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 2 April 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
2 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 4 4
Rank change year-on-year -1 0 +3
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 438 362 413
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 14.05% 18.50% 14.72%
As % of the Vendors category 32.96% 34.81% 36.26%
Number of daily rates quoted 308 252 218
10th Percentile £151 £204 £177
25th Percentile £239 £325 £301
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £415 £450 £450
Median % change year-on-year -7.89% - -5.26%
75th Percentile £511 £525 £553
90th Percentile £604 £625 £650
England median daily rate £492 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +3.58% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 42 25 110
10th Percentile £18.58 £19.00 £10.95
25th Percentile £19.92 £24.18 £11.07
Median hourly rate £25.38 £28.75 £15.27
Median % change year-on-year -11.72% +88.25% -42.37%
75th Percentile £68.02 £33.75 £17.72
90th Percentile £74.26 - £26.50
England median hourly rate £20.00 £22.27 £15.00
% change year-on-year -10.19% +48.47% -28.89%

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 1,329 1,040 1,139
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 42.62% 53.14% 40.61%
Number of daily rates quoted 841 679 705
10th Percentile £207 £250 £278
25th Percentile £370 £392 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £465 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -7.00% - +2.30%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £575
90th Percentile £650 £657 £685
England median daily rate £500 £525 £515
% change year-on-year -4.76% +1.94% -4.19%
Number of hourly rates quoted 84 51 152
10th Percentile £19.75 £21.05 £10.95
25th Percentile £22.67 £25.26 £12.00
Median hourly rate £29.00 £32.50 £16.06
Median % change year-on-year -10.77% +102.37% -57.17%
75th Percentile £61.68 £64.09 £26.39
90th Percentile £74.26 £86.00 £46.15
England median hourly rate £25.77 £29.04 £24.00
% change year-on-year -11.25% +20.98% -33.33%

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 2 April 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 2 April 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 2 April 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 -6 192 £425 -5.56% 187
Cheshire -3 98 £425 -5.56% 64
Merseyside +4 86 £140 -44.00% 44
Lancashire -6 33 £425 -15.00% 109
Cumbria +1 23 £494 -5.89% 13
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 63 (14.38%) SharePoint
2 55 (12.56%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (3.20%) Confluence
4 9 (2.05%) Skype for Business
5 5 (1.14%) CMS
6 4 (0.91%) Apache
6 4 (0.91%) Apache Airflow
7 2 (0.46%) Apache Spark
7 2 (0.46%) IIS
8 1 (0.23%) CICS
8 1 (0.23%) Headless CMS
8 1 (0.23%) SAS
8 1 (0.23%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 77 (17.58%) Microsoft Office
2 27 (6.16%) Microsoft Excel
3 11 (2.51%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 9 (2.05%) Microsoft Project
4 9 (2.05%) MS Visio
5 5 (1.14%) Chatbot
6 4 (0.91%) Trello
7 1 (0.23%) SPSS
Business Applications
1 13 (2.97%) Remedy ITSM
2 6 (1.37%) Advent Geneva
2 6 (1.37%) Dynamics CRM
3 4 (0.91%) Primavera
4 3 (0.68%) SAP MM
5 2 (0.46%) NEC Housing
5 2 (0.46%) Oracle Payables
6 1 (0.23%) Elite 3E
6 1 (0.23%) Infor M3
6 1 (0.23%) Maximo
6 1 (0.23%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.23%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
6 1 (0.23%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 158 (36.07%) Microsoft 365
2 153 (34.93%) Azure
3 62 (14.16%) Entra ID
4 52 (11.87%) Power Platform
5 31 (7.08%) Dynamics 365
6 28 (6.39%) AWS
7 25 (5.71%) Azure DevOps
8 24 (5.48%) Microsoft Copilot
9 23 (5.25%) Power Automate
9 23 (5.25%) PowerApps
10 18 (4.11%) OneDrive
11 17 (3.88%) GCP
12 14 (3.20%) Microsoft Purview
13 13 (2.97%) Serverless
14 9 (2.05%) Azure Logic Apps
14 9 (2.05%) GitHub
15 8 (1.83%) Azure AKS
15 8 (1.83%) SaaS
16 7 (1.60%) Azure Functions
16 7 (1.60%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 28 (6.39%) VPN
2 24 (5.48%) Firewall
3 23 (5.25%) DNS
4 22 (5.02%) Wi-Fi
5 20 (4.57%) WAN
6 19 (4.34%) Skype
7 18 (4.11%) LAN
8 17 (3.88%) VLAN
9 13 (2.97%) DHCP
10 11 (2.51%) Network Security
10 11 (2.51%) WebEx
11 3 (0.68%) Cisco ASA
11 3 (0.68%) SD-WAN
11 3 (0.68%) Unified Communications
12 2 (0.46%) Cisco Nexus
12 2 (0.46%) Internet
12 2 (0.46%) Kerberos
12 2 (0.46%) MPLS
12 2 (0.46%) SSL
12 2 (0.46%) TCP/IP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (5.25%) SQL Server
2 22 (5.02%) Power BI
3 14 (3.20%) Relational Database
4 11 (2.51%) MySQL
4 11 (2.51%) PostgreSQL
5 8 (1.83%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 6 (1.37%) DB2
6 6 (1.37%) Looker
7 5 (1.14%) BigQuery
7 5 (1.14%) Data Lake
7 5 (1.14%) Data Warehouse
8 4 (0.91%) BusinessObjects
8 4 (0.91%) MongoDB
8 4 (0.91%) NoSQL
8 4 (0.91%) RDBMS
8 4 (0.91%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 3 (0.68%) Azure SQL Database
9 3 (0.68%) Metadata
9 3 (0.68%) Oracle Reports
9 3 (0.68%) Power Query
Development Applications
1 22 (5.02%) JIRA
2 9 (2.05%) Git
3 6 (1.37%) GitLab
4 4 (0.91%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.23%) Axure RP
5 1 (0.23%) Cypress.io
5 1 (0.23%) InstallShield
5 1 (0.23%) MSI
5 1 (0.23%) Octopus Deploy
5 1 (0.23%) Postman
General
1 164 (37.44%) Social Skills
2 94 (21.46%) Finance
3 60 (13.70%) Public Sector
4 56 (12.79%) Analytical Skills
5 53 (12.10%) Legal
6 48 (10.96%) Banking
7 24 (5.48%) Organisational Skills
8 14 (3.20%) Documentation Skills
9 13 (2.97%) Local Government
10 8 (1.83%) Retail
11 7 (1.60%) Influencing Skills
12 5 (1.14%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 5 (1.14%) Manufacturing
12 5 (1.14%) Telecoms
13 4 (0.91%) Billing
13 4 (0.91%) Presentation Skills
14 3 (0.68%) Law
14 3 (0.68%) Retail Banking
15 2 (0.46%) Military
15 2 (0.46%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 58 (13.24%) Analyst
2 55 (12.56%) IT Support
3 35 (7.99%) Developer
4 33 (7.53%) 1st Line Support
5 32 (7.31%) Architect
6 30 (6.85%) Administrator
7 28 (6.39%) Support Engineer
8 27 (6.16%) IT Engineer
9 25 (5.71%) IT Support Engineer
10 20 (4.57%) Support Analyst
11 19 (4.34%) IT Analyst
11 19 (4.34%) Lead
12 18 (4.11%) Senior
13 17 (3.88%) IT Support Analyst
14 13 (2.97%) Security Engineer
15 12 (2.74%) Business Analyst
15 12 (2.74%) DBA
15 12 (2.74%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
15 12 (2.74%) Project Manager
16 11 (2.51%) Microsoft Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 17 (3.88%) .NET
2 10 (2.28%) XML
2 10 (2.28%) XMPP
3 9 (2.05%) OAuth
3 9 (2.05%) REST
3 9 (2.05%) Spring
3 9 (2.05%) Spring Boot
4 8 (1.83%) JSON
5 5 (1.14%) HTML
5 5 (1.14%) HTML5 Canvas
5 5 (1.14%) Kafka
5 5 (1.14%) SAML
6 4 (0.91%) OpenID
7 3 (0.68%) ARM Templates
7 3 (0.68%) LDAP
7 3 (0.68%) Microsoft Graph
7 3 (0.68%) Oracle Fusion
7 3 (0.68%) RESTful
8 2 (0.46%) LangChain
8 2 (0.46%) SPFx
Miscellaneous
1 26 (5.94%) Onboarding
2 22 (5.02%) Product Ownership
3 15 (3.42%) Cloud Native
4 14 (3.20%) Driving Licence
5 12 (2.74%) Management Information System
6 11 (2.51%) Clustering
7 10 (2.28%) Replication
8 8 (1.83%) Security Posture
9 7 (1.60%) Data Centre
9 7 (1.60%) Data Protection Act
10 6 (1.37%) Virtual Team
11 5 (1.14%) Fat Client
11 5 (1.14%) Thin Client
12 4 (0.91%) Cloud Security Posture
12 4 (0.91%) PKI
12 4 (0.91%) Self-Motivation
13 3 (0.68%) Analytical Mindset
13 3 (0.68%) Cyber Threat
13 3 (0.68%) Housing Association
13 3 (0.68%) Operational Technology
Operating Systems
1 147 (33.56%) Windows
2 82 (18.72%) Windows 10
3 25 (5.71%) Windows Server
4 20 (4.57%) Linux
5 13 (2.97%) Android
6 11 (2.51%) Apple iOS
7 9 (2.05%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 9 (2.05%) Windows 7
8 5 (1.14%) Mac OS
8 5 (1.14%) Unix
9 2 (0.46%) Solaris
9 2 (0.46%) VMS
9 2 (0.46%) Windows Server 2012
10 1 (0.23%) AIX
10 1 (0.23%) Windows Server 2008
10 1 (0.23%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 72 (16.44%) Problem-Solving
2 66 (15.07%) Customer Service
3 61 (13.93%) Agile
4 48 (10.96%) DevOps
5 38 (8.68%) Migration
5 38 (8.68%) Service Management
6 37 (8.45%) ITIL
7 36 (8.22%) ITSM
8 35 (7.99%) CI/CD
8 35 (7.99%) Identity Access Management
9 34 (7.76%) Change Management
10 33 (7.53%) Stakeholder Management
11 32 (7.31%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 30 (6.85%) Analytics
13 29 (6.62%) Digital Transformation Programme
14 27 (6.16%) AI
15 24 (5.48%) Business Intelligence
15 24 (5.48%) Project Delivery
16 23 (5.25%) Project Management
16 23 (5.25%) User Experience
Programming Languages
1 68 (15.53%) PowerShell
2 48 (10.96%) SQL
3 31 (7.08%) Python
4 17 (3.88%) Java
5 16 (3.65%) Bash
6 12 (2.74%) C#
7 11 (2.51%) JavaScript
8 9 (2.05%) VB
8 9 (2.05%) VBScript
9 8 (1.83%) Perl
10 7 (1.60%) Bicep
11 5 (1.14%) T-SQL
12 4 (0.91%) TypeScript
13 3 (0.68%) C++
13 3 (0.68%) VBA
14 2 (0.46%) COBOL
14 2 (0.46%) Kusto Query Language
15 1 (0.23%) CLIST
15 1 (0.23%) Data Analysis Expressions
15 1 (0.23%) PHP
Qualifications
1 69 (15.75%) Security Cleared
2 59 (13.47%) SC Cleared
3 53 (12.10%) Degree
4 32 (7.31%) Microsoft Certification
5 19 (4.34%) BPSS Clearance
6 10 (2.28%) Azure Certification
6 10 (2.28%) DV Cleared
6 10 (2.28%) MCSA
6 10 (2.28%) MCSE
7 9 (2.05%) Computer Science Degree
8 8 (1.83%) VCAP
8 8 (1.83%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
9 7 (1.60%) Cisco Certification
9 7 (1.60%) PMI Certification
10 6 (1.37%) A+ Certification
10 6 (1.37%) CCNA
10 6 (1.37%) CCNP
10 6 (1.37%) CISSP
11 5 (1.14%) ITIL Certification
11 5 (1.14%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 18 (4.11%) GDPR
2 12 (2.74%) Data Quality
2 12 (2.74%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 12 (2.74%) QA
3 10 (2.28%) Accessibility
4 9 (2.05%) NIST
5 6 (1.37%) PMO
6 5 (1.14%) SLA
7 4 (0.91%) Cyber Essentials
7 4 (0.91%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 2 (0.46%) California Consumer Privacy Act
8 2 (0.46%) HIPAA
8 2 (0.46%) NCSC
8 2 (0.46%) WCAG
9 1 (0.23%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
9 1 (0.23%) P3O
9 1 (0.23%) PCI DSS
9 1 (0.23%) SOC 2
System Software
1 120 (27.40%) Active Directory
2 21 (4.79%) Docker
3 14 (3.20%) VMware Infrastructure
4 13 (2.97%) Virtual Machines
5 9 (2.05%) BitLocker
5 9 (2.05%) VMware ESXi
6 8 (1.83%) vSphere
7 2 (0.46%) Virtual Desktop
8 1 (0.23%) ACF2
8 1 (0.23%) Hyper-V
8 1 (0.23%) RACF
8 1 (0.23%) Time Sharing Option
Systems Management
1 30 (6.85%) Microsoft Intune
2 23 (5.25%) SCCM
3 21 (4.79%) Kubernetes
4 14 (3.20%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 12 (2.74%) Terraform
6 10 (2.28%) Ansible
7 9 (2.05%) Single Sign-On
7 9 (2.05%) vCenter Server
8 5 (1.14%) Grafana
9 4 (0.91%) Prometheus
10 3 (0.68%) Norton AntiVirus
10 3 (0.68%) Progress Chef
11 2 (0.46%) Argo
11 2 (0.46%) CA Single Sign-On
11 2 (0.46%) CASB
11 2 (0.46%) FortiGate
11 2 (0.46%) Istio
11 2 (0.46%) linkerd
12 1 (0.23%) AirWatch
12 1 (0.23%) SCOrch
Vendors
1 47 (10.73%) ServiceNow
2 37 (8.45%) Cisco
3 25 (5.71%) Citrix
4 19 (4.34%) VMware
5 17 (3.88%) Bomgar
5 17 (3.88%) iManage
6 15 (3.42%) Oracle
6 15 (3.42%) Remedy
7 14 (3.20%) Google
8 12 (2.74%) SAP
9 9 (2.05%) Red Hat
10 6 (1.37%) Advent
10 6 (1.37%) Splunk
11 5 (1.14%) Palo Alto
12 4 (0.91%) McAfee
13 3 (0.68%) IBM
13 3 (0.68%) Salesforce
13 3 (0.68%) Snow
13 3 (0.68%) Symantec
13 3 (0.68%) Workday