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 20 February 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
20 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 10 2 7
Rank change year-on-year -8 +5 0
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 170 183 191
As % of all contract jobs in Manchester 12.44% 17.94% 12.09%
As % of the Vendors category 32.82% 40.13% 32.10%
Number of daily rates quoted 135 139 132
10th Percentile £300 £213 £248
25th Percentile £325 £348 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £425 £450 £428
Median % change year-on-year -5.56% +5.26% -7.57%
75th Percentile £513 £525 £525
90th Percentile £582 £700 £606
North West median daily rate £410 £450 £413
% change year-on-year -8.89% +9.09% -13.16%
Number of hourly rates quoted 13 8 33
10th Percentile £17.15 - £11.83
25th Percentile £19.75 £31.25 £12.84
Median hourly rate £29.00 £32.50 £16.05
Median % change year-on-year -10.77% +102.56% -17.72%
75th Percentile £31.40 £33.75 £25.25
90th Percentile - - £26.50
North West median hourly rate £25.15 £28.75 £17.29
% change year-on-year -12.52% +66.33% -12.48%

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 518 456 595
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Manchester 37.89% 44.71% 37.66%
Number of daily rates quoted 373 304 410
10th Percentile £312 £313 £283
25th Percentile £381 £394 £389
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £460 £467 £500
Median % change year-on-year -1.39% -6.70% +2.56%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £575
90th Percentile £656 £696 £689
North West median daily rate £465 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -7.00% - +2.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 24 11 43
10th Percentile £16.40 - £11.83
25th Percentile £19.75 £31.25 £12.84
Median hourly rate £22.68 £32.50 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year -30.22% +83.41% -52.75%
75th Percentile £31.40 £33.75 £26.50
90th Percentile £32.00 £60.00 £46.88
North West median hourly rate £29.60 £32.50 £17.72
% change year-on-year -8.92% +83.41% -40.93%

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 20 February 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 20 February 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 20 February 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 +1 4 - - 12
Oldham -2 2 £225 -43.75% 8
Stockport -2 2 £155 -61.25% 24
Salford +3 1 - - 14
Rochdale - 1 - -
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 11 (6.47%) SharePoint
2 5 (2.94%) Apache Airflow
3 4 (2.35%) Microsoft Exchange
4 3 (1.76%) CMS
5 2 (1.18%) Apache
5 2 (1.18%) Confluence
5 2 (1.18%) IIS
5 2 (1.18%) SAS
6 1 (0.59%) iPlanet
6 1 (0.59%) JBoss
6 1 (0.59%) WebSphere
6 1 (0.59%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 25 (14.71%) Microsoft Office
2 15 (8.82%) Microsoft Excel
3 6 (3.53%) MS Visio
4 5 (2.94%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (2.94%) Microsoft Project
5 4 (2.35%) Trello
6 2 (1.18%) Sketch
7 1 (0.59%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.59%) SPSS
Business Applications
1 7 (4.12%) Advent Geneva
2 5 (2.94%) Dynamics CRM
3 2 (1.18%) Primavera
3 2 (1.18%) SAP MM
4 1 (0.59%) Infor M3
4 1 (0.59%) Maximo
4 1 (0.59%) NetSuite
4 1 (0.59%) Oracle EBS
4 1 (0.59%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.59%) SAP SD
Cloud Services
1 61 (35.88%) Azure
2 34 (20.00%) Power Platform
3 32 (18.82%) Microsoft 365
4 20 (11.76%) AWS
5 17 (10.00%) Entra ID
6 16 (9.41%) GCP
7 13 (7.65%) Dynamics 365
7 13 (7.65%) Power Automate
7 13 (7.65%) PowerApps
8 11 (6.47%) Azure DevOps
9 9 (5.29%) Google Tag Manager
9 9 (5.29%) Microsoft Copilot
10 8 (4.71%) Google Analytics
11 7 (4.12%) Microsoft Purview
12 5 (2.94%) Azure AKS
12 5 (2.94%) Figma
13 4 (2.35%) GitHub
13 4 (2.35%) OneDrive
14 3 (1.76%) Cloud Computing
14 3 (1.76%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 10 (5.88%) Firewall
2 6 (3.53%) Network Security
3 4 (2.35%) Wi-Fi
4 3 (1.76%) VPN
5 2 (1.18%) DNS
5 2 (1.18%) TCP/IP
5 2 (1.18%) WAN
6 1 (0.59%) Cisco ISE
6 1 (0.59%) DHCP
6 1 (0.59%) HTTP
6 1 (0.59%) Kerberos
6 1 (0.59%) LAN
6 1 (0.59%) Remote Desktop
6 1 (0.59%) SD-WAN
6 1 (0.59%) SSL
6 1 (0.59%) VLAN
6 1 (0.59%) VoIP
6 1 (0.59%) WebEx
6 1 (0.59%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 24 (14.12%) Power BI
2 11 (6.47%) Relational Database
3 10 (5.88%) SQL Server
4 7 (4.12%) BigQuery
4 7 (4.12%) DB2
4 7 (4.12%) Looker
4 7 (4.12%) MySQL
4 7 (4.12%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 4 (2.35%) Data Lake
5 4 (2.35%) Data Warehouse
6 3 (1.76%) BusinessObjects
7 2 (1.18%) NoSQL
7 2 (1.18%) PostgreSQL
7 2 (1.18%) Snowflake Schema
8 1 (0.59%) Amazon RDS
8 1 (0.59%) Cognos Framework Manager
8 1 (0.59%) Cognos Report Studio
8 1 (0.59%) MongoDB
8 1 (0.59%) OLAP Cube
8 1 (0.59%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 6 (3.53%) JIRA
2 4 (2.35%) Git
2 4 (2.35%) GitLab
3 2 (1.18%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.59%) Bitbucket Server
4 1 (0.59%) Browser DevTools
4 1 (0.59%) CA Release Automation
4 1 (0.59%) Gradle
4 1 (0.59%) MSI
4 1 (0.59%) Octopus Deploy
4 1 (0.59%) Selenium
4 1 (0.59%) Sonatype Nexus
4 1 (0.59%) Storybook
4 1 (0.59%) Xcode
General
1 63 (37.06%) Social Skills
2 41 (24.12%) Finance
3 32 (18.82%) Public Sector
4 29 (17.06%) Analytical Skills
5 10 (5.88%) Documentation Skills
6 9 (5.29%) Banking
7 8 (4.71%) Legal
8 5 (2.94%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 5 (2.94%) Manufacturing
9 4 (2.35%) Telecoms
10 2 (1.18%) Influencing Skills
10 2 (1.18%) Law
10 2 (1.18%) Organisational Skills
10 2 (1.18%) Presentation Skills
10 2 (1.18%) Retail
11 1 (0.59%) Agriculture
11 1 (0.59%) Billing
11 1 (0.59%) Games
11 1 (0.59%) Marketing
11 1 (0.59%) Military
Job Titles
1 33 (19.41%) Developer
2 31 (18.24%) Analyst
3 16 (9.41%) Senior
4 15 (8.82%) Lead
5 11 (6.47%) Administrator
5 11 (6.47%) Support Analyst
6 8 (4.71%) Project Manager
6 8 (4.71%) Security Engineer
7 7 (4.12%) Architect
7 7 (4.12%) Business Analyst
8 6 (3.53%) Consultant
8 6 (3.53%) DevOps Engineer
8 6 (3.53%) IT Support
8 6 (3.53%) Microsoft Developer
8 6 (3.53%) Performance Analyst
9 5 (2.94%) Desktop Support
9 5 (2.94%) Java Developer
9 5 (2.94%) Lead Developer
9 5 (2.94%) Senior Analyst
10 4 (2.35%) IT Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 13 (7.65%) .NET
2 6 (3.53%) HTML
2 6 (3.53%) HTML5 Canvas
2 6 (3.53%) REST
2 6 (3.53%) Spring
2 6 (3.53%) Spring Boot
3 5 (2.94%) JSON
4 3 (1.76%) Kafka
4 3 (1.76%) LangChain
4 3 (1.76%) OAuth
4 3 (1.76%) XML
5 2 (1.18%) LDAP
5 2 (1.18%) OpenID
5 2 (1.18%) SAML
6 1 (0.59%) AngularJS
6 1 (0.59%) D3.js
6 1 (0.59%) Hibernate
6 1 (0.59%) ISPF
6 1 (0.59%) Middleware
6 1 (0.59%) SVG
Miscellaneous
1 15 (8.82%) Onboarding
2 7 (4.12%) Virtual Team
3 6 (3.53%) Cloud Native
4 5 (2.94%) Data Protection Act
4 5 (2.94%) Security Posture
5 4 (2.35%) Data Centre
5 4 (2.35%) Low-Code
5 4 (2.35%) Product Ownership
6 3 (1.76%) Cloud Security Posture
6 3 (1.76%) Clustering
6 3 (1.76%) Management Information System
6 3 (1.76%) Self-Motivation
7 2 (1.18%) Analytical Mindset
7 2 (1.18%) CMDB
7 2 (1.18%) Driving Licence
7 2 (1.18%) Mobile App
8 1 (0.59%) Enterprise Software
8 1 (0.59%) Enterprise Storage
8 1 (0.59%) Life Science
8 1 (0.59%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 20 (11.76%) Windows
2 11 (6.47%) Windows 10
3 10 (5.88%) Linux
4 5 (2.94%) Mac OS
4 5 (2.94%) Unix
5 2 (1.18%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.59%) Android
6 1 (0.59%) Mac OS X
6 1 (0.59%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.59%) VMS
6 1 (0.59%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 26 (15.29%) Agile
1 26 (15.29%) Business Intelligence
2 25 (14.71%) DevOps
2 25 (14.71%) Problem-Solving
3 22 (12.94%) Analytics
3 22 (12.94%) CI/CD
4 19 (11.18%) ITIL
4 19 (11.18%) Stakeholder Management
4 19 (11.18%) User Experience
5 15 (8.82%) Change Management
6 14 (8.24%) Actionable Insight
6 14 (8.24%) Data Analysis
6 14 (8.24%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 13 (7.65%) Migration
7 13 (7.65%) Validation
8 12 (7.06%) Customer Service
9 11 (6.47%) Dashboard Development
9 11 (6.47%) Digital Transformation Programme
9 11 (6.47%) Project Management
9 11 (6.47%) Service Design
Programming Languages
1 29 (17.06%) SQL
2 13 (7.65%) Python
3 12 (7.06%) Java
3 12 (7.06%) PowerShell
4 9 (5.29%) JavaScript
5 7 (4.12%) C#
6 4 (2.35%) Bash
6 4 (2.35%) TypeScript
7 2 (1.18%) PL/SQL
7 2 (1.18%) T-SQL
7 2 (1.18%) VBA
8 1 (0.59%) C++
8 1 (0.59%) CLIST
8 1 (0.59%) COBOL
8 1 (0.59%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 1 (0.59%) Groovy
8 1 (0.59%) JCL
8 1 (0.59%) PHP
8 1 (0.59%) REXX
8 1 (0.59%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 13 (7.65%) Degree
2 11 (6.47%) Security Cleared
3 10 (5.88%) Microsoft Certification
4 9 (5.29%) SC Cleared
5 8 (4.71%) BPSS Clearance
6 4 (2.35%) Computer Science Degree
7 3 (1.76%) A+ Certification
7 3 (1.76%) CISSP
7 3 (1.76%) Network+ Certification
7 3 (1.76%) PMI Certification
7 3 (1.76%) PMP
8 2 (1.18%) MCSA
8 2 (1.18%) MCSE
8 2 (1.18%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
9 1 (0.59%) APMG
9 1 (0.59%) AWS Certification
9 1 (0.59%) CBAP
9 1 (0.59%) CompTIA Security+
9 1 (0.59%) IIBA
9 1 (0.59%) MCT
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 18 (10.59%) Accessibility
2 13 (7.65%) Data Quality
3 11 (6.47%) QA
4 10 (5.88%) GDPR
5 8 (4.71%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 4 (2.35%) Cyber Essentials
7 1 (0.59%) California Consumer Privacy Act
7 1 (0.59%) HIPAA
7 1 (0.59%) PCI DSS
7 1 (0.59%) WCAG
System Software
1 24 (14.12%) Active Directory
2 11 (6.47%) Docker
3 4 (2.35%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.59%) ACF2
4 1 (0.59%) RACF
4 1 (0.59%) Time Sharing Option
4 1 (0.59%) Tivoli Directory Server
4 1 (0.59%) Virtual Desktop
4 1 (0.59%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 13 (7.65%) Microsoft Intune
2 12 (7.06%) Kubernetes
3 5 (2.94%) SCCM
4 4 (2.35%) Single Sign-On
4 4 (2.35%) Terraform
5 3 (1.76%) Progress Chef
6 2 (1.18%) Grafana
6 2 (1.18%) Tivoli
7 1 (0.59%) Ansible
7 1 (0.59%) CA Endevor
7 1 (0.59%) CA Single Sign-On
7 1 (0.59%) CA Wily
7 1 (0.59%) CASB
7 1 (0.59%) Jamf Pro
7 1 (0.59%) Nessus
7 1 (0.59%) Prometheus
7 1 (0.59%) Tivoli Storage Manager
Vendors
1 15 (8.82%) Google
2 7 (4.12%) Advent
2 7 (4.12%) Oracle
3 6 (3.53%) Citrix
4 4 (2.35%) Cisco
4 4 (2.35%) SAP
4 4 (2.35%) Splunk
4 4 (2.35%) VMware
5 3 (1.76%) IBM
5 3 (1.76%) ServiceNow
6 2 (1.18%) Apple
6 2 (1.18%) Confluent
6 2 (1.18%) Hopewiser
6 2 (1.18%) Okta
6 2 (1.18%) Remedy
6 2 (1.18%) Salesforce
7 1 (0.59%) Cribl.io
7 1 (0.59%) Databricks
7 1 (0.59%) Ekahau
7 1 (0.59%) Tenable