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 18 May 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
18 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 10 3 10
Rank change year-on-year -7 +7 -4
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 185 156 154
As % of all contract jobs in Manchester 10.71% 17.45% 10.83%
As % of the Vendors category 29.79% 37.05% 31.88%
Number of daily rates quoted 138 115 104
10th Percentile £198 £206 £268
25th Percentile £325 £348 £372
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £434 £425 £475
Median % change year-on-year +2.12% -10.53% -
75th Percentile £539 £538 £541
90th Percentile £599 £624 £650
North West median daily rate £425 £425 £450
% change year-on-year - -5.56% -5.26%
Number of hourly rates quoted 15 8 27
10th Percentile £19.57 - £11.79
25th Percentile £26.75 - £12.00
Median hourly rate £62.00 £13.00 £13.78
Median % change year-on-year +376.92% -5.63% -14.81%
75th Percentile £178.75 £33.75 £25.25
90th Percentile - - £26.50
North West median hourly rate £25.38 £27.13 £14.50
% change year-on-year -6.43% +87.07% -44.76%

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 621 421 483
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Manchester 35.96% 47.09% 33.97%
Number of daily rates quoted 397 289 321
10th Percentile £300 £246 £325
25th Percentile £375 £400 £401
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year - -5.00% -
75th Percentile £581 £575 £598
90th Percentile £650 £680 £688
North West median daily rate £475 £497 £500
% change year-on-year -4.41% -0.69% +3.09%
Number of hourly rates quoted 41 14 40
10th Percentile £22.63 - £11.79
25th Percentile £22.68 £13.00 £12.40
Median hourly rate £50.00 £32.50 £16.45
Median % change year-on-year +53.85% +97.60% -40.41%
75th Percentile £78.75 £60.00 £26.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £62.63 £60.00
North West median hourly rate £32.23 £32.50 £16.06
% change year-on-year -0.85% +102.37% -57.17%

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 18 May 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 18 May 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 18 May 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 -6 4 £400 +110.53% 9
Oldham 0 3 £205 +2.50% 8
Salford 0 3 £334 -52.32% 10
Stockport -3 2 £155 -61.25% 5
Bury - 1 - - 3
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 18 (9.73%) SharePoint
2 10 (5.41%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (4.86%) Confluence
4 2 (1.08%) Apache
4 2 (1.08%) Apache Spark
4 2 (1.08%) CMS
4 2 (1.08%) IIS
5 1 (0.54%) CICS
Applications
1 29 (15.68%) Microsoft Office
2 16 (8.65%) Microsoft Excel
3 9 (4.86%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 8 (4.32%) Microsoft Project
5 5 (2.70%) MS Visio
6 4 (2.16%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.54%) AutoCAD
7 1 (0.54%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.54%) Trello
Business Applications
1 3 (1.62%) Dynamics CRM
1 3 (1.62%) Primavera
1 3 (1.62%) SAP MM
2 2 (1.08%) Dynamics AX
2 2 (1.08%) Elite 3E
3 1 (0.54%) Infor M3
3 1 (0.54%) NetSuite
3 1 (0.54%) Oracle EBS
3 1 (0.54%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 69 (37.30%) Azure
2 49 (26.49%) Microsoft 365
3 29 (15.68%) Power Platform
4 27 (14.59%) Entra ID
5 20 (10.81%) AWS
6 18 (9.73%) Microsoft Copilot
7 17 (9.19%) Dynamics 365
8 13 (7.03%) Azure DevOps
8 13 (7.03%) Power Automate
9 12 (6.49%) PowerApps
10 11 (5.95%) GCP
11 10 (5.41%) Microsoft Purview
12 8 (4.32%) OneDrive
12 8 (4.32%) Serverless
13 6 (3.24%) Azure AKS
14 5 (2.70%) Azure Logic Apps
14 5 (2.70%) Google Analytics
14 5 (2.70%) Google Tag Manager
15 4 (2.16%) Azure Functions
16 3 (1.62%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 13 (7.03%) Firewall
2 7 (3.78%) Network Security
3 6 (3.24%) DNS
4 4 (2.16%) TCP/IP
4 4 (2.16%) WAN
4 4 (2.16%) Wi-Fi
5 3 (1.62%) DHCP
6 2 (1.08%) LAN
6 2 (1.08%) SD-WAN
6 2 (1.08%) VPN
6 2 (1.08%) VSAN
7 1 (0.54%) BGP
7 1 (0.54%) Cisco ISE
7 1 (0.54%) Intrusion Detection
7 1 (0.54%) Kerberos
7 1 (0.54%) NGFW
7 1 (0.54%) SSL
7 1 (0.54%) WebEx
7 1 (0.54%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 12 (6.49%) Power BI
2 7 (3.78%) PostgreSQL
3 6 (3.24%) Relational Database
3 6 (3.24%) SQL Server
4 4 (2.16%) MongoDB
4 4 (2.16%) NoSQL
4 4 (2.16%) RDBMS
5 3 (1.62%) BigQuery
5 3 (1.62%) Looker
5 3 (1.62%) Metadata
5 3 (1.62%) Oracle Reports
6 2 (1.08%) BusinessObjects
6 2 (1.08%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 1 (0.54%) Data Lake
7 1 (0.54%) DataStage
7 1 (0.54%) EDRMS
7 1 (0.54%) MS Access
Development Applications
1 10 (5.41%) JIRA
2 4 (2.16%) Git
3 1 (0.54%) Octopus Deploy
General
1 64 (34.59%) Social Skills
2 49 (26.49%) Finance
3 28 (15.14%) Public Sector
4 27 (14.59%) Analytical Skills
5 23 (12.43%) Banking
6 12 (6.49%) Legal
7 9 (4.86%) Telecoms
8 7 (3.78%) Organisational Skills
9 5 (2.70%) Retail
10 4 (2.16%) Influencing Skills
11 3 (1.62%) Law
11 3 (1.62%) Manufacturing
12 2 (1.08%) Agriculture
12 2 (1.08%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 2 (1.08%) Marketing
12 2 (1.08%) Presentation Skills
13 1 (0.54%) Billing
13 1 (0.54%) Local Government
13 1 (0.54%) Military
13 1 (0.54%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 38 (20.54%) Analyst
2 17 (9.19%) Architect
2 17 (9.19%) IT Support
3 15 (8.11%) Developer
4 14 (7.57%) Lead
5 13 (7.03%) Support Analyst
6 12 (6.49%) IT Analyst
7 11 (5.95%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
7 11 (5.95%) Senior
8 10 (5.41%) Microsoft Engineer
9 9 (4.86%) IT Support Analyst
9 9 (4.86%) Security Engineer
9 9 (4.86%) Support Engineer
10 7 (3.78%) IT Engineer
10 7 (3.78%) IT Support Engineer
11 6 (3.24%) Consultant
11 6 (3.24%) Project Manager
12 5 (2.70%) Business Analyst
12 5 (2.70%) DBA
12 5 (2.70%) Senior Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 8 (4.32%) Spring
1 8 (4.32%) Spring Boot
2 7 (3.78%) REST
3 5 (2.70%) .NET
3 5 (2.70%) Kafka
3 5 (2.70%) XML
4 4 (2.16%) JSON
5 2 (1.08%) ARM Templates
5 2 (1.08%) AWS CDK
5 2 (1.08%) Flash
5 2 (1.08%) HTML5 Canvas
5 2 (1.08%) LangChain
5 2 (1.08%) LDAP
5 2 (1.08%) Microsoft Graph
5 2 (1.08%) Node.js
5 2 (1.08%) OAuth
5 2 (1.08%) PySpark
5 2 (1.08%) Software Packaging
6 1 (0.54%) SAML
6 1 (0.54%) SPFx
Miscellaneous
1 16 (8.65%) Onboarding
2 10 (5.41%) Cloud Native
3 8 (4.32%) Security Posture
4 6 (3.24%) Data Centre
4 6 (3.24%) Data Protection Act
4 6 (3.24%) Product Ownership
5 5 (2.70%) Management Information System
6 4 (2.16%) Cloud Security Posture
6 4 (2.16%) Linux Command Line
7 3 (1.62%) Analytical Mindset
7 3 (1.62%) Enterprise Software
7 3 (1.62%) Legacy Systems
8 2 (1.08%) AI Agents
8 2 (1.08%) Driving Licence
8 2 (1.08%) Greenfield Project
8 2 (1.08%) Hybrid Cloud
8 2 (1.08%) iPhone
8 2 (1.08%) Life Science
8 2 (1.08%) Replication
8 2 (1.08%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 38 (20.54%) Windows
2 29 (15.68%) Windows 10
3 12 (6.49%) Linux
4 5 (2.70%) Unix
5 4 (2.16%) Mac OS
5 4 (2.16%) Windows Server
6 3 (1.62%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 2 (1.08%) AIX
7 2 (1.08%) Solaris
7 2 (1.08%) VMS
7 2 (1.08%) Windows Server 2012
8 1 (0.54%) Apple iOS
8 1 (0.54%) HPUX
8 1 (0.54%) Oracle Linux
8 1 (0.54%) SUSE
Processes & Methodologies
1 32 (17.30%) ITIL
2 31 (16.76%) Agile
3 28 (15.14%) DevOps
4 25 (13.51%) Problem-Solving
5 23 (12.43%) CI/CD
5 23 (12.43%) Stakeholder Management
6 22 (11.89%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 19 (10.27%) Roadmaps
8 18 (9.73%) Customer Service
8 18 (9.73%) Migration
9 17 (9.19%) Analytics
10 15 (8.11%) Change Management
11 14 (7.57%) Identity Access Management
11 14 (7.57%) User Experience
12 13 (7.03%) Business Intelligence
12 13 (7.03%) Cloud Security
12 13 (7.03%) Data Loss Prevention
12 13 (7.03%) Data Protection
12 13 (7.03%) Project Delivery
12 13 (7.03%) Risk Management
Programming Languages
1 21 (11.35%) SQL
2 18 (9.73%) PowerShell
3 17 (9.19%) Python
4 14 (7.57%) Java
5 6 (3.24%) Bash
6 5 (2.70%) C#
6 5 (2.70%) JavaScript
7 4 (2.16%) Bicep
8 3 (1.62%) TypeScript
9 2 (1.08%) VBA
10 1 (0.54%) C++
10 1 (0.54%) COBOL
10 1 (0.54%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 29 (15.68%) Degree
2 19 (10.27%) Microsoft Certification
3 12 (6.49%) Security Cleared
4 10 (5.41%) A+ Certification
5 9 (4.86%) Computer Science Degree
5 9 (4.86%) Network+ Certification
6 8 (4.32%) SC Cleared
7 6 (3.24%) Azure Certification
8 5 (2.70%) BPSS Clearance
8 5 (2.70%) CISSP
9 4 (2.16%) PMI Certification
10 3 (1.62%) PMP
11 2 (1.08%) AWS Certification
11 2 (1.08%) CompTIA Security+
11 2 (1.08%) ITIL Certification
11 2 (1.08%) MCSA
11 2 (1.08%) MCSE
11 2 (1.08%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
12 1 (0.54%) CCNA
12 1 (0.54%) Microsoft Certified Professional
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 15 (8.11%) GDPR
2 9 (4.86%) Data Quality
3 7 (3.78%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 6 (3.24%) Accessibility
5 5 (2.70%) PMO
5 5 (2.70%) QA
6 4 (2.16%) Sarbanes-Oxley
7 3 (1.62%) Cyber Essentials
7 3 (1.62%) NIST
8 2 (1.08%) California Consumer Privacy Act
8 2 (1.08%) HIPAA
8 2 (1.08%) SLA
9 1 (0.54%) GRC
9 1 (0.54%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
9 1 (0.54%) PCI DSS
9 1 (0.54%) SOC 2
9 1 (0.54%) WCAG
System Software
1 46 (24.86%) Active Directory
2 16 (8.65%) Docker
3 5 (2.70%) VMware Infrastructure
4 3 (1.62%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (1.08%) GPFS
5 2 (1.08%) NFS
5 2 (1.08%) Virtual Desktop
5 2 (1.08%) VMware ESXi
5 2 (1.08%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 18 (9.73%) Microsoft Intune
2 16 (8.65%) Kubernetes
3 8 (4.32%) Terraform
4 5 (2.70%) SCCM
5 2 (1.08%) AirWatch
5 2 (1.08%) CASB
5 2 (1.08%) Progress Chef
5 2 (1.08%) vRealize
5 2 (1.08%) VxRail
6 1 (0.54%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 1 (0.54%) Ansible
6 1 (0.54%) Grafana
6 1 (0.54%) Nessus
6 1 (0.54%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 11 (5.95%) Google
2 9 (4.86%) Oracle
3 8 (4.32%) SAP
4 7 (3.78%) Cisco
5 6 (3.24%) Red Hat
5 6 (3.24%) VMware
6 5 (2.70%) ServiceNow
7 4 (2.16%) IBM
8 3 (1.62%) Citrix
8 3 (1.62%) HP
9 2 (1.08%) Adobe
9 2 (1.08%) Bloomberg
9 2 (1.08%) Confluent
9 2 (1.08%) Databricks
9 2 (1.08%) Infoblox
9 2 (1.08%) Okta
9 2 (1.08%) Remedy
9 2 (1.08%) Salesforce
9 2 (1.08%) Splunk
9 2 (1.08%) Varonis