Azure Contract Job Trends in the North West

Microsoft Azure
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the North West requiring Azure skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 5 March 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
5 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 8 10
Rank change year-on-year +1 +2 -9
Contract jobs citing Azure 384 277 310
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 13.38% 13.32% 11.11%
As % of the Cloud Services category 39.75% 39.29% 32.16%
Number of daily rates quoted 304 197 238
10th Percentile £306 £230 £313
25th Percentile £400 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £484 £500 £495
Median % change year-on-year -3.13% +1.01% -5.71%
75th Percentile £580 £580 £573
90th Percentile £637 £700 £638
England median daily rate £525 £536 £549
% change year-on-year -2.10% -2.28% -2.88%
Number of hourly rates quoted 10 1 11
10th Percentile - - £16.25
25th Percentile £15.50 £72.50 £18.50
Median hourly rate £20.69 £75.00 £46.18
Median % change year-on-year -72.41% +62.41% -34.03%
75th Percentile £45.74 £77.50 -
90th Percentile £75.83 - -
England median hourly rate £57.50 £35.00 £46.18
% change year-on-year +64.29% -24.21% -22.78%

All Cloud Computing Skills
North West

Azure falls under the Cloud Services category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring cloud computing skills in the North West.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for cloud computing skills 966 705 964
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 33.66% 33.89% 34.54%
Number of daily rates quoted 689 506 697
10th Percentile £220 £244 £268
25th Percentile £360 £400 £381
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £475 £487
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% -2.46% -2.60%
75th Percentile £550 £575 £550
90th Percentile £631 £653 £650
England median daily rate £500 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 52 12 79
10th Percentile £16.56 £21.36 £15.00
25th Percentile £24.61 £24.18 £16.06
Median hourly rate £60.00 £28.75 £17.50
Median % change year-on-year +108.70% +64.29% -66.97%
75th Percentile £76.38 £43.39 £26.50
90th Percentile £89.50 £74.09 £71.87
England median hourly rate £39.50 £27.38 £21.37
% change year-on-year +44.29% +28.10% -14.52%

Azure
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Azure relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West.

Azure job vacancy trend in the North West

Azure
Daily Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Azure.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Azure

Azure
Daily Rate Histogram in the North West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Azure in the North West over the 6 months to 5 March 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Azure in the North West

Azure
Hourly Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Azure.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Azure

Azure
Hourly Rate Histogram in the North West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Azure in the North West over the 6 months to 5 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Azure in the North West

Azure
Contract Job Locations in the North West

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Azure within the North West region over the 6 months to 5 March 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
Manchester -3 206 £500 - 177
Cheshire +6 107 £526 +27.96% 51
Merseyside -4 50 £138 -45.00% 37
Lancashire -12 15 £500 -2.44% 85
Azure
England

Azure
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North West 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 31 (8.07%) SharePoint
2 26 (6.77%) Microsoft Exchange
3 15 (3.91%) Confluence
4 7 (1.82%) SAS
5 5 (1.30%) OpenStack
6 3 (0.78%) Apache Spark
6 3 (0.78%) Exchange Server 2013
6 3 (0.78%) Skype for Business
7 2 (0.52%) IIS
8 1 (0.26%) Apache
8 1 (0.26%) ArcGIS
8 1 (0.26%) CMS
8 1 (0.26%) Headless CMS
Applications
1 13 (3.39%) Microsoft Office
2 6 (1.56%) Microsoft Excel
3 5 (1.30%) MS Visio
4 4 (1.04%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.52%) Chatbot
5 2 (0.52%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 5 (1.30%) Dynamics CRM
1 5 (1.30%) Payment Gateway
2 2 (0.52%) Elite 3E
2 2 (0.52%) NEC Housing
3 1 (0.26%) Dynamics NAV
Cloud Services
1 160 (41.67%) AWS
2 102 (26.56%) GCP
3 88 (22.92%) Microsoft 365
4 63 (16.41%) Power Platform
5 52 (13.54%) Azure DevOps
5 52 (13.54%) Entra ID
6 30 (7.81%) GitHub
7 24 (6.25%) Power Automate
8 23 (5.99%) PowerApps
9 20 (5.21%) Dynamics 365
10 18 (4.69%) GitHub Actions
11 16 (4.17%) OpenShift
12 15 (3.91%) Azure Data Factory
12 15 (3.91%) Azure Logic Apps
13 14 (3.65%) AWS CloudFormation
13 14 (3.65%) OneDrive
13 14 (3.65%) Serverless
14 13 (3.39%) Azure AKS
15 12 (3.13%) Azure Synapse Analytics
15 12 (3.13%) SaaS
Communications & Networking
1 39 (10.16%) Firewall
2 24 (6.25%) DNS
3 13 (3.39%) Wi-Fi
4 9 (2.34%) TCP/IP
4 9 (2.34%) VPN
5 8 (2.08%) Internet
6 7 (1.82%) DHCP
6 7 (1.82%) Kerberos
7 6 (1.56%) Network Security
7 6 (1.56%) VLAN
8 5 (1.30%) Unified Communications
9 4 (1.04%) HTTP
9 4 (1.04%) NetScaler
10 3 (0.78%) Skype
10 3 (0.78%) WAN
11 2 (0.52%) BGP
11 2 (0.52%) OSPF
11 2 (0.52%) SD-WAN
11 2 (0.52%) Wireshark
12 1 (0.26%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 26 (6.77%) Power BI
2 21 (5.47%) Data Warehouse
3 15 (3.91%) SQL Server
4 8 (2.08%) Data Lake
4 8 (2.08%) Looker
5 7 (1.82%) Azure SQL Database
5 7 (1.82%) BigQuery
5 7 (1.82%) Metadata
6 5 (1.30%) NoSQL
6 5 (1.30%) Relational Database
7 4 (1.04%) MongoDB
7 4 (1.04%) MySQL
7 4 (1.04%) PostgreSQL
8 2 (0.52%) Azure SQL Data Warehouse
8 2 (0.52%) RDBMS
8 2 (0.52%) Snowflake Schema
8 2 (0.52%) Spark SQL
8 2 (0.52%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 2 (0.52%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 1 (0.26%) Spatial Data
Development Applications
1 34 (8.85%) JIRA
2 28 (7.29%) Git
3 18 (4.69%) GitLab
3 18 (4.69%) Jenkins
4 9 (2.34%) Postman
5 5 (1.30%) Bitbucket
5 5 (1.30%) Cucumber
5 5 (1.30%) Selenium
5 5 (1.30%) Snyk
5 5 (1.30%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.78%) CircleCI
6 3 (0.78%) JMeter
7 2 (0.52%) Cypress.io
7 2 (0.52%) Fiddler
7 2 (0.52%) git-flow
8 1 (0.26%) JUnit
8 1 (0.26%) Mockito
8 1 (0.26%) MSI
8 1 (0.26%) Spinnaker
8 1 (0.26%) Visual Studio
General
1 110 (28.65%) Social Skills
2 76 (19.79%) Public Sector
3 71 (18.49%) Finance
4 42 (10.94%) Analytical Skills
5 38 (9.90%) Banking
6 19 (4.95%) Legal
7 10 (2.60%) Documentation Skills
7 10 (2.60%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 9 (2.34%) Retail
9 8 (2.08%) Law
10 4 (1.04%) Military
11 3 (0.78%) Games
11 3 (0.78%) Influencing Skills
11 3 (0.78%) Presentation Skills
11 3 (0.78%) Telecoms
12 2 (0.52%) Financial Institution
12 2 (0.52%) Manufacturing
12 2 (0.52%) Marketing
13 1 (0.26%) Advertising
13 1 (0.26%) Organisational Skills
Job Titles
1 71 (18.49%) Developer
2 57 (14.84%) Architect
3 41 (10.68%) Senior
4 34 (8.85%) Security Engineer
5 33 (8.59%) Analyst
6 30 (7.81%) Lead
7 21 (5.47%) Java Developer
8 20 (5.21%) Azure Engineer
9 19 (4.95%) Data Engineer
10 18 (4.69%) DevOps Engineer
10 18 (4.69%) IT Support
11 16 (4.17%) Solutions Architect
12 15 (3.91%) 1st Line Support
12 15 (3.91%) Azure Developer
13 14 (3.65%) Platform Engineer
14 12 (3.13%) Support Analyst
15 10 (2.60%) Support Engineer
16 9 (2.34%) .NET Developer
16 9 (2.34%) Cloud Engineer
16 9 (2.34%) Lead Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 33 (8.59%) Spring Boot
2 31 (8.07%) Spring
3 29 (7.55%) REST
4 22 (5.73%) .NET
5 20 (5.21%) React
6 19 (4.95%) RESTful
7 17 (4.43%) HTML
8 14 (3.65%) JSON
9 10 (2.60%) Kafka
10 9 (2.34%) AngularJS
10 9 (2.34%) Node.js
11 8 (2.08%) .NET Core
11 8 (2.08%) ARM Templates
11 8 (2.08%) HTML5 Canvas
11 8 (2.08%) OAuth
12 7 (1.82%) JMS
12 7 (1.82%) LangChain
12 7 (1.82%) LDAP
12 7 (1.82%) PySpark
12 7 (1.82%) RabbitMQ
Miscellaneous
1 37 (9.64%) Cloud Native
2 34 (8.85%) Onboarding
3 14 (3.65%) Distributed Systems
3 14 (3.65%) Product Ownership
3 14 (3.65%) Security Posture
4 10 (2.60%) Private Cloud
5 9 (2.34%) Low-Code
6 8 (2.08%) Data Centre
6 8 (2.08%) Enterprise Software
7 7 (1.82%) Credit Risk
7 7 (1.82%) Data Protection Act
7 7 (1.82%) Hybrid Cloud
7 7 (1.82%) Legacy Systems
7 7 (1.82%) SWIFT Messaging Network
8 6 (1.56%) Cloud Security Posture
8 6 (1.56%) Management Information System
9 5 (1.30%) e-Learning
9 5 (1.30%) Linux Command Line
9 5 (1.30%) Public Cloud
9 5 (1.30%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 55 (14.32%) Windows
2 29 (7.55%) Windows 10
3 19 (4.95%) Linux
4 5 (1.30%) Windows Server
4 5 (1.30%) Windows Server 2019
5 4 (1.04%) Mac OS
5 4 (1.04%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 4 (1.04%) Windows Server 2012
6 1 (0.26%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.26%) VMS
6 1 (0.26%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 129 (33.59%) DevOps
2 118 (30.73%) CI/CD
3 97 (25.26%) Agile
4 73 (19.01%) Problem-Solving
5 58 (15.10%) Analytics
6 56 (14.58%) Containerisation
7 47 (12.24%) Infrastructure as Code
8 46 (11.98%) Microservices
9 38 (9.90%) Continuous Improvement
9 38 (9.90%) Observability
10 37 (9.64%) Roadmaps
11 35 (9.11%) Migration
12 33 (8.59%) Business Intelligence
12 33 (8.59%) User Experience
13 32 (8.33%) Data Modelling
13 32 (8.33%) Machine Learning
13 32 (8.33%) Mentoring
14 31 (8.07%) Customer Service
15 30 (7.81%) DevSecOps
16 29 (7.55%) Test Automation
Programming Languages
1 93 (24.22%) Python
2 59 (15.36%) SQL
3 56 (14.58%) Java
4 46 (11.98%) PowerShell
5 30 (7.81%) JavaScript
6 28 (7.29%) C#
7 24 (6.25%) Bash
8 18 (4.69%) TypeScript
9 11 (2.86%) Bicep
10 8 (2.08%) Go
11 7 (1.82%) R
12 4 (1.04%) C++
13 2 (0.52%) Data Analysis Expressions
13 2 (0.52%) Kusto Query Language
13 2 (0.52%) PHP
13 2 (0.52%) Shell Script
13 2 (0.52%) T-SQL
14 1 (0.26%) PL/SQL
14 1 (0.26%) Ruby
14 1 (0.26%) Scala
Qualifications
1 46 (11.98%) Security Cleared
2 29 (7.55%) Degree
3 26 (6.77%) SC Cleared
4 22 (5.73%) Azure Certification
5 20 (5.21%) BPSS Clearance
6 18 (4.69%) CISSP
7 17 (4.43%) AWS Certification
8 11 (2.86%) Cisco Certification
9 10 (2.60%) CISM
9 10 (2.60%) Microsoft Certification
10 5 (1.30%) AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
10 5 (1.30%) ITIL Certification
11 4 (1.04%) CCIE
11 4 (1.04%) CCNP
11 4 (1.04%) Computer Science Degree
11 4 (1.04%) IBM Certification
12 3 (0.78%) CCNA
12 3 (0.78%) GIAC
12 3 (0.78%) PMI Certification
12 3 (0.78%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 22 (5.73%) QA
2 21 (5.47%) Data Quality
3 17 (4.43%) Accessibility
4 16 (4.17%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 15 (3.91%) ISO 20022
6 14 (3.65%) GDPR
7 13 (3.39%) NIST
8 8 (2.08%) PSD2
9 7 (1.82%) SEPA
10 5 (1.30%) California Consumer Privacy Act
10 5 (1.30%) HIPAA
11 4 (1.04%) PCI DSS
12 3 (0.78%) Cyber Essentials
13 2 (0.52%) GRC
14 1 (0.26%) HL7
14 1 (0.26%) NEBOSH
14 1 (0.26%) SLA
14 1 (0.26%) SOC 2
14 1 (0.26%) Solvency II
14 1 (0.26%) WCAG
System Software
1 88 (22.92%) Active Directory
2 67 (17.45%) Docker
3 11 (2.86%) VMware Infrastructure
4 9 (2.34%) vSphere
5 5 (1.30%) Virtual Desktop
6 3 (0.78%) Virtual Machines
7 1 (0.26%) Hyper-V
Systems Management
1 69 (17.97%) Kubernetes
2 53 (13.80%) Terraform
3 32 (8.33%) Microsoft Intune
4 20 (5.21%) SCCM
5 13 (3.39%) Grafana
6 12 (3.13%) Ansible
6 12 (3.13%) Prometheus
7 11 (2.86%) Single Sign-On
8 10 (2.60%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 5 (1.30%) Fluentd
10 4 (1.04%) Argo
10 4 (1.04%) Progress Chef
11 3 (0.78%) Istio
11 3 (0.78%) Jamf Pro
12 2 (0.52%) CA Single Sign-On
12 2 (0.52%) linkerd
Vendors
1 150 (39.06%) Microsoft
2 40 (10.42%) Google
3 32 (8.33%) ServiceNow
4 17 (4.43%) Databricks
5 15 (3.91%) Oracle
5 15 (3.91%) Virgin Media
6 14 (3.65%) Bomgar
6 14 (3.65%) iManage
7 13 (3.39%) Splunk
7 13 (3.39%) VMware
8 8 (2.08%) F5
8 8 (2.08%) IBM
9 7 (1.82%) Pega
10 6 (1.56%) OpenAI
11 5 (1.30%) Checkmarx
11 5 (1.30%) Cribl.io
11 5 (1.30%) Foundry
11 5 (1.30%) Varonis
11 5 (1.30%) Veeam
11 5 (1.30%) Veracode