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 20 August 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
20 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 4 5 8
Rank change year-on-year +1 +3 -3
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 554 384 296
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 14.32% 17.35% 12.27%
As % of the Vendors category 33.29% 34.81% 31.22%
Number of daily rates quoted 364 248 166
10th Percentile £185 £206 £213
25th Percentile £313 £350 £371
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £437 £475
Median % change year-on-year +2.92% -7.95% +5.56%
75th Percentile £538 £504 £610
90th Percentile £602 £606 £652
England median daily rate £490 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +3.16% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 46 49 57
10th Percentile £16.50 £12.82 -
25th Percentile £24.04 £17.44 £10.95
Median hourly rate £25.69 £22.32 £16.06
Median % change year-on-year +15.12% +38.95% -28.72%
75th Percentile £53.68 £31.41 £18.11
90th Percentile £178.75 £63.40 £35.40
England median hourly rate £21.43 £22.63 £16.23
% change year-on-year -5.32% +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 1,664 1,103 948
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 43.00% 49.84% 39.30%
Number of daily rates quoted 998 710 537
10th Percentile £260 £302 £300
25th Percentile £400 £384 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £495 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.21% -5.00% +3.09%
75th Percentile £590 £576 £600
90th Percentile £662 £675 £675
England median daily rate £513 £505 £525
% change year-on-year +1.49% -3.81% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 128 74 88
10th Percentile £17.18 £13.00 £10.95
25th Percentile £22.68 £19.07 £11.05
Median hourly rate £29.48 £26.26 £16.06
Median % change year-on-year +12.26% +63.51% -51.33%
75th Percentile £60.75 £54.12 £37.00
90th Percentile £85.00 £69.18 £55.79
England median hourly rate £32.50 £25.15 £29.00
% change year-on-year +29.22% -13.28% -26.68%

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 20 August 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 20 August 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 20 August 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 -4 257 £450 - 255
Cheshire +3 142 £474 +11.41% 74
Merseyside +1 69 £200 -50.00% 60
Cumbria 0 42 £478 +12.47% 17
Lancashire -5 37 £366 -18.61% 113
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 81 (14.62%) SharePoint
2 60 (10.83%) Microsoft Exchange
3 16 (2.89%) Skype for Business
4 12 (2.17%) Confluence
5 8 (1.44%) SharePoint Server
6 3 (0.54%) CMS
6 3 (0.54%) IIS
7 2 (0.36%) Apache
7 2 (0.36%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.18%) CICS
8 1 (0.18%) Mendix
8 1 (0.18%) SharePoint 2013
8 1 (0.18%) WebSphere
Applications
1 70 (12.64%) Microsoft Office
2 40 (7.22%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (2.71%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 12 (2.17%) Microsoft Project
5 10 (1.81%) MS Visio
6 5 (0.90%) Chatbot
7 4 (0.72%) AutoCAD
8 3 (0.54%) Navisworks
8 3 (0.54%) ProjectWise
8 3 (0.54%) Revit
9 1 (0.18%) MicroStation
9 1 (0.18%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 13 (2.35%) Dynamics CRM
2 10 (1.81%) Remedy ITSM
3 7 (1.26%) Oracle Payables
4 4 (0.72%) Primavera
4 4 (0.72%) SAP MM
4 4 (0.72%) SAP S/4HANA
5 3 (0.54%) Elite 3E
5 3 (0.54%) Integrated Workplace Management System
6 2 (0.36%) Dynamics AX
7 1 (0.18%) Adobe Campaign
7 1 (0.18%) Cloudability
7 1 (0.18%) Unit4 Business World
7 1 (0.18%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 210 (37.91%) Azure
2 193 (34.84%) Microsoft 365
3 96 (17.33%) Power Platform
4 84 (15.16%) Entra ID
5 54 (9.75%) AWS
6 51 (9.21%) Microsoft Copilot
7 36 (6.50%) Dynamics 365
8 34 (6.14%) Azure DevOps
9 32 (5.78%) OneDrive
9 32 (5.78%) Power Automate
10 30 (5.42%) PowerApps
11 23 (4.15%) GCP
12 14 (2.53%) Azure Monitor
12 14 (2.53%) Serverless
13 13 (2.35%) GitHub
13 13 (2.35%) SaaS
14 12 (2.17%) Azure AI
15 11 (1.99%) Azure Sentinel
16 10 (1.81%) GitHub Actions
16 10 (1.81%) Microsoft Purview
Communications & Networking
1 32 (5.78%) DNS
2 27 (4.87%) VPN
3 25 (4.51%) Firewall
4 20 (3.61%) Skype
5 19 (3.43%) DHCP
6 18 (3.25%) Network Security
7 16 (2.89%) LAN
8 15 (2.71%) WAN
9 13 (2.35%) Wi-Fi
10 12 (2.17%) VLAN
11 11 (1.99%) TCP/IP
12 8 (1.44%) SAN
13 7 (1.26%) SSL
14 4 (0.72%) NAS
15 3 (0.54%) NetScaler
15 3 (0.54%) PABX
15 3 (0.54%) SSH
15 3 (0.54%) VoIP
16 2 (0.36%) SD-WAN
16 2 (0.36%) VSAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 61 (11.01%) Power BI
2 43 (7.76%) SQL Server
3 18 (3.25%) MySQL
4 17 (3.07%) PostgreSQL
5 16 (2.89%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 8 (1.44%) Power Query
6 8 (1.44%) Relational Database
7 7 (1.26%) Data Warehouse
7 7 (1.26%) Metadata
8 5 (0.90%) MongoDB
8 5 (0.90%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 4 (0.72%) Data Lake
9 4 (0.72%) SQL Server Analysis Services
10 3 (0.54%) Azure SQL Database
10 3 (0.54%) NoSQL
10 3 (0.54%) Oracle Reports
10 3 (0.54%) RDBMS
11 2 (0.36%) Oracle Database
11 2 (0.36%) Oracle Database 12c
11 2 (0.36%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 20 (3.61%) JIRA
2 13 (2.35%) Git
3 11 (1.99%) Jenkins
4 9 (1.62%) GitLab
5 5 (0.90%) MSI
6 2 (0.36%) Claude Code
6 2 (0.36%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 2 (0.36%) Toad
7 1 (0.18%) Sonatype Nexus
7 1 (0.18%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 173 (31.23%) Social Skills
2 112 (20.22%) Finance
3 72 (13.00%) Analytical Skills
4 45 (8.12%) Banking
5 44 (7.94%) Public Sector
6 27 (4.87%) Legal
7 23 (4.15%) Manufacturing
8 18 (3.25%) Documentation Skills
8 18 (3.25%) Organisational Skills
9 15 (2.71%) Local Government
10 9 (1.62%) Influencing Skills
10 9 (1.62%) Retail
11 8 (1.44%) Presentation Skills
12 7 (1.26%) Investment Banking
12 7 (1.26%) Telecoms
13 6 (1.08%) Marketing
13 6 (1.08%) Military
14 5 (0.90%) Games
15 4 (0.72%) Advertising
15 4 (0.72%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 55 (9.93%) Analyst
2 53 (9.57%) IT Support
3 50 (9.03%) Support Engineer
4 42 (7.58%) Architect
5 37 (6.68%) IT Engineer
5 37 (6.68%) IT Support Engineer
6 31 (5.60%) Lead
7 30 (5.42%) DBA
8 26 (4.69%) Developer
9 24 (4.33%) Administrator
10 20 (3.61%) Service Analyst
11 19 (3.43%) Consultant
11 19 (3.43%) Senior
12 18 (3.25%) Security Engineer
12 18 (3.25%) SQL DBA
13 15 (2.71%) Cloud Engineer
13 15 (2.71%) Desktop Engineer
13 15 (2.71%) Service Desk Analyst
14 14 (2.53%) IT Analyst
14 14 (2.53%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 32 (5.78%) Terraform
2 12 (2.17%) SAML
3 10 (1.81%) Microsoft Graph
4 7 (1.26%) ARM Templates
4 7 (1.26%) JSON
5 6 (1.08%) REST
5 6 (1.08%) Software Packaging
6 5 (0.90%) Kafka
6 5 (0.90%) SailPoint
6 5 (0.90%) Spring
6 5 (0.90%) Spring Boot
6 5 (0.90%) XML
7 4 (0.72%) .NET
7 4 (0.72%) Azure Blueprints
7 4 (0.72%) Node.js
7 4 (0.72%) OAuth
8 3 (0.54%) HTML5 Canvas
8 3 (0.54%) PySpark
8 3 (0.54%) React
9 2 (0.36%) Next.js
Miscellaneous
1 38 (6.86%) Onboarding
2 26 (4.69%) Management Information System
3 25 (4.51%) Cloud Native
4 20 (3.61%) Clustering
4 20 (3.61%) Replication
5 13 (2.35%) Data Centre
6 11 (1.99%) CMDB
7 10 (1.81%) Data Protection Act
7 10 (1.81%) Driving Licence
8 9 (1.62%) AI Agents
8 9 (1.62%) Product Ownership
9 8 (1.44%) Legacy Systems
9 8 (1.44%) PKI
9 8 (1.44%) Security Posture
10 7 (1.26%) Enterprise Cloud
10 7 (1.26%) Enterprise Software
11 5 (0.90%) Animation
11 5 (0.90%) Greenfield Project
11 5 (0.90%) Hybrid Cloud
11 5 (0.90%) Mobile App
Operating Systems
1 175 (31.59%) Windows
2 75 (13.54%) Windows 10
3 45 (8.12%) Windows Server
4 29 (5.23%) Linux
5 17 (3.07%) Windows 7
6 13 (2.35%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 10 (1.81%) Solaris
7 10 (1.81%) Unix
8 9 (1.62%) Apple iOS
9 8 (1.44%) Android
9 8 (1.44%) Mac OS
10 5 (0.90%) AIX
10 5 (0.90%) VMS
10 5 (0.90%) Windows Server 2012
11 3 (0.54%) HPUX
11 3 (0.54%) Oracle Linux
11 3 (0.54%) SUSE
11 3 (0.54%) Windows Server 2016
11 3 (0.54%) Windows Server 2019
12 1 (0.18%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 101 (18.23%) ITIL
2 90 (16.25%) Problem-Solving
3 73 (13.18%) Customer Service
4 67 (12.09%) Stakeholder Management
5 61 (11.01%) DevOps
6 60 (10.83%) Service Management
7 59 (10.65%) Agile
8 57 (10.29%) Business Intelligence
9 54 (9.75%) Migration
10 53 (9.57%) Analytics
11 51 (9.21%) Continuous Improvement
11 51 (9.21%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 49 (8.84%) CI/CD
12 49 (8.84%) ITSM
13 46 (8.30%) AI
14 42 (7.58%) Change Management
15 40 (7.22%) Infrastructure as Code
16 37 (6.68%) Project Delivery
17 35 (6.32%) Disaster Recovery
17 35 (6.32%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 98 (17.69%) PowerShell
2 72 (13.00%) SQL
3 51 (9.21%) Python
4 20 (3.61%) Bicep
5 19 (3.43%) VBScript
6 18 (3.25%) T-SQL
7 15 (2.71%) VB
8 14 (2.53%) Bash
8 14 (2.53%) Java
9 9 (1.62%) C#
10 8 (1.44%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 7 (1.26%) JavaScript
12 5 (0.90%) Kusto Query Language
12 5 (0.90%) Search Processing Language
13 2 (0.36%) TypeScript
14 1 (0.18%) COBOL
14 1 (0.18%) Google Apps Script
14 1 (0.18%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 114 (20.58%) Security Cleared
2 92 (16.61%) SC Cleared
3 70 (12.64%) Degree
4 50 (9.03%) Microsoft Certification
5 42 (7.58%) BPSS Clearance
6 24 (4.33%) Azure Certification
7 19 (3.43%) CISSP
8 14 (2.53%) AWS Certification
9 12 (2.17%) Computer Science Degree
10 11 (1.99%) DBS Check
11 10 (1.81%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 9 (1.62%) A+ Certification
12 9 (1.62%) MCSE
13 8 (1.44%) MCSA
13 8 (1.44%) VCAP
13 8 (1.44%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
14 7 (1.26%) Cisco Certification
14 7 (1.26%) ITIL Certification
14 7 (1.26%) Network+ Certification
15 5 (0.90%) GCIH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 21 (3.79%) Data Quality
1 21 (3.79%) SLA
2 20 (3.61%) GDPR
3 12 (2.17%) PMO
4 11 (1.99%) NIST
5 9 (1.62%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 8 (1.44%) GRC
7 6 (1.08%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 6 (1.08%) PCI DSS
7 6 (1.08%) QA
8 5 (0.90%) Accessibility
8 5 (0.90%) WCAG
9 4 (0.72%) NCSC
10 3 (0.54%) ISO 19650
11 2 (0.36%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.36%) P3O
12 1 (0.18%) Cyber Essentials
12 1 (0.18%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 1 (0.18%) Disclosure Scotland
12 1 (0.18%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
System Software
1 149 (26.90%) Active Directory
2 28 (5.05%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (4.15%) Docker
4 22 (3.97%) Virtual Machines
5 17 (3.07%) BitLocker
6 13 (2.35%) Hyper-V
7 11 (1.99%) Virtual Desktop
7 11 (1.99%) VMware ESXi
7 11 (1.99%) vSphere
8 4 (0.72%) Microsoft App-V
8 4 (0.72%) Oracle RAC
9 3 (0.54%) Citrix Hypervisor
9 3 (0.54%) NFS
10 2 (0.36%) GPFS
10 2 (0.36%) XenApp
10 2 (0.36%) XenDesktop
11 1 (0.18%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.18%) Veritas Volume Manager
11 1 (0.18%) Virtual Servers
11 1 (0.18%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 45 (8.12%) Microsoft Intune
2 41 (7.40%) SCCM
3 27 (4.87%) Kubernetes
4 21 (3.79%) Ansible
5 13 (2.35%) Progress Chef
6 11 (1.99%) Single Sign-On
7 10 (1.81%) vCenter Server
8 7 (1.26%) SCOM
9 6 (1.08%) CASB
9 6 (1.08%) Grafana
10 4 (0.72%) Data Guard
10 4 (0.72%) Failover Clustering
11 3 (0.54%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 3 (0.54%) Microsoft Clustering
11 3 (0.54%) Prometheus
11 3 (0.54%) SysTrack
11 3 (0.54%) WSUS
12 2 (0.36%) Enterprise Manager Cloud Control
12 2 (0.36%) linkerd
12 2 (0.36%) VxRail
Vendors
1 102 (18.41%) ServiceNow
2 34 (6.14%) VMware
3 27 (4.87%) Splunk
4 26 (4.69%) Cisco
4 26 (4.69%) Oracle
5 23 (4.15%) BeyondTrust
6 20 (3.61%) Google
6 20 (3.61%) SAP
7 19 (3.43%) iManage
8 15 (2.71%) Red Hat
9 14 (2.53%) Remedy
10 11 (1.99%) Databricks
11 10 (1.81%) Bomgar
11 10 (1.81%) CyberArk
12 7 (1.26%) Citrix
13 6 (1.08%) CrowdStrike
13 6 (1.08%) Ribbon
14 5 (0.90%) HP
14 5 (0.90%) Salesforce
14 5 (0.90%) UiPath