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 14 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
14 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 4 13
Rank change year-on-year -2 +9 -9
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 255 171 128
As % of all contract jobs in Manchester 13.10% 16.93% 10.62%
As % of the Vendors category 33.60% 34.83% 28.13%
Number of daily rates quoted 164 116 95
10th Percentile £193 £210 £325
25th Percentile £356 £360 £418
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £450 £500
Median % change year-on-year - -10.00% +11.11%
75th Percentile £525 £558 £631
90th Percentile £593 £641 £658
North West median daily rate £450 £438 £475
% change year-on-year +2.86% -7.89% +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 21 22 7
10th Percentile £19.46 £13.00 £18.40
25th Percentile £28.50 £18.92 £24.25
Median hourly rate £30.00 £21.29 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year +40.94% -29.05% +74.83%
75th Percentile £178.75 £22.59 £33.75
90th Percentile - £22.63 £40.50
North West median hourly rate £26.00 £22.32 £16.06
% change year-on-year +16.51% +38.95% -27.87%

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 759 491 455
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Manchester 39.00% 48.61% 37.76%
Number of daily rates quoted 442 311 283
10th Percentile £274 £308 £353
25th Percentile £382 £401 £419
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £485 £478 £500
Median % change year-on-year +1.46% -4.40% -
75th Percentile £580 £612 £608
90th Percentile £650 £703 £675
North West median daily rate £499 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.00% -5.00% +1.52%
Number of hourly rates quoted 73 32 22
10th Percentile £22.63 £13.00 £15.66
25th Percentile £24.19 £19.02 £20.50
Median hourly rate £37.50 £22.32 £33.00
Median % change year-on-year +68.05% -32.38% +86.23%
75th Percentile £70.00 £23.67 £60.00
90th Percentile £87.00 £59.55 £94.25
North West median hourly rate £29.00 £27.90 £16.06
% change year-on-year +3.93% +73.74% -51.33%

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 14 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 14 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 14 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% 10
Oldham +2 4 £205 - 5
Salford +1 2 £334 -16.56% 16
Rochdale - 2 - - 3
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 38 (14.90%) SharePoint
2 23 (9.02%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (3.53%) Confluence
4 7 (2.75%) SharePoint Server
5 2 (0.78%) Apache
5 2 (0.78%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.78%) CMS
5 2 (0.78%) IIS
6 1 (0.39%) CICS
6 1 (0.39%) SharePoint 2013
6 1 (0.39%) WebSphere
Applications
1 30 (11.76%) Microsoft Office
2 27 (10.59%) Microsoft Excel
3 11 (4.31%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 9 (3.53%) Microsoft Project
5 4 (1.57%) Chatbot
5 4 (1.57%) MS Visio
6 2 (0.78%) AutoCAD
7 1 (0.39%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.39%) Navisworks
7 1 (0.39%) ProjectWise
7 1 (0.39%) Revit
Business Applications
1 5 (1.96%) Dynamics CRM
2 4 (1.57%) Primavera
2 4 (1.57%) SAP MM
2 4 (1.57%) SAP S/4HANA
3 3 (1.18%) Elite 3E
4 2 (0.78%) Dynamics AX
5 1 (0.39%) Adobe Campaign
5 1 (0.39%) Cloudability
5 1 (0.39%) Integrated Workplace Management System
5 1 (0.39%) Oracle Payables
5 1 (0.39%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 110 (43.14%) Azure
2 97 (38.04%) Microsoft 365
3 52 (20.39%) Power Platform
4 43 (16.86%) Entra ID
5 36 (14.12%) Microsoft Copilot
6 27 (10.59%) AWS
7 26 (10.20%) Power Automate
8 23 (9.02%) PowerApps
9 19 (7.45%) Azure DevOps
10 18 (7.06%) OneDrive
11 12 (4.71%) Dynamics 365
11 12 (4.71%) GCP
12 10 (3.92%) Azure Monitor
13 9 (3.53%) Azure AI
14 8 (3.14%) Serverless
15 7 (2.75%) Microsoft Purview
15 7 (2.75%) OpenShift
16 6 (2.35%) Azure Data Factory
16 6 (2.35%) GitHub
17 5 (1.96%) Azure Logic Apps
Communications & Networking
1 15 (5.88%) Firewall
2 10 (3.92%) VPN
3 8 (3.14%) DNS
3 8 (3.14%) Network Security
4 7 (2.75%) SSL
5 6 (2.35%) VLAN
6 5 (1.96%) DHCP
6 5 (1.96%) SAN
7 4 (1.57%) LAN
7 4 (1.57%) NAS
7 4 (1.57%) TCP/IP
7 4 (1.57%) WAN
8 3 (1.18%) Skype
9 2 (0.78%) BGP
9 2 (0.78%) PABX
9 2 (0.78%) SD-WAN
9 2 (0.78%) SMTP
9 2 (0.78%) VoIP
9 2 (0.78%) VSAN
9 2 (0.78%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 30 (11.76%) Power BI
2 23 (9.02%) SQL Server
3 13 (5.10%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 8 (3.14%) MySQL
5 7 (2.75%) Relational Database
6 6 (2.35%) Metadata
7 5 (1.96%) PostgreSQL
8 4 (1.57%) Data Lake
8 4 (1.57%) Data Warehouse
8 4 (1.57%) MongoDB
9 3 (1.18%) NoSQL
9 3 (1.18%) Oracle Reports
9 3 (1.18%) RDBMS
10 2 (0.78%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.78%) Power Query
10 2 (0.78%) SQL Server Analysis Services
10 2 (0.78%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 1 (0.39%) Azure SQL Data Warehouse
11 1 (0.39%) Delta Lake
11 1 (0.39%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 13 (5.10%) JIRA
2 8 (3.14%) Git
3 4 (1.57%) Jenkins
4 3 (1.18%) GitLab
5 2 (0.78%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.39%) MSI
6 1 (0.39%) Sonatype Nexus
General
1 80 (31.37%) Social Skills
2 60 (23.53%) Finance
3 36 (14.12%) Analytical Skills
4 20 (7.84%) Public Sector
5 19 (7.45%) Banking
6 12 (4.71%) Legal
6 12 (4.71%) Manufacturing
7 10 (3.92%) Organisational Skills
8 8 (3.14%) Documentation Skills
9 7 (2.75%) Retail
9 7 (2.75%) Telecoms
10 5 (1.96%) Games
10 5 (1.96%) Influencing Skills
11 4 (1.57%) Marketing
12 3 (1.18%) Law
13 2 (0.78%) Agriculture
13 2 (0.78%) Aviation
13 2 (0.78%) Billing
13 2 (0.78%) Military
13 2 (0.78%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 28 (10.98%) IT Support
2 27 (10.59%) Analyst
3 26 (10.20%) Support Engineer
4 21 (8.24%) Architect
5 18 (7.06%) IT Engineer
5 18 (7.06%) IT Support Engineer
6 15 (5.88%) DBA
7 13 (5.10%) Designer
7 13 (5.10%) Developer
7 13 (5.10%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
7 13 (5.10%) Senior
8 12 (4.71%) Lead
8 12 (4.71%) SQL DBA
9 11 (4.31%) Content Designer
10 10 (3.92%) IT Analyst
11 9 (3.53%) Microsoft Engineer
11 9 (3.53%) Support Analyst
12 8 (3.14%) Administrator
12 8 (3.14%) Solutions Architect
13 7 (2.75%) Systems Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 8 (3.14%) SAML
2 6 (2.35%) JSON
3 5 (1.96%) REST
4 4 (1.57%) Kafka
4 4 (1.57%) Node.js
4 4 (1.57%) Spring
4 4 (1.57%) Spring Boot
4 4 (1.57%) XML
5 3 (1.18%) .NET
5 3 (1.18%) Microsoft Graph
5 3 (1.18%) React
6 2 (0.78%) A2A Protocol
6 2 (0.78%) ARM Templates
6 2 (0.78%) AWS CDK
6 2 (0.78%) Model Context Protocol
6 2 (0.78%) Next.js
6 2 (0.78%) OAuth
6 2 (0.78%) PySpark
6 2 (0.78%) SailPoint
6 2 (0.78%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 21 (8.24%) Onboarding
2 12 (4.71%) Cloud Native
3 9 (3.53%) Management Information System
4 8 (3.14%) Clustering
4 8 (3.14%) Data Centre
4 8 (3.14%) Replication
5 7 (2.75%) Data Protection Act
6 6 (2.35%) Security Posture
7 5 (1.96%) Animation
7 5 (1.96%) CMDB
7 5 (1.96%) Handset
7 5 (1.96%) Legacy Systems
8 4 (1.57%) Analytical Mindset
8 4 (1.57%) Blackberry
8 4 (1.57%) Driving Licence
8 4 (1.57%) Hybrid Cloud
8 4 (1.57%) Linux Command Line
9 3 (1.18%) Life Science
9 3 (1.18%) PKI
9 3 (1.18%) Product Ownership
Operating Systems
1 60 (23.53%) Windows
2 31 (12.16%) Windows 10
3 22 (8.63%) Windows Server
4 13 (5.10%) Linux
5 6 (2.35%) Unix
6 4 (1.57%) Android
6 4 (1.57%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 4 (1.57%) VMS
7 3 (1.18%) Windows Server 2012
8 2 (0.78%) AIX
8 2 (0.78%) Solaris
9 1 (0.39%) Apple iOS
9 1 (0.39%) HPUX
9 1 (0.39%) Oracle Linux
9 1 (0.39%) SUSE
9 1 (0.39%) Windows Server 2016
9 1 (0.39%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 56 (21.96%) ITIL
2 39 (15.29%) DevOps
3 38 (14.90%) Problem-Solving
4 36 (14.12%) Agile
5 32 (12.55%) Stakeholder Management
6 31 (12.16%) CI/CD
6 31 (12.16%) Roadmaps
7 30 (11.76%) Business Intelligence
8 29 (11.37%) Customer Service
9 26 (10.20%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 23 (9.02%) Analytics
10 23 (9.02%) Migration
11 19 (7.45%) AI
11 19 (7.45%) Infrastructure as Code
11 19 (7.45%) Knowledge Transfer
11 19 (7.45%) Service Management
12 18 (7.06%) Continuous Improvement
12 18 (7.06%) Data Modelling
12 18 (7.06%) Performance Tuning
13 17 (6.67%) ERP
Programming Languages
1 45 (17.65%) SQL
2 33 (12.94%) PowerShell
3 29 (11.37%) Python
4 14 (5.49%) T-SQL
5 7 (2.75%) Bicep
5 7 (2.75%) Java
6 6 (2.35%) Bash
7 5 (1.96%) C#
8 4 (1.57%) JavaScript
9 3 (1.18%) VBScript
10 2 (0.78%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 2 (0.78%) Kusto Query Language
10 2 (0.78%) Search Processing Language
10 2 (0.78%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.39%) COBOL
11 1 (0.39%) VBA
Qualifications
1 48 (18.82%) Degree
2 32 (12.55%) Security Cleared
3 30 (11.76%) SC Cleared
4 23 (9.02%) Microsoft Certification
5 21 (8.24%) BPSS Clearance
6 12 (4.71%) Azure Certification
7 11 (4.31%) Computer Science Degree
8 8 (3.14%) A+ Certification
9 7 (2.75%) Network+ Certification
10 6 (2.35%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
11 5 (1.96%) CISSP
12 4 (1.57%) DBS Check
13 3 (1.18%) Cisco Certification
13 3 (1.18%) Microsoft Certified Professional
13 3 (1.18%) PMI Certification
14 2 (0.78%) AWS Certification
14 2 (0.78%) CCNA
14 2 (0.78%) GCIH
14 2 (0.78%) ITIL Certification
14 2 (0.78%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 18 (7.06%) Data Quality
2 16 (6.27%) GDPR
3 8 (3.14%) SLA
4 7 (2.75%) PMO
5 6 (2.35%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 5 (1.96%) Accessibility
6 5 (1.96%) NIST
6 5 (1.96%) WCAG
7 3 (1.18%) GRC
7 3 (1.18%) PCI DSS
8 2 (0.78%) California Consumer Privacy Act
8 2 (0.78%) HIPAA
8 2 (0.78%) QA
9 1 (0.39%) Disclosure Scotland
9 1 (0.39%) ISO 19650
9 1 (0.39%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 1 (0.39%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
9 1 (0.39%) SOC 2
System Software
1 74 (29.02%) Active Directory
2 18 (7.06%) Docker
3 9 (3.53%) Virtual Machines
3 9 (3.53%) VMware Infrastructure
4 4 (1.57%) Hyper-V
5 2 (0.78%) GPFS
5 2 (0.78%) NFS
5 2 (0.78%) Oracle RAC
5 2 (0.78%) Virtual Desktop
5 2 (0.78%) VMware ESXi
5 2 (0.78%) vSphere
6 1 (0.39%) BitLocker
6 1 (0.39%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 29 (11.37%) Microsoft Intune
2 18 (7.06%) Kubernetes
3 16 (6.27%) Terraform
4 8 (3.14%) Single Sign-On
5 7 (2.75%) Ansible
5 7 (2.75%) SCOM
6 5 (1.96%) Progress Chef
7 4 (1.57%) Grafana
7 4 (1.57%) SCCM
8 3 (1.18%) CASB
9 2 (0.78%) AirWatch
9 2 (0.78%) Data Guard
9 2 (0.78%) Failover Clustering
9 2 (0.78%) vRealize
9 2 (0.78%) VxRail
10 1 (0.39%) Active Directory Federation Services
10 1 (0.39%) Prometheus
10 1 (0.39%) Puppet
10 1 (0.39%) WSUS
Vendors
1 23 (9.02%) ServiceNow
2 16 (6.27%) SAP
3 13 (5.10%) BeyondTrust
4 11 (4.31%) Oracle
5 10 (3.92%) Google
5 10 (3.92%) VMware
6 9 (3.53%) Databricks
7 8 (3.14%) Red Hat
8 7 (2.75%) Splunk
9 6 (2.35%) IBM
10 5 (1.96%) Cisco
10 5 (1.96%) Okta
10 5 (1.96%) Perforce
11 4 (1.57%) Adobe
11 4 (1.57%) Salesforce
11 4 (1.57%) UiPath
12 3 (1.18%) HP
13 2 (0.78%) Bloomberg
13 2 (0.78%) Clearswift
13 2 (0.78%) Remedy