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 September 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 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 3 9
Rank change year-on-year -2 +6 -6
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 570 402 258
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 14.55% 18.34% 10.89%
As % of the Vendors category 34.28% 35.92% 27.89%
Number of daily rates quoted 372 261 148
10th Percentile £185 £205 £213
25th Percentile £316 £350 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £437 £450
Median % change year-on-year +2.97% -2.89% -
75th Percentile £537 £500 £579
90th Percentile £600 £600 £656
England median daily rate £488 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +2.63% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 45 57 17
10th Percentile £13.48 £12.93 £17.27
25th Percentile £16.50 £17.38 £20.00
Median hourly rate £25.38 £22.32 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year +13.74% -25.62% +34.74%
75th Percentile £30.00 £31.40 £46.18
90th Percentile £178.75 £63.40 £47.21
England median hourly rate £19.34 £22.63 £16.23
% change year-on-year -14.54% +39.43% -26.23%

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 1,663 1,119 925
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 42.45% 51.05% 39.03%
Number of daily rates quoted 985 723 507
10th Percentile £250 £305 £276
25th Percentile £400 £384 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £588 £581 £600
90th Percentile £663 £688 £675
England median daily rate £514 £501 £525
% change year-on-year +2.65% -4.62% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 127 81 44
10th Percentile £14.81 £13.00 £16.00
25th Percentile £20.04 £17.44 £21.50
Median hourly rate £29.96 £22.63 £35.36
Median % change year-on-year +32.39% -36.00% +1.03%
75th Percentile £60.75 £47.12 £46.18
90th Percentile £86.60 £67.25 £55.79
England median hourly rate £30.00 £25.15 £33.25
% change year-on-year +19.28% -24.36% -22.22%

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 September 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 September 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 September 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 -6 247 £475 +5.56% 538
Cheshire +2 152 £450 +7.46% 129
Merseyside +1 66 £200 -52.94% 93
Cumbria +3 52 £485 +14.12% 20
Lancashire -8 45 £366 -20.81% 136
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 88 (15.44%) SharePoint
2 58 (10.18%) Microsoft Exchange
3 16 (2.81%) Skype for Business
4 14 (2.46%) SharePoint Server
5 8 (1.40%) Confluence
6 3 (0.53%) CMS
7 2 (0.35%) IIS
8 1 (0.18%) Mendix
8 1 (0.18%) SharePoint 2013
8 1 (0.18%) WebSphere
Applications
1 74 (12.98%) Microsoft Office
2 45 (7.89%) Microsoft Excel
3 20 (3.51%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 15 (2.63%) MS Visio
5 12 (2.11%) Microsoft Project
6 5 (0.88%) AutoCAD
7 4 (0.70%) Navisworks
7 4 (0.70%) ProjectWise
7 4 (0.70%) Revit
8 3 (0.53%) Chatbot
9 1 (0.18%) MicroStation
9 1 (0.18%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 13 (2.28%) Dynamics CRM
2 10 (1.75%) Remedy ITSM
3 7 (1.23%) Oracle Payables
4 4 (0.70%) Integrated Workplace Management System
4 4 (0.70%) Primavera
4 4 (0.70%) SAP MM
4 4 (0.70%) SAP S/4HANA
5 2 (0.35%) Dynamics AX
5 2 (0.35%) Elite 3E
6 1 (0.18%) Adobe Campaign
6 1 (0.18%) Cloudability
6 1 (0.18%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.18%) Unit4 Business World
6 1 (0.18%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 211 (37.02%) Azure
2 196 (34.39%) Microsoft 365
3 112 (19.65%) Power Platform
4 87 (15.26%) Entra ID
5 52 (9.12%) AWS
6 46 (8.07%) Microsoft Copilot
7 34 (5.96%) Power Automate
8 32 (5.61%) PowerApps
9 31 (5.44%) Azure DevOps
9 31 (5.44%) Dynamics 365
10 29 (5.09%) OneDrive
11 22 (3.86%) GCP
12 19 (3.33%) Azure AI
13 16 (2.81%) Azure Monitor
14 13 (2.28%) Azure Sentinel
15 11 (1.93%) SaaS
16 9 (1.58%) Serverless
17 8 (1.40%) Copilot Studio
17 8 (1.40%) Microsoft Purview
18 7 (1.23%) GitHub
Communications & Networking
1 32 (5.61%) DNS
2 30 (5.26%) VPN
3 22 (3.86%) Firewall
4 21 (3.68%) Skype
5 20 (3.51%) DHCP
6 19 (3.33%) Network Security
7 13 (2.28%) LAN
8 12 (2.11%) TCP/IP
8 12 (2.11%) VLAN
9 11 (1.93%) SSL
9 11 (1.93%) WAN
10 10 (1.75%) Wi-Fi
11 8 (1.40%) SAN
12 4 (0.70%) NAS
12 4 (0.70%) NetScaler
13 3 (0.53%) PABX
13 3 (0.53%) SSH
13 3 (0.53%) VoIP
14 2 (0.35%) Remote Desktop
14 2 (0.35%) VSAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 70 (12.28%) Power BI
2 51 (8.95%) SQL Server
3 29 (5.09%) MySQL
4 19 (3.33%) PostgreSQL
5 18 (3.16%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 9 (1.58%) Power Query
7 6 (1.05%) Data Warehouse
7 6 (1.05%) Metadata
8 5 (0.88%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 4 (0.70%) Data Lake
9 4 (0.70%) Oracle Database
9 4 (0.70%) Relational Database
9 4 (0.70%) SQL Server Analysis Services
10 3 (0.53%) Star Schema
11 2 (0.35%) Azure SQL Database
11 2 (0.35%) EDMS
11 2 (0.35%) EDRMS
11 2 (0.35%) MongoDB
11 2 (0.35%) Oracle Database 12c
12 1 (0.18%) Qlik Sense
Development Applications
1 18 (3.16%) JIRA
2 9 (1.58%) Git
3 8 (1.40%) Jenkins
4 7 (1.23%) GitLab
5 5 (0.88%) MSI
6 2 (0.35%) Claude Code
6 2 (0.35%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 2 (0.35%) Toad
7 1 (0.18%) MSTest
7 1 (0.18%) NUnit
7 1 (0.18%) Sonatype Nexus
7 1 (0.18%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 187 (32.81%) Social Skills
2 98 (17.19%) Finance
3 71 (12.46%) Analytical Skills
4 35 (6.14%) Banking
5 32 (5.61%) Public Sector
6 28 (4.91%) Manufacturing
7 22 (3.86%) Organisational Skills
8 19 (3.33%) Legal
9 18 (3.16%) Documentation Skills
10 11 (1.93%) Retail
11 9 (1.58%) Local Government
12 7 (1.23%) Investment Banking
12 7 (1.23%) Military
12 7 (1.23%) Telecoms
13 6 (1.05%) Marketing
13 6 (1.05%) Presentation Skills
14 5 (0.88%) Games
14 5 (0.88%) Influencing Skills
15 3 (0.53%) Corporate Banking
15 3 (0.53%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 60 (10.53%) IT Support
2 56 (9.82%) Support Engineer
3 53 (9.30%) Analyst
4 42 (7.37%) Architect
5 41 (7.19%) IT Engineer
5 41 (7.19%) IT Support Engineer
6 38 (6.67%) DBA
7 34 (5.96%) Developer
8 33 (5.79%) Administrator
9 32 (5.61%) Lead
10 26 (4.56%) SQL DBA
11 22 (3.86%) Consultant
11 22 (3.86%) Security Engineer
11 22 (3.86%) Service Analyst
12 21 (3.68%) Cloud Engineer
13 19 (3.33%) Desktop Engineer
13 19 (3.33%) Senior
14 17 (2.98%) Service Desk Analyst
15 14 (2.46%) IT Analyst
16 12 (2.11%) Designer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 28 (4.91%) Terraform
2 11 (1.93%) SAML
3 9 (1.58%) Microsoft Graph
4 8 (1.40%) Software Packaging
5 7 (1.23%) ARM Templates
5 7 (1.23%) SailPoint
6 5 (0.88%) .NET
6 5 (0.88%) Azure Blueprints
6 5 (0.88%) REST
7 4 (0.70%) JSON
8 3 (0.53%) A2A Protocol
8 3 (0.53%) HTML5 Canvas
8 3 (0.53%) Kafka
8 3 (0.53%) Model Context Protocol
8 3 (0.53%) OAuth
8 3 (0.53%) PySpark
8 3 (0.53%) React
9 2 (0.35%) LangChain
9 2 (0.35%) scikit-learn
9 2 (0.35%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 43 (7.54%) Onboarding
2 31 (5.44%) Management Information System
3 25 (4.39%) Replication
4 24 (4.21%) Clustering
5 21 (3.68%) Cloud Native
6 13 (2.28%) CMDB
7 12 (2.11%) Enterprise Software
8 11 (1.93%) Data Centre
9 10 (1.75%) Data Protection Act
10 9 (1.58%) Legacy Systems
10 9 (1.58%) PKI
10 9 (1.58%) Security Posture
11 8 (1.40%) AI Agents
11 8 (1.40%) Driving Licence
11 8 (1.40%) Product Ownership
12 7 (1.23%) Enterprise Cloud
13 6 (1.05%) Handset
14 5 (0.88%) Animation
14 5 (0.88%) Blackberry
14 5 (0.88%) Greenfield Project
Operating Systems
1 188 (32.98%) Windows
2 72 (12.63%) Windows 10
3 50 (8.77%) Windows Server
4 27 (4.74%) Linux
5 18 (3.16%) Windows 7
6 17 (2.98%) Solaris
7 13 (2.28%) Apple iOS
7 13 (2.28%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 13 (2.28%) Unix
8 12 (2.11%) Android
9 10 (1.75%) Mac OS
10 5 (0.88%) VMS
11 4 (0.70%) AIX
11 4 (0.70%) Windows Server 2012
12 3 (0.53%) HPUX
12 3 (0.53%) Oracle Linux
12 3 (0.53%) SUSE
12 3 (0.53%) Windows Server 2016
12 3 (0.53%) Windows Server 2019
13 2 (0.35%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 111 (19.47%) ITIL
2 104 (18.25%) Problem-Solving
3 81 (14.21%) Customer Service
4 77 (13.51%) Stakeholder Management
5 64 (11.23%) Business Intelligence
6 63 (11.05%) Service Management
7 60 (10.53%) Continuous Improvement
8 54 (9.47%) Analytics
9 51 (8.95%) DevOps
10 50 (8.77%) Migration
11 49 (8.60%) Agile
12 47 (8.25%) ITSM
12 47 (8.25%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 46 (8.07%) AI
14 41 (7.19%) CI/CD
15 39 (6.84%) Change Management
15 39 (6.84%) User Experience
16 36 (6.32%) Infrastructure as Code
17 34 (5.96%) Cybersecurity
18 33 (5.79%) Disaster Recovery
Programming Languages
1 109 (19.12%) PowerShell
2 81 (14.21%) SQL
3 50 (8.77%) Python
4 22 (3.86%) T-SQL
5 19 (3.33%) VBScript
6 15 (2.63%) Bicep
6 15 (2.63%) VB
7 13 (2.28%) Bash
8 11 (1.93%) C#
8 11 (1.93%) Java
9 9 (1.58%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 8 (1.40%) JavaScript
11 5 (0.88%) Kusto Query Language
11 5 (0.88%) Search Processing Language
12 1 (0.18%) Go
12 1 (0.18%) Google Apps Script
12 1 (0.18%) Shell Script
12 1 (0.18%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 132 (23.16%) Security Cleared
2 106 (18.60%) SC Cleared
3 77 (13.51%) Degree
4 60 (10.53%) Microsoft Certification
5 52 (9.12%) BPSS Clearance
6 25 (4.39%) Azure Certification
7 20 (3.51%) CISSP
8 14 (2.46%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 13 (2.28%) AWS Certification
9 13 (2.28%) Computer Science Degree
10 9 (1.58%) A+ Certification
10 9 (1.58%) DBS Check
10 9 (1.58%) MCSE
11 8 (1.40%) Cisco Certification
11 8 (1.40%) MCSA
11 8 (1.40%) VCAP
11 8 (1.40%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
12 7 (1.23%) Network+ Certification
13 5 (0.88%) GCFA
13 5 (0.88%) GCIH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 25 (4.39%) SLA
2 23 (4.04%) Data Quality
3 16 (2.81%) GDPR
4 11 (1.93%) PMO
5 8 (1.40%) GRC
5 8 (1.40%) NIST
6 7 (1.23%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 7 (1.23%) Sarbanes-Oxley
7 5 (0.88%) Accessibility
7 5 (0.88%) PCI DSS
7 5 (0.88%) WCAG
8 4 (0.70%) Cyber Essentials
8 4 (0.70%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 4 (0.70%) ISO 19650
8 4 (0.70%) QA
9 2 (0.35%) Actionable Recommendations
9 2 (0.35%) NCSC
9 2 (0.35%) P3O
10 1 (0.18%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.18%) ITGC
System Software
1 151 (26.49%) Active Directory
2 29 (5.09%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (4.04%) Virtual Machines
4 17 (2.98%) BitLocker
5 15 (2.63%) Docker
6 14 (2.46%) Hyper-V
7 12 (2.11%) Virtual Desktop
8 11 (1.93%) VMware ESXi
8 11 (1.93%) vSphere
9 4 (0.70%) Citrix Hypervisor
9 4 (0.70%) Microsoft App-V
9 4 (0.70%) Oracle RAC
10 3 (0.53%) NFS
11 2 (0.35%) GPFS
11 2 (0.35%) XenApp
11 2 (0.35%) XenDesktop
12 1 (0.18%) Microsoft Virtual Server
12 1 (0.18%) Veritas Volume Manager
12 1 (0.18%) Virtual Servers
12 1 (0.18%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 53 (9.30%) Microsoft Intune
2 52 (9.12%) SCCM
3 23 (4.04%) Ansible
4 20 (3.51%) Kubernetes
5 15 (2.63%) Progress Chef
6 14 (2.46%) Single Sign-On
7 11 (1.93%) SCOM
8 10 (1.75%) vCenter Server
9 5 (0.88%) CASB
10 4 (0.70%) Data Guard
10 4 (0.70%) Failover Clustering
10 4 (0.70%) SysTrack
11 3 (0.53%) Grafana
11 3 (0.53%) Microsoft Clustering
11 3 (0.53%) WSUS
12 2 (0.35%) Active Directory Federation Services
12 2 (0.35%) Enterprise Manager Cloud Control
12 2 (0.35%) Oracle RMAN
12 2 (0.35%) vRealize
12 2 (0.35%) VxRail
Vendors
1 103 (18.07%) ServiceNow
2 35 (6.14%) VMware
3 29 (5.09%) Oracle
4 28 (4.91%) BeyondTrust
5 27 (4.74%) Cisco
6 26 (4.56%) Splunk
7 21 (3.68%) Google
8 19 (3.33%) SAP
9 18 (3.16%) iManage
10 14 (2.46%) Red Hat
10 14 (2.46%) Remedy
11 13 (2.28%) CyberArk
12 10 (1.75%) Databricks
13 7 (1.23%) Bomgar
13 7 (1.23%) Citrix
13 7 (1.23%) Ribbon
14 6 (1.05%) CrowdStrike
15 5 (0.88%) Cribl.io
15 5 (0.88%) Okta
15 5 (0.88%) UiPath