Microsoft Contract Job Trends in the North West

Microsoft
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the North West 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 26 November 2025, 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
26 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 4 5 4
Rank change year-on-year +1 -1 +4
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 448 318 401
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 18.34% 13.69% 14.87%
As % of the Vendors category 35.67% 30.40% 31.55%
Number of daily rates quoted 319 184 261
10th Percentile £188 £213 £200
25th Percentile £325 £363 £255
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £425 £450 £400
Median % change year-on-year -5.56% +12.50% -5.88%
75th Percentile £492 £566 £538
90th Percentile £600 £675 £619
England median daily rate £475 £482 £500
% change year-on-year -1.45% -3.60% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 56 28 52
10th Percentile £15.50 £18.10 £16.25
25th Percentile £19.02 £24.18 £17.41
Median hourly rate £22.32 £32.50 £26.27
Median % change year-on-year -31.34% +23.74% +50.09%
75th Percentile £31.69 £34.06 £46.18
90th Percentile £74.26 £46.18 £54.28
England median hourly rate £21.50 £23.80 £23.00
% change year-on-year -9.66% +3.48% +16.96%

All Vendors
North West

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 the North West.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 1,256 1,046 1,271
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 51.41% 45.03% 47.14%
Number of daily rates quoted 852 549 837
10th Percentile £268 £325 £230
25th Percentile £363 £413 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £454 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -9.25% - +5.26%
75th Percentile £588 £584 £600
90th Percentile £688 £675 £688
England median daily rate £500 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.76% - -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 88 57 90
10th Percentile £16.13 £16.00 £16.25
25th Percentile £19.07 £24.18 £17.72
Median hourly rate £25.15 £32.50 £34.00
Median % change year-on-year -22.62% -4.41% +72.15%
75th Percentile £56.69 £46.18 £46.18
90th Percentile £74.26 £71.91 £55.09
England median hourly rate £25.00 £33.00 £45.00
% change year-on-year -24.24% -26.67% +70.68%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

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

Microsoft job vacancy trend in the North West

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in the North West

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

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

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in the North West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in the North West over the 6 months to 26 November 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in the North West

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in the North West

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

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

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in the North West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in the North West over the 6 months to 26 November 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in the North West

Microsoft
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 Microsoft within the North West region over the 6 months to 26 November 2025. 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 +1 200 £430 -5.49% 244
Cheshire +1 142 £430 -10.04% 116
Merseyside 0 47 £214 -14.40% 71
Lancashire 0 40 £450 +1.41% 184
Cumbria +14 13 £492 +3.58% 5
Microsoft
England

Microsoft
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 54 (12.05%) SharePoint
2 38 (8.48%) Microsoft Exchange
3 16 (3.57%) Apache
3 16 (3.57%) Confluence
3 16 (3.57%) JBoss
4 13 (2.90%) IIS
5 12 (2.68%) Skype for Business
6 11 (2.46%) WebSphere
7 10 (2.23%) iPlanet
7 10 (2.23%) WebSphere Application Server
8 8 (1.79%) Apache Airflow
9 7 (1.56%) Exchange Server 2013
10 5 (1.12%) CMS
10 5 (1.12%) Exchange Server 2010
11 4 (0.89%) Tomcat
12 2 (0.45%) NetWeaver
12 2 (0.45%) SAS
13 1 (0.22%) CICS
13 1 (0.22%) nginx
13 1 (0.22%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 82 (18.30%) Microsoft Office
2 59 (13.17%) Microsoft Excel
3 21 (4.69%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 17 (3.79%) MS Visio
5 5 (1.12%) Microsoft Project
6 3 (0.67%) Chatbot
6 3 (0.67%) Siemens NX
6 3 (0.67%) Sketch
6 3 (0.67%) Trello
7 2 (0.45%) Simulink
8 1 (0.22%) SPSS
Business Applications
1 11 (2.46%) Dynamics CRM
2 7 (1.56%) Advent Geneva
3 3 (0.67%) Teamcenter
4 2 (0.45%) Maximo
4 2 (0.45%) SAP S/4HANA
5 1 (0.22%) assyst
5 1 (0.22%) Loan IQ
5 1 (0.22%) Oracle ERP
5 1 (0.22%) Primavera
5 1 (0.22%) Remedy ITSM
5 1 (0.22%) SAP SD
Cloud Services
1 110 (24.55%) Microsoft 365
2 106 (23.66%) Azure
3 56 (12.50%) Power Platform
4 50 (11.16%) AWS
5 30 (6.70%) Entra ID
6 18 (4.02%) OneDrive
6 18 (4.02%) Power Automate
7 17 (3.79%) PowerApps
7 17 (3.79%) SaaS
8 16 (3.57%) OpenShift
9 15 (3.35%) Azure DevOps
9 15 (3.35%) GCP
10 14 (3.13%) Dynamics 365
11 11 (2.46%) GitHub
12 10 (2.23%) Microsoft Purview
13 9 (2.01%) Azure Sentinel
14 7 (1.56%) Azure Logic Apps
14 7 (1.56%) Google Tag Manager
15 6 (1.34%) Figma
15 6 (1.34%) Google Analytics
Communications & Networking
1 22 (4.91%) Firewall
2 18 (4.02%) DNS
3 15 (3.35%) LAN
4 13 (2.90%) Skype
4 13 (2.90%) VPN
4 13 (2.90%) WAN
5 12 (2.68%) Network Security
5 12 (2.68%) Wi-Fi
6 10 (2.23%) Kerberos
7 9 (2.01%) Unified Communications
8 8 (1.79%) VLAN
8 8 (1.79%) WebEx
9 7 (1.56%) DHCP
9 7 (1.56%) Internet
10 5 (1.12%) SSL
11 3 (0.67%) SSH
11 3 (0.67%) TCP/IP
12 2 (0.45%) ATM
12 2 (0.45%) Cisco ASA
12 2 (0.45%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (7.59%) Power BI
2 24 (5.36%) SQL Server
3 17 (3.79%) Relational Database
4 13 (2.90%) MySQL
5 12 (2.68%) Oracle Database
6 9 (2.01%) DB2
7 8 (1.79%) Data Warehouse
7 8 (1.79%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 7 (1.56%) Data Lake
9 6 (1.34%) BigQuery
9 6 (1.34%) Looker
10 5 (1.12%) PostgreSQL
11 4 (0.89%) MS Access
12 3 (0.67%) Azure SQL Database
12 3 (0.67%) Metadata
12 3 (0.67%) Power Query
12 3 (0.67%) Star Schema
12 3 (0.67%) Tableau
13 2 (0.45%) Big Data
13 2 (0.45%) NoSQL
Development Applications
1 33 (7.37%) JIRA
2 25 (5.58%) Git
3 22 (4.91%) Jenkins
4 12 (2.68%) Sonatype Nexus
5 11 (2.46%) Bitbucket Server
5 11 (2.46%) CA Release Automation
6 9 (2.01%) GitLab
7 5 (1.12%) Gradle
7 5 (1.12%) JUnit
8 3 (0.67%) Maven
8 3 (0.67%) Selenium
8 3 (0.67%) SonarQube
9 2 (0.45%) Cucumber
9 2 (0.45%) MSI
9 2 (0.45%) Storybook
9 2 (0.45%) Xcode
10 1 (0.22%) Cypress.io
10 1 (0.22%) InstallShield
10 1 (0.22%) Subversion
10 1 (0.22%) TeamCity
General
1 181 (40.40%) Social Skills
2 125 (27.90%) Finance
3 86 (19.20%) Analytical Skills
4 48 (10.71%) Public Sector
5 32 (7.14%) Banking
6 22 (4.91%) Legal
7 20 (4.46%) Documentation Skills
8 17 (3.79%) Organisational Skills
9 15 (3.35%) Manufacturing
10 12 (2.68%) Presentation Skills
11 11 (2.46%) Influencing Skills
12 6 (1.34%) Aerospace
12 6 (1.34%) Local Government
12 6 (1.34%) Retail
13 5 (1.12%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 5 (1.12%) Military
13 5 (1.12%) Publishing
13 5 (1.12%) Telecoms
14 3 (0.67%) Aviation
14 3 (0.67%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 82 (18.30%) Analyst
2 43 (9.60%) Developer
3 38 (8.48%) Administrator
4 36 (8.04%) IT Support
5 25 (5.58%) Architect
6 24 (5.36%) Senior
6 24 (5.36%) Support Analyst
7 21 (4.69%) Support Engineer
8 20 (4.46%) IT Engineer
8 20 (4.46%) Lead
9 16 (3.57%) Business Analyst
9 16 (3.57%) IT Support Engineer
9 16 (3.57%) Support Technician
10 15 (3.35%) SAP Administrator
10 15 (3.35%) SAP Support
11 13 (2.90%) 2nd Line Support
11 13 (2.90%) Consultant
11 13 (2.90%) Security Engineer
12 12 (2.68%) DevOps Engineer
12 12 (2.68%) Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (4.02%) OAuth
2 14 (3.13%) .NET
2 14 (3.13%) REST
3 12 (2.68%) HTML
3 12 (2.68%) JSON
3 12 (2.68%) LDAP
3 12 (2.68%) SAML
4 11 (2.46%) OpenID
5 9 (2.01%) Kafka
6 8 (1.79%) SOAP
6 8 (1.79%) Web Services
6 8 (1.79%) XMPP
7 7 (1.56%) React
7 7 (1.56%) Spring Boot
8 6 (1.34%) CSS
8 6 (1.34%) HTML5 Canvas
8 6 (1.34%) RESTful
8 6 (1.34%) Spring
9 5 (1.12%) SailPoint
9 5 (1.12%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 29 (6.47%) Onboarding
2 22 (4.91%) Product Ownership
3 14 (3.13%) Enterprise Software
4 10 (2.23%) Driving Licence
4 10 (2.23%) Low-Code
5 9 (2.01%) Data Centre
5 9 (2.01%) Management Information System
6 7 (1.56%) Mobile App
6 7 (1.56%) Self-Motivation
6 7 (1.56%) Virtual Team
7 6 (1.34%) Analytical Mindset
7 6 (1.34%) Cloud Native
7 6 (1.34%) CMDB
7 6 (1.34%) Video Conferencing
8 5 (1.12%) Clustering
8 5 (1.12%) PKI
9 4 (0.89%) Security Posture
10 3 (0.67%) Distributed Computing
10 3 (0.67%) Handset
10 3 (0.67%) Mainframe
Operating Systems
1 122 (27.23%) Windows
2 41 (9.15%) Windows 10
3 36 (8.04%) Linux
4 27 (6.03%) Windows Server
5 19 (4.24%) Android
5 19 (4.24%) Apple iOS
6 18 (4.02%) Unix
7 7 (1.56%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 6 (1.34%) Windows 7
9 4 (0.89%) Mac OS
10 1 (0.22%) Mac OS X
10 1 (0.22%) Solaris
10 1 (0.22%) Windows 8
10 1 (0.22%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.22%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 101 (22.54%) Problem-Solving
2 61 (13.62%) Agile
3 58 (12.95%) Stakeholder Management
4 52 (11.61%) Change Management
5 51 (11.38%) ITIL
5 51 (11.38%) Migration
6 50 (11.16%) Customer Service
6 50 (11.16%) DevOps
7 46 (10.27%) Service Management
8 44 (9.82%) ITSM
9 42 (9.38%) Business Intelligence
9 42 (9.38%) Cybersecurity
9 42 (9.38%) Project Management
10 37 (8.26%) Analytics
11 35 (7.81%) CI/CD
12 29 (6.47%) Continuous Improvement
12 29 (6.47%) Validation
13 28 (6.25%) User Experience
14 26 (5.80%) Service Delivery
15 24 (5.36%) Digital Transformation Programme
Programming Languages
1 48 (10.71%) SQL
2 38 (8.48%) PowerShell
3 31 (6.92%) Python
4 15 (3.35%) Java
5 14 (3.13%) JavaScript
6 11 (2.46%) Shell Script
7 10 (2.23%) Groovy
8 9 (2.01%) Bash
8 9 (2.01%) Perl
9 8 (1.79%) C#
9 8 (1.79%) Kusto Query Language
10 5 (1.12%) VB
10 5 (1.12%) VBScript
11 4 (0.89%) T-SQL
11 4 (0.89%) TypeScript
12 3 (0.67%) PHP
12 3 (0.67%) VBA
13 2 (0.45%) JCL
13 2 (0.45%) PL/SQL
13 2 (0.45%) REXX
Qualifications
1 80 (17.86%) Security Cleared
2 62 (13.84%) Degree
3 61 (13.62%) SC Cleared
4 25 (5.58%) BPSS Clearance
5 23 (5.13%) Microsoft Certification
6 11 (2.46%) Computer Science Degree
7 10 (2.23%) Azure Certification
8 8 (1.79%) CISSP
8 8 (1.79%) DV Cleared
9 7 (1.56%) ITIL Certification
10 6 (1.34%) AWS Certification
10 6 (1.34%) CCNP
10 6 (1.34%) Cisco Certification
10 6 (1.34%) CISM
11 5 (1.12%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
11 5 (1.12%) PMI Certification
12 4 (0.89%) A+ Certification
12 4 (0.89%) CCDP
12 4 (0.89%) CCNA
12 4 (0.89%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 21 (4.69%) Accessibility
2 20 (4.46%) QA
3 14 (3.13%) Data Quality
3 14 (3.13%) GDPR
4 12 (2.68%) NIST
5 8 (1.79%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 6 (1.34%) PCI DSS
7 4 (0.89%) HIPAA
7 4 (0.89%) PMO
7 4 (0.89%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 2 (0.45%) Cyber Essentials
8 2 (0.45%) ISO 8583
9 1 (0.22%) GRC
9 1 (0.22%) ISO 20022
9 1 (0.22%) NCSC
9 1 (0.22%) P3O
9 1 (0.22%) PMBOK
9 1 (0.22%) PSD2
9 1 (0.22%) SEPA
9 1 (0.22%) SLA
System Software
1 86 (19.20%) Active Directory
2 19 (4.24%) Docker
3 8 (1.79%) Tivoli Directory Server
4 5 (1.12%) BitLocker
5 3 (0.67%) Virtual Desktop
5 3 (0.67%) VMware Infrastructure
6 2 (0.45%) Time Sharing Option
7 1 (0.22%) ACF2
7 1 (0.22%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.22%) RACF
7 1 (0.22%) Virtual Machines
7 1 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
7 1 (0.22%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 41 (9.15%) SCCM
2 36 (8.04%) Microsoft Intune
3 13 (2.90%) Kubernetes
4 11 (2.46%) Single Sign-On
5 10 (2.23%) CA Single Sign-On
5 10 (2.23%) CA Wily
5 10 (2.23%) Progress Chef
6 9 (2.01%) Tivoli
7 8 (1.79%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 6 (1.34%) QRadar
9 5 (1.12%) Ansible
9 5 (1.12%) Norton AntiVirus
10 3 (0.67%) Grafana
10 3 (0.67%) Jamf Pro
10 3 (0.67%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
10 3 (0.67%) Terraform
11 2 (0.45%) CA Endevor
11 2 (0.45%) FortiGate
11 2 (0.45%) Microsoft Clustering
11 2 (0.45%) Nessus
Vendors
1 43 (9.60%) ServiceNow
2 28 (6.25%) Oracle
3 26 (5.80%) SAP
4 20 (4.46%) Splunk
5 19 (4.24%) IBM
6 14 (3.13%) Citrix
6 14 (3.13%) Google
7 13 (2.90%) Cisco
8 12 (2.68%) AppDynamics
9 10 (2.23%) Broadcom
10 8 (1.79%) Apple
10 8 (1.79%) VMware
11 7 (1.56%) Advent
11 7 (1.56%) Red Hat
12 6 (1.34%) McAfee
12 6 (1.34%) Zscaler
13 5 (1.12%) Symantec
14 4 (0.89%) Axway
14 4 (0.89%) Remedy
14 4 (0.89%) Salesforce