27%) GCP
10 10 (4.27%) Microsoft Purview
11 9 (3.85%) Azure Monitor
12 8 (3.42%) Serverless
13 7 (2.99%) Azure AI
13 7 (2.99%) OpenShift
14 6 (2.56%) GitHub
15 5 (2.14%) Azure Logic Apps
15 5 (2.14%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 15 (6.41%) Firewall
2 8 (3.42%) Network Security
3 7 (2.99%) DNS
3 7 (2.99%) SSL
3 7 (2.99%) VPN
4 5 (2.14%) TCP/IP
5 4 (1.71%) DHCP
5 4 (1.71%) VLAN
5 4 (1.71%) WAN
6 3 (1.28%) LAN
6 3 (1.28%) NAS
6 3 (1.28%) SAN
7 2 (0.85%) BGP
7 2 (0.85%) SD-WAN
7 2 (0.85%) VSAN
7 2 (0.85%) Wi-Fi
8 1 (0.43%) Cisco Nexus
8 1 (0.43%) PABX
8 1 (0.43%) Skype
8 1 (0.43%) Software-Defined Networking
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (9.83%) Power BI
2 21 (8.97%) SQL Server
3 12 (5.13%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 7 (2.99%) MySQL
4 7 (2.99%) Relational Database
5 6 (2.56%) Metadata
6 5 (2.14%) PostgreSQL
7 4 (1.71%) Data Lake
7 4 (1.71%) MongoDB
8 3 (1.28%) Data Warehouse
8 3 (1.28%) NoSQL
8 3 (1.28%) Oracle Reports
8 3 (1.28%) RDBMS
9 2 (0.85%) Azure SQL Database
9 2 (0.85%) Power Query
9 2 (0.85%) SQL Server Analysis Services
9 2 (0.85%) SQL Server Reporting Services
10 1 (0.43%) BusinessObjects
10 1 (0.43%) DataStage
10 1 (0.43%) Delta Lake
Development Applications
1 14 (5.98%) JIRA
2 8 (3.42%) Git
3 2 (0.85%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.43%) GitLab
4 1 (0.43%) Sonatype Nexus
4 1 (0.43%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
General
1 71 (30.34%) Social Skills
2 50 (21.37%) Finance
3 34 (14.53%) Analytical Skills
4 20 (8.55%) Banking
4 20 (8.55%) Public Sector
5 13 (5.56%) Manufacturing
6 10 (4.27%) Legal
7 8 (3.42%) Organisational Skills
8 7 (2.99%) Retail
9 6 (2.56%) Telecoms
10 4 (1.71%) Games
10 4 (1.71%) Influencing Skills
10 4 (1.71%) Marketing
11 3 (1.28%) Documentation Skills
12 2 (0.85%) Agriculture
12 2 (0.85%) Aviation
12 2 (0.85%) Law
12 2 (0.85%) Military
12 2 (0.85%) Presentation Skills
13 1 (0.43%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 27 (11.54%) Analyst
2 24 (10.26%) IT Support
3 20 (8.55%) Support Engineer
4 18 (7.69%) Architect
5 16 (6.84%) IT Engineer
5 16 (6.84%) IT Support Engineer
6 14 (5.98%) DBA
7 13 (5.56%) Designer
7 13 (5.56%) Developer
7 13 (5.56%) Lead
8 12 (5.13%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
8 12 (5.13%) Senior
9 11 (4.70%) Content Designer
9 11 (4.70%) SQL DBA
10 9 (3.85%) IT Analyst
10 9 (3.85%) Microsoft Engineer
10 9 (3.85%) Security Engineer
10 9 (3.85%) Support Analyst
11 8 (3.42%) Solutions Architect
12 7 (2.99%) Administrator
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 6 (2.56%) REST
1 6 (2.56%) Spring
1 6 (2.56%) Spring Boot
2 5 (2.14%) JSON
3 4 (1.71%) .NET
3 4 (1.71%) Kafka
3 4 (1.71%) Node.js
3 4 (1.71%) SAML
3 4 (1.71%) XML
4 3 (1.28%) Microsoft Graph
5 2 (0.85%) A2A Protocol
5 2 (0.85%) ARM Templates
5 2 (0.85%) AWS CDK
5 2 (0.85%) Model Context Protocol
5 2 (0.85%) Next.js
5 2 (0.85%) OAuth
5 2 (0.85%) PySpark
5 2 (0.85%) React
5 2 (0.85%) SailPoint
5 2 (0.85%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 19 (8.12%) Onboarding
2 13 (5.56%) Cloud Native
3 8 (3.42%) Management Information System
3 8 (3.42%) Security Posture
4 7 (2.99%) Clustering
4 7 (2.99%) Replication
5 6 (2.56%) Product Ownership
6 5 (2.14%) Data Centre
6 5 (2.14%) Legacy Systems
7 4 (1.71%) Analytical Mindset
7 4 (1.71%) Animation
7 4 (1.71%) Cloud Security Posture
7 4 (1.71%) Data Protection Act
7 4 (1.71%) Hybrid Cloud
7 4 (1.71%) Linux Command Line
8 3 (1.28%) Driving Licence
8 3 (1.28%) Life Science
9 2 (0.85%) AI Agents
9 2 (0.85%) Greenfield Project
9 2 (0.85%) Operational Technology
Operating Systems
1 51 (21.79%) Windows
2 29 (12.39%) Windows 10
3 16 (6.84%) Windows Server
4 13 (5.56%) Linux
5 6 (2.56%) Unix
6 4 (1.71%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 4 (1.71%) VMS
7 2 (0.85%) AIX
7 2 (0.85%) Solaris
7 2 (0.85%) Windows Server 2012
8 1 (0.43%) Android
8 1 (0.43%) HPUX
8 1 (0.43%) Oracle Linux
8 1 (0.43%) SUSE
Processes & Methodologies
1 46 (19.66%) ITIL
2 41 (17.52%) DevOps
3 35 (14.96%) Agile
4 34 (14.53%) Problem-Solving
5 30 (12.82%) CI/CD
6 28 (11.97%) Stakeholder Management
7 26 (11.11%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 25 (10.68%) Roadmaps
9 23 (9.83%) Business Intelligence
10 22 (9.40%) Customer Service
11 21 (8.97%) Migration
12 20 (8.55%) Analytics
13 18 (7.69%) AI
14 17 (7.26%) Change Management
14 17 (7.26%) Infrastructure as Code
15 15 (6.41%) Cloud Security
15 15 (6.41%) Data Loss Prevention
15 15 (6.41%) Knowledge Transfer
16 14 (5.98%) Continuous Improvement
16 14 (5.98%) Performance Tuning
Programming Languages
1 41 (17.52%) SQL
2 30 (12.82%) PowerShell
3 29 (12.39%) Python
4 11 (4.70%) T-SQL
5 10 (4.27%) Java
6 7 (2.99%) Bicep
7 6 (2.56%) Bash
7 6 (2.56%) C#
8 3 (1.28%) JavaScript
8 3 (1.28%) TypeScript
8 3 (1.28%) VBScript
9 2 (0.85%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 1 (0.43%) C++
10 1 (0.43%) COBOL
10 1 (0.43%) VBA
Qualifications
1 45 (19.23%) Degree
2 26 (11.11%) Security Cleared
3 24 (10.26%) SC Cleared
4 22 (9.40%) Microsoft Certification
5 19 (8.12%) BPSS Clearance
6 11 (4.70%) Azure Certification
7 10 (4.27%) Computer Science Degree
8 7 (2.99%) A+ Certification
9 6 (2.56%) Network+ Certification
10 5 (2.14%) CISSP
11 4 (1.71%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 3 (1.28%) Cisco Certification
12 3 (1.28%) DBS Check
12 3 (1.28%) Microsoft Certified Professional
12 3 (1.28%) PMI Certification
13 2 (0.85%) AWS Certification
13 2 (0.85%) CCNA
13 2 (0.85%) ITIL Certification
13 2 (0.85%) PMP
13 2 (0.85%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 14 (5.98%) GDPR
2 12 (5.13%) Data Quality
3 7 (2.99%) PMO
4 5 (2.14%) Accessibility
4 5 (2.14%) NIST
4 5 (2.14%) SLA
4 5 (2.14%) WCAG
5 4 (1.71%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 4 (1.71%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 3 (1.28%) Cyber Essentials
7 2 (0.85%) California Consumer Privacy Act
7 2 (0.85%) HIPAA
7 2 (0.85%) QA
8 1 (0.43%) Disclosure Scotland
8 1 (0.43%) GRC
8 1 (0.43%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
8 1 (0.43%) PCI DSS
8 1 (0.43%) SOC 2
System Software
1 60 (25.64%) Active Directory
2 19 (8.12%) Docker
3 8 (3.42%) Virtual Machines
4 6 (2.56%) VMware Infrastructure
5 3 (1.28%) Hyper-V
6 2 (0.85%) GPFS
6 2 (0.85%) NFS
6 2 (0.85%) Oracle RAC
6 2 (0.85%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.85%) vSphere
7 1 (0.43%) BitLocker
7 1 (0.43%) Virtual Desktop
7 1 (0.43%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 24 (10.26%) Microsoft Intune
2 19 (8.12%) Kubernetes
3 17 (7.26%) Terraform
4 6 (2.56%) SCOM
5 5 (2.14%) Ansible
6 4 (1.71%) Grafana
7 3 (1.28%) Progress Chef
7 3 (1.28%) Single Sign-On
8 2 (0.85%) AirWatch
8 2 (0.85%) CASB
8 2 (0.85%) Data Guard
8 2 (0.85%) Failover Clustering
8 2 (0.85%) SCCM
8 2 (0.85%) vRealize
8 2 (0.85%) VxRail
9 1 (0.43%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 1 (0.43%) Nessus
9 1 (0.43%) Prometheus
9 1 (0.43%) Puppet
Vendors
1 17 (7.26%) ServiceNow
2 15 (6.41%) SAP
3 10 (4.27%) Oracle
4 9 (3.85%) Databricks
5 8 (3.42%) Cisco
5 8 (3.42%) Google
5 8 (3.42%) Red Hat
6 7 (2.99%) VMware
7 6 (2.56%) Splunk
8 5 (2.14%) BeyondTrust
8 5 (2.14%) IBM
9 4 (1.71%) Perforce
9 4 (1.71%) Salesforce
9 4 (1.71%) UiPath
10 3 (1.28%) Adobe
10 3 (1.28%) CyberArk
10 3 (1.28%) HP
10 3 (1.28%) Remedy
11 2 (0.85%) Bloomberg
11 2 (0.85%) Varonis