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 17 June 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
17 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 4 2
Rank change year-on-year -3 -2 +3
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 413 365 415
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 11.81% 18.33% 14.74%
As % of the Vendors category 29.91% 35.71% 37.93%
Number of daily rates quoted 275 240 219
10th Percentile £172 £205 £200
25th Percentile £325 £348 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £447 £425 £475
Median % change year-on-year +5.18% -10.53% +2.70%
75th Percentile £538 £525 £594
90th Percentile £619 £578 £665
England median daily rate £494 £475 £498
% change year-on-year +4.00% -4.52% -0.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 35 36 104
10th Percentile £18.11 £12.82 £10.95
25th Percentile £25.38 £13.00 £11.05
Median hourly rate £29.00 £27.13 £14.50
Median % change year-on-year +6.91% +87.07% -40.24%
75th Percentile £69.01 £31.80 £17.72
90th Percentile £178.75 £63.40 £26.50
England median hourly rate £22.50 £19.00 £15.58
% change year-on-year +18.42% +21.99% -30.78%

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 1,381 1,022 1,094
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 39.50% 51.33% 38.85%
Number of daily rates quoted 815 666 634
10th Percentile £275 £300 £270
25th Percentile £400 £384 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year - -5.00% +5.26%
75th Percentile £588 £575 £588
90th Percentile £675 £664 £649
England median daily rate £505 £513 £516
% change year-on-year -1.46% -0.70% -1.70%
Number of hourly rates quoted 88 62 154
10th Percentile £20.64 £13.00 £10.95
25th Percentile £24.19 £20.00 £12.00
Median hourly rate £30.25 £38.80 £16.06
Median % change year-on-year -22.04% +141.56% -45.19%
75th Percentile £62.44 £63.30 £26.66
90th Percentile £85.30 £84.83 £46.18
England median hourly rate £33.99 £26.75 £24.00
% change year-on-year +27.07% +11.46% -39.70%

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 17 June 2026.

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 17 June 2026.

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 17 June 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 -7 198 £445 +4.65% 288
Cheshire -4 90 £469 +14.80% 83
Merseyside +1 63 £140 -65.00% 50
Cumbria -1 36 £469 +0.90% 16
Lancashire -16 19 £366 -30.24% 132
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 41 (9.93%) Microsoft Exchange
2 39 (9.44%) SharePoint
3 15 (3.63%) Confluence
4 12 (2.91%) Skype for Business
5 4 (0.97%) CMS
6 3 (0.73%) IIS
7 2 (0.48%) Apache
7 2 (0.48%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.24%) CICS
8 1 (0.24%) Headless CMS
8 1 (0.24%) SharePoint 2013
8 1 (0.24%) WebSphere
Applications
1 55 (13.32%) Microsoft Office
2 30 (7.26%) Microsoft Excel
3 12 (2.91%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 10 (2.42%) Microsoft Project
5 9 (2.18%) MS Visio
6 4 (0.97%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.24%) AutoCAD
7 1 (0.24%) MicroStation
Business Applications
1 14 (3.39%) Remedy ITSM
2 8 (1.94%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (1.21%) Oracle Payables
3 5 (1.21%) Primavera
3 5 (1.21%) SAP MM
4 3 (0.73%) Elite 3E
4 3 (0.73%) SAP S/4HANA
5 2 (0.48%) Dynamics AX
6 1 (0.24%) Infor M3
6 1 (0.24%) NEC Housing
6 1 (0.24%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 155 (37.53%) Azure
2 133 (32.20%) Microsoft 365
3 57 (13.80%) Power Platform
4 51 (12.35%) Entra ID
5 37 (8.96%) Dynamics 365
6 36 (8.72%) Microsoft Copilot
7 33 (7.99%) AWS
8 26 (6.30%) Azure DevOps
9 23 (5.57%) Power Automate
10 22 (5.33%) PowerApps
11 14 (3.39%) Microsoft Purview
11 14 (3.39%) OneDrive
12 13 (3.15%) GCP
12 13 (3.15%) Serverless
13 10 (2.42%) Azure AKS
13 10 (2.42%) GitHub
14 9 (2.18%) Azure Logic Apps
15 8 (1.94%) SaaS
16 7 (1.69%) GitHub Actions
17 6 (1.45%) Azure Functions
Communications & Networking
1 19 (4.60%) DNS
2 18 (4.36%) Firewall
2 18 (4.36%) Skype
3 16 (3.87%) VPN
4 15 (3.63%) Wi-Fi
5 11 (2.66%) LAN
5 11 (2.66%) Network Security
5 11 (2.66%) WAN
6 9 (2.18%) DHCP
6 9 (2.18%) VLAN
7 4 (0.97%) TCP/IP
8 3 (0.73%) WebEx
9 2 (0.48%) Internet
9 2 (0.48%) Kerberos
9 2 (0.48%) SAN
9 2 (0.48%) SSH
9 2 (0.48%) VSAN
10 1 (0.24%) BGP
10 1 (0.24%) Intrusion Detection
10 1 (0.24%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 32 (7.75%) Power BI
2 23 (5.57%) SQL Server
3 12 (2.91%) PostgreSQL
4 9 (2.18%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 7 (1.69%) Power Query
5 7 (1.69%) Relational Database
6 6 (1.45%) MySQL
7 5 (1.21%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 4 (0.97%) Data Warehouse
8 4 (0.97%) SQL Server Analysis Services
9 3 (0.73%) Azure SQL Database
9 3 (0.73%) BusinessObjects
9 3 (0.73%) Data Lake
9 3 (0.73%) Metadata
9 3 (0.73%) MongoDB
9 3 (0.73%) NoSQL
9 3 (0.73%) Oracle Reports
9 3 (0.73%) RDBMS
10 1 (0.24%) Data Vault
10 1 (0.24%) Qlik Sense
Development Applications
1 21 (5.08%) JIRA
2 11 (2.66%) Git
3 3 (0.73%) Jenkins
3 3 (0.73%) MSI
4 2 (0.48%) GitLab
5 1 (0.24%) Claude Code
5 1 (0.24%) Cypress.io
5 1 (0.24%) Postman
5 1 (0.24%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 118 (28.57%) Social Skills
2 88 (21.31%) Finance
3 54 (13.08%) Analytical Skills
4 51 (12.35%) Public Sector
5 47 (11.38%) Banking
6 40 (9.69%) Legal
7 16 (3.87%) Organisational Skills
8 15 (3.63%) Manufacturing
9 13 (3.15%) Local Government
10 11 (2.66%) Retail
11 9 (2.18%) Telecoms
12 6 (1.45%) Influencing Skills
12 6 (1.45%) Investment Banking
13 5 (1.21%) Documentation Skills
13 5 (1.21%) Military
13 5 (1.21%) Retail Banking
14 4 (0.97%) Billing
15 3 (0.73%) Corporate Banking
15 3 (0.73%) Marketing
15 3 (0.73%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 58 (14.04%) Analyst
2 37 (8.96%) Architect
3 33 (7.99%) IT Support
4 32 (7.75%) Developer
5 26 (6.30%) 1st Line Support
6 21 (5.08%) Support Analyst
7 20 (4.84%) IT Analyst
8 19 (4.60%) Administrator
9 18 (4.36%) Lead
9 18 (4.36%) Security Engineer
10 17 (4.12%) IT Support Analyst
10 17 (4.12%) Support Engineer
11 14 (3.39%) DBA
11 14 (3.39%) IT Engineer
11 14 (3.39%) IT Support Engineer
11 14 (3.39%) Wintel Engineer
12 13 (3.15%) Project Manager
13 12 (2.91%) Business Analyst
13 12 (2.91%) Designer
13 12 (2.91%) Tester
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (2.42%) Spring
1 10 (2.42%) Spring Boot
2 9 (2.18%) .NET
2 9 (2.18%) REST
3 6 (1.45%) Software Packaging
3 6 (1.45%) XML
4 5 (1.21%) HTML5 Canvas
4 5 (1.21%) OAuth
5 4 (0.97%) ARM Templates
5 4 (0.97%) JSON
5 4 (0.97%) Microsoft Graph
5 4 (0.97%) Node.js
5 4 (0.97%) SAML
6 3 (0.73%) Kafka
6 3 (0.73%) LDAP
6 3 (0.73%) OpenID
6 3 (0.73%) React
6 3 (0.73%) XMPP
7 2 (0.48%) RESTful
7 2 (0.48%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 28 (6.78%) Onboarding
2 18 (4.36%) Cloud Native
2 18 (4.36%) Clustering
2 18 (4.36%) Replication
3 14 (3.39%) Management Information System
4 12 (2.91%) Product Ownership
5 8 (1.94%) Legacy Systems
5 8 (1.94%) Security Posture
6 6 (1.45%) Data Centre
6 6 (1.45%) Data Protection Act
7 5 (1.21%) Analytical Mindset
8 4 (0.97%) AI Agents
8 4 (0.97%) Cloud Security Posture
8 4 (0.97%) Cyber Threat
8 4 (0.97%) Linux Command Line
8 4 (0.97%) Operational Technology
9 3 (0.73%) Driving Licence
9 3 (0.73%) Greenfield Project
9 3 (0.73%) Housing Association
9 3 (0.73%) Hybrid Cloud
Operating Systems
1 122 (29.54%) Windows
2 61 (14.77%) Windows 10
3 23 (5.57%) Windows Server
4 19 (4.60%) Linux
5 13 (3.15%) Windows 7
6 7 (1.69%) Mac OS
6 7 (1.69%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 7 (1.69%) Unix
7 6 (1.45%) Apple iOS
7 6 (1.45%) Solaris
8 4 (0.97%) AIX
8 4 (0.97%) Windows Server 2012
9 3 (0.73%) VMS
10 2 (0.48%) HPUX
10 2 (0.48%) Oracle Linux
10 2 (0.48%) SUSE
10 2 (0.48%) Windows Server 2016
10 2 (0.48%) Windows Server 2019
11 1 (0.24%) Android
11 1 (0.24%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 58 (14.04%) Problem-Solving
2 56 (13.56%) DevOps
3 54 (13.08%) Agile
4 49 (11.86%) Customer Service
5 47 (11.38%) ITIL
6 45 (10.90%) CI/CD
7 42 (10.17%) Migration
8 39 (9.44%) ITSM
9 35 (8.47%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 34 (8.23%) Service Management
11 33 (7.99%) Business Intelligence
12 31 (7.51%) Stakeholder Management
13 30 (7.26%) AI
14 29 (7.02%) Change Management
14 29 (7.02%) Project Delivery
15 27 (6.54%) Roadmaps
16 26 (6.30%) Analytics
16 26 (6.30%) Continuous Improvement
17 24 (5.81%) Identity Access Management
18 23 (5.57%) Disaster Recovery
Programming Languages
1 71 (17.19%) PowerShell
2 50 (12.11%) SQL
3 34 (8.23%) Python
4 16 (3.87%) Java
5 13 (3.15%) VBScript
6 11 (2.66%) C#
6 11 (2.66%) VB
7 9 (2.18%) JavaScript
8 8 (1.94%) Bicep
8 8 (1.94%) T-SQL
9 7 (1.69%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 6 (1.45%) Bash
11 4 (0.97%) TypeScript
12 3 (0.73%) VBA
13 2 (0.48%) C++
14 1 (0.24%) COBOL
14 1 (0.24%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 71 (17.19%) Security Cleared
2 64 (15.50%) SC Cleared
3 60 (14.53%) Degree
4 44 (10.65%) Microsoft Certification
5 15 (3.63%) MCSA
5 15 (3.63%) MCSE
6 14 (3.39%) VCAP
6 14 (3.39%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
7 13 (3.15%) Azure Certification
7 13 (3.15%) BPSS Clearance
8 12 (2.91%) Computer Science Degree
9 11 (2.66%) A+ Certification
9 11 (2.66%) CISSP
10 9 (2.18%) AWS Certification
10 9 (2.18%) Network+ Certification
11 7 (1.69%) DBS Check
12 6 (1.45%) ITIL Certification
13 4 (0.97%) PMI Certification
14 3 (0.73%) Microsoft Certified Professional
14 3 (0.73%) RHCE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 15 (3.63%) GDPR
2 9 (2.18%) Data Quality
2 9 (2.18%) PMO
3 8 (1.94%) Accessibility
3 8 (1.94%) NIST
3 8 (1.94%) SLA
4 7 (1.69%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 6 (1.45%) WCAG
6 4 (0.97%) Sarbanes-Oxley
7 3 (0.73%) Cyber Essentials
7 3 (0.73%) NCSC
7 3 (0.73%) QA
8 2 (0.48%) California Consumer Privacy Act
8 2 (0.48%) GRC
8 2 (0.48%) HIPAA
9 1 (0.24%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
9 1 (0.24%) PCI DSS
9 1 (0.24%) SOC 2
System Software
1 94 (22.76%) Active Directory
2 21 (5.08%) Docker
3 20 (4.84%) Virtual Machines
4 19 (4.60%) VMware Infrastructure
5 17 (4.12%) VMware ESXi
6 16 (3.87%) vSphere
7 12 (2.91%) BitLocker
8 4 (0.97%) Virtual Desktop
9 3 (0.73%) Hyper-V
9 3 (0.73%) NFS
10 2 (0.48%) GPFS
10 2 (0.48%) Microsoft App-V
11 1 (0.24%) Veritas Volume Manager
Systems Management
1 23 (5.57%) Kubernetes
2 21 (5.08%) SCCM
3 20 (4.84%) Microsoft Intune
4 19 (4.60%) Terraform
5 18 (4.36%) Ansible
6 16 (3.87%) vCenter Server
7 8 (1.94%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 5 (1.21%) Grafana
9 4 (0.97%) Progress Chef
9 4 (0.97%) Single Sign-On
10 3 (0.73%) Prometheus
11 2 (0.48%) AirWatch
11 2 (0.48%) Argo
11 2 (0.48%) CA Single Sign-On
11 2 (0.48%) CASB
11 2 (0.48%) Failover Clustering
11 2 (0.48%) Istio
11 2 (0.48%) linkerd
11 2 (0.48%) vRealize
11 2 (0.48%) VxRail
Vendors
1 52 (12.59%) ServiceNow
2 33 (7.99%) Cisco
3 21 (5.08%) VMware
4 17 (4.12%) Remedy
5 16 (3.87%) Oracle
5 16 (3.87%) SAP
6 14 (3.39%) Bomgar
6 14 (3.39%) iManage
7 12 (2.91%) Splunk
8 9 (2.18%) Citrix
8 9 (2.18%) Red Hat
9 8 (1.94%) BeyondTrust
10 7 (1.69%) Google
11 6 (1.45%) CrowdStrike
12 5 (1.21%) Databricks
12 5 (1.21%) IBM
13 4 (0.97%) HP
13 4 (0.97%) Salesforce
14 3 (0.73%) CyberArk
14 3 (0.73%) Infoblox