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 10 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
10 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 3 8
Rank change year-on-year -2 +5 -5
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 573 395 264
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 14.36% 18.17% 11.14%
As % of the Vendors category 33.73% 36.37% 28.63%
Number of daily rates quoted 374 257 158
10th Percentile £185 £207 £213
25th Percentile £316 £350 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £433 £450
Median % change year-on-year +4.05% -3.89% +1.98%
75th Percentile £536 £494 £600
90th Percentile £600 £600 £666
England median daily rate £490 £475 £495
% change year-on-year +3.16% -4.04% -1.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 46 55 17
10th Percentile £14.04 £12.89 £17.27
25th Percentile £16.63 £17.41 £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 £19.33 £22.63 £16.23
% change year-on-year -14.58% +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 1,699 1,086 922
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 42.57% 49.95% 38.90%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,017 703 518
10th Percentile £263 £304 £276
25th Percentile £400 £381 £407
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £498 £466 £500
Median % change year-on-year +6.87% -6.90% -
75th Percentile £588 £575 £600
90th Percentile £663 £675 £675
England median daily rate £513 £501 £525
% change year-on-year +2.40% -4.67% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 129 77 46
10th Percentile £14.98 £13.00 £16.00
25th Percentile £21.08 £17.44 £22.83
Median hourly rate £29.00 £22.63 £35.36
Median % change year-on-year +28.15% -36.00% +1.03%
75th Percentile £60.75 £47.12 £46.18
90th Percentile £86.30 £67.25 £57.89
England median hourly rate £30.00 £25.15 £35.00
% change year-on-year +19.28% -28.14% -17.65%

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 10 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 10 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 10 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 -5 253 £475 +5.56% 264
Cheshire +2 151 £450 +8.11% 78
Merseyside +3 70 £200 -51.52% 68
Cumbria +1 49 £483 +13.65% 16
Lancashire -6 43 £366 -20.81% 123
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 90 (15.71%) SharePoint
2 59 (10.30%) Microsoft Exchange
3 16 (2.79%) Skype for Business
4 13 (2.27%) SharePoint Server
5 9 (1.57%) Confluence
6 3 (0.52%) CMS
6 3 (0.52%) IIS
7 1 (0.17%) Mendix
7 1 (0.17%) SharePoint 2013
7 1 (0.17%) WebSphere
Applications
1 74 (12.91%) Microsoft Office
2 44 (7.68%) Microsoft Excel
3 20 (3.49%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 15 (2.62%) MS Visio
5 13 (2.27%) Microsoft Project
6 5 (0.87%) AutoCAD
7 4 (0.70%) Navisworks
7 4 (0.70%) ProjectWise
7 4 (0.70%) Revit
8 3 (0.52%) Chatbot
9 1 (0.17%) MicroStation
9 1 (0.17%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 13 (2.27%) Dynamics CRM
2 10 (1.75%) Remedy ITSM
3 9 (1.57%) 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 (0.17%) Adobe Campaign
6 1 (0.17%) Cloudability
6 1 (0.17%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.17%) Unit4 Business World
6 1 (0.17%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 214 (37.35%) Azure
2 195 (34.03%) Microsoft 365
3 107 (18.67%) Power Platform
4 87 (15.18%) Entra ID
5 53 (9.25%) AWS
6 48 (8.38%) Microsoft Copilot
7 35 (6.11%) Azure DevOps
8 33 (5.76%) Dynamics 365
8 33 (5.76%) Power Automate
9 31 (5.41%) OneDrive
9 31 (5.41%) PowerApps
10 22 (3.84%) GCP
11 19 (3.32%) Azure AI
12 17 (2.97%) Azure Monitor
13 12 (2.09%) Azure Sentinel
14 11 (1.92%) SaaS
15 10 (1.75%) Serverless
16 9 (1.57%) GitHub
16 9 (1.57%) Microsoft Purview
17 8 (1.40%) AWS CloudFormation
Communications & Networking
1 33 (5.76%) DNS
2 30 (5.24%) VPN
3 24 (4.19%) Firewall
4 21 (3.66%) DHCP
4 21 (3.66%) Skype
5 20 (3.49%) Network Security
6 14 (2.44%) LAN
7 13 (2.27%) TCP/IP
7 13 (2.27%) WAN
8 12 (2.09%) VLAN
9 11 (1.92%) SSL
9 11 (1.92%) Wi-Fi
10 8 (1.40%) SAN
11 4 (0.70%) NAS
11 4 (0.70%) NetScaler
12 3 (0.52%) PABX
12 3 (0.52%) SSH
12 3 (0.52%) VoIP
13 2 (0.35%) BGP
13 2 (0.35%) SMTP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 68 (11.87%) Power BI
2 52 (9.08%) SQL Server
3 29 (5.06%) MySQL
4 20 (3.49%) PostgreSQL
5 18 (3.14%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 9 (1.57%) Power Query
7 6 (1.05%) Data Warehouse
7 6 (1.05%) Metadata
8 5 (0.87%) 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 2 (0.35%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.35%) EDMS
10 2 (0.35%) EDRMS
10 2 (0.35%) MongoDB
10 2 (0.35%) Oracle Database 12c
10 2 (0.35%) Star Schema
11 1 (0.17%) Microsoft Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 17 (2.97%) JIRA
2 11 (1.92%) Git
3 9 (1.57%) Jenkins
4 7 (1.22%) GitLab
5 5 (0.87%) MSI
6 2 (0.35%) Claude Code
6 2 (0.35%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 2 (0.35%) Toad
7 1 (0.17%) Sonatype Nexus
7 1 (0.17%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 185 (32.29%) Social Skills
2 102 (17.80%) Finance
3 71 (12.39%) Analytical Skills
4 43 (7.50%) Banking
5 35 (6.11%) Public Sector
6 27 (4.71%) Manufacturing
7 24 (4.19%) Organisational Skills
8 21 (3.66%) Legal
9 18 (3.14%) Documentation Skills
10 12 (2.09%) Local Government
11 10 (1.75%) Retail
12 7 (1.22%) Investment Banking
12 7 (1.22%) Telecoms
13 6 (1.05%) Marketing
13 6 (1.05%) Military
13 6 (1.05%) Presentation Skills
14 5 (0.87%) Games
14 5 (0.87%) Influencing Skills
15 4 (0.70%) Advertising
15 4 (0.70%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 59 (10.30%) IT Support
2 57 (9.95%) Support Engineer
3 54 (9.42%) Analyst
4 48 (8.38%) Architect
5 41 (7.16%) IT Engineer
5 41 (7.16%) IT Support Engineer
6 38 (6.63%) DBA
7 33 (5.76%) Lead
8 32 (5.58%) Developer
9 30 (5.24%) Administrator
10 26 (4.54%) SQL DBA
11 23 (4.01%) Consultant
12 22 (3.84%) Service Analyst
13 19 (3.32%) Desktop Engineer
13 19 (3.32%) Security Engineer
14 18 (3.14%) Cloud Engineer
15 17 (2.97%) Senior
15 17 (2.97%) Service Desk Analyst
16 14 (2.44%) IT Analyst
16 14 (2.44%) Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 29 (5.06%) Terraform
2 12 (2.09%) SAML
3 11 (1.92%) Microsoft Graph
4 9 (1.57%) Software Packaging
5 7 (1.22%) SailPoint
6 6 (1.05%) .NET
6 6 (1.05%) ARM Templates
7 5 (0.87%) Azure Blueprints
7 5 (0.87%) REST
8 4 (0.70%) JSON
8 4 (0.70%) OAuth
9 3 (0.52%) A2A Protocol
9 3 (0.52%) HTML5 Canvas
9 3 (0.52%) Kafka
9 3 (0.52%) Model Context Protocol
9 3 (0.52%) PySpark
9 3 (0.52%) React
9 3 (0.52%) Spring
9 3 (0.52%) Spring Boot
10 2 (0.35%) Next.js
Miscellaneous
1 43 (7.50%) Onboarding
2 30 (5.24%) Management Information System
3 25 (4.36%) Cloud Native
3 25 (4.36%) Replication
4 24 (4.19%) Clustering
5 13 (2.27%) CMDB
6 12 (2.09%) Data Centre
7 11 (1.92%) Enterprise Software
8 10 (1.75%) Data Protection Act
9 9 (1.57%) Legacy Systems
9 9 (1.57%) PKI
10 8 (1.40%) AI Agents
10 8 (1.40%) Driving Licence
10 8 (1.40%) Product Ownership
11 7 (1.22%) Enterprise Cloud
11 7 (1.22%) Security Posture
12 6 (1.05%) Handset
13 5 (0.87%) Animation
13 5 (0.87%) Blackberry
13 5 (0.87%) Hybrid Cloud
Operating Systems
1 188 (32.81%) Windows
2 71 (12.39%) Windows 10
3 52 (9.08%) Windows Server
4 28 (4.89%) Linux
5 18 (3.14%) Windows 7
6 15 (2.62%) Solaris
7 13 (2.27%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 12 (2.09%) Apple iOS
8 12 (2.09%) Unix
9 11 (1.92%) Android
10 10 (1.75%) Mac OS
11 5 (0.87%) VMS
11 5 (0.87%) Windows Server 2012
12 4 (0.70%) AIX
13 3 (0.52%) HPUX
13 3 (0.52%) Oracle Linux
13 3 (0.52%) SUSE
13 3 (0.52%) Windows Server 2016
13 3 (0.52%) Windows Server 2019
14 2 (0.35%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 110 (19.20%) ITIL
2 102 (17.80%) Problem-Solving
3 79 (13.79%) Customer Service
4 74 (12.91%) Stakeholder Management
5 62 (10.82%) Business Intelligence
6 61 (10.65%) Service Management
7 57 (9.95%) Continuous Improvement
8 56 (9.77%) DevOps
9 55 (9.60%) Migration
10 53 (9.25%) Analytics
11 52 (9.08%) Agile
12 47 (8.20%) AI
12 47 (8.20%) ITSM
12 47 (8.20%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 42 (7.33%) CI/CD
14 38 (6.63%) User Experience
15 37 (6.46%) Change Management
16 36 (6.28%) Infrastructure as Code
17 33 (5.76%) Disaster Recovery
18 32 (5.58%) Cloud Security
Programming Languages
1 107 (18.67%) PowerShell
2 79 (13.79%) SQL
3 46 (8.03%) Python
4 22 (3.84%) T-SQL
5 19 (3.32%) VBScript
6 17 (2.97%) Bicep
7 15 (2.62%) VB
8 13 (2.27%) Bash
9 12 (2.09%) Java
10 11 (1.92%) C#
11 8 (1.40%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 7 (1.22%) JavaScript
13 5 (0.87%) Kusto Query Language
13 5 (0.87%) Search Processing Language
14 1 (0.17%) Go
14 1 (0.17%) Google Apps Script
14 1 (0.17%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 129 (22.51%) Security Cleared
2 105 (18.32%) SC Cleared
3 76 (13.26%) Degree
4 59 (10.30%) Microsoft Certification
5 49 (8.55%) BPSS Clearance
6 25 (4.36%) Azure Certification
7 20 (3.49%) CISSP
8 14 (2.44%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 13 (2.27%) AWS Certification
9 13 (2.27%) Computer Science Degree
10 10 (1.75%) DBS Check
11 9 (1.57%) A+ Certification
11 9 (1.57%) MCSE
12 8 (1.40%) Cisco Certification
12 8 (1.40%) MCSA
12 8 (1.40%) VCAP
12 8 (1.40%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 7 (1.22%) Network+ Certification
14 5 (0.87%) GCFA
14 5 (0.87%) GCIH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (4.54%) SLA
2 22 (3.84%) Data Quality
3 17 (2.97%) GDPR
4 11 (1.92%) NIST
4 11 (1.92%) PMO
5 8 (1.40%) GRC
6 7 (1.22%) Sarbanes-Oxley
7 6 (1.05%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 5 (0.87%) Accessibility
8 5 (0.87%) PCI DSS
8 5 (0.87%) QA
8 5 (0.87%) WCAG
9 4 (0.70%) ISO 19650
9 4 (0.70%) NCSC
10 3 (0.52%) Cyber Essentials
10 3 (0.52%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 2 (0.35%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.35%) P3O
12 1 (0.17%) Disclosure Scotland
System Software
1 152 (26.53%) Active Directory
2 30 (5.24%) VMware Infrastructure
3 24 (4.19%) Virtual Machines
4 17 (2.97%) BitLocker
4 17 (2.97%) Docker
5 15 (2.62%) Hyper-V
6 13 (2.27%) Virtual Desktop
7 11 (1.92%) VMware ESXi
7 11 (1.92%) vSphere
8 4 (0.70%) Citrix Hypervisor
8 4 (0.70%) Microsoft App-V
8 4 (0.70%) Oracle RAC
9 3 (0.52%) NFS
10 2 (0.35%) GPFS
10 2 (0.35%) XenApp
10 2 (0.35%) XenDesktop
11 1 (0.17%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.17%) Veritas Volume Manager
11 1 (0.17%) Virtual Servers
11 1 (0.17%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 52 (9.08%) Microsoft Intune
2 51 (8.90%) SCCM
3 22 (3.84%) Ansible
4 21 (3.66%) Kubernetes
5 14 (2.44%) Progress Chef
6 13 (2.27%) Single Sign-On
7 11 (1.92%) SCOM
8 10 (1.75%) vCenter Server
9 5 (0.87%) CASB
10 4 (0.70%) Data Guard
10 4 (0.70%) Failover Clustering
10 4 (0.70%) Grafana
10 4 (0.70%) SysTrack
11 3 (0.52%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 3 (0.52%) Microsoft Clustering
11 3 (0.52%) WSUS
12 2 (0.35%) AirWatch
12 2 (0.35%) Oracle RMAN
12 2 (0.35%) vRealize
12 2 (0.35%) VxRail
Vendors
1 103 (17.98%) ServiceNow
2 36 (6.28%) VMware
3 29 (5.06%) Oracle
4 28 (4.89%) BeyondTrust
5 27 (4.71%) Cisco
6 26 (4.54%) Splunk
7 21 (3.66%) Google
8 18 (3.14%) iManage
9 17 (2.97%) SAP
10 15 (2.62%) Red Hat
11 14 (2.44%) Remedy
12 13 (2.27%) CyberArk
13 10 (1.75%) Databricks
14 7 (1.22%) Bomgar
14 7 (1.22%) Citrix
14 7 (1.22%) Ribbon
15 6 (1.05%) CrowdStrike
16 5 (0.87%) Cribl.io
16 5 (0.87%) Salesforce
16 5 (0.87%) UiPath