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 8 October 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
8 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 4 8
Rank change year-on-year -1 +4 -4
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 579 395 272
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 14.54% 17.95% 11.26%
As % of the Vendors category 34.88% 35.05% 27.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 375 268 152
10th Percentile £190 £204 £214
25th Percentile £325 £350 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £474 £438 £450
Median % change year-on-year +8.34% -2.78% +5.88%
75th Percentile £534 £500 £575
90th Percentile £604 £604 £638
England median daily rate £493 £475 £490
% change year-on-year +3.68% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 45 59 21
10th Percentile £13.10 £12.96 £16.00
25th Percentile £14.06 £15.50 £24.18
Median hourly rate £20.35 £22.32 £31.00
Median % change year-on-year -8.83% -28.02% +37.59%
75th Percentile £30.00 £31.40 £46.18
90th Percentile £75.25 £63.40 -
England median hourly rate £18.50 £22.63 £18.13
% change year-on-year -18.25% +24.82% -21.17%

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 1,660 1,127 1,002
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 41.69% 51.23% 41.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 983 731 516
10th Percentile £253 £304 £313
25th Percentile £400 £392 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
75th Percentile £594 £602 £589
90th Percentile £652 £708 £675
England median daily rate £519 £507 £525
% change year-on-year +2.37% -3.43% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 130 85 48
10th Percentile £14.32 £13.00 £15.89
25th Percentile £18.31 £17.44 £23.64
Median hourly rate £29.00 £22.63 £35.36
Median % change year-on-year +28.15% -36.00% +1.03%
75th Percentile £56.25 £47.12 £46.18
90th Percentile £85.10 £68.90 £55.79
England median hourly rate £25.75 £25.15 £35.00
% change year-on-year +2.41% -28.16% -20.16%

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 8 October 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 8 October 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 8 October 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 -6 253 £490 +8.89% 487
Cheshire +1 148 £452 +5.67% 101
Merseyside +3 64 £213 -46.88% 102
Cumbria +4 58 £485 +17.58% 25
Lancashire -5 50 £333 -28.11% 139
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
1 102 (17.62%) SharePoint
2 61 (10.54%) Microsoft Exchange
3 16 (2.76%) Skype for Business
4 15 (2.59%) SharePoint Server
5 8 (1.38%) Confluence
6 2 (0.35%) IIS
7 1 (0.17%) CMS
7 1 (0.17%) Exchange Server 2010
7 1 (0.17%) Mendix
7 1 (0.17%) SharePoint 2010
7 1 (0.17%) SharePoint 2013
7 1 (0.17%) WebSphere
Applications
1 80 (13.82%) Microsoft Office
2 48 (8.29%) Microsoft Excel
3 19 (3.28%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 17 (2.94%) MS Visio
5 10 (1.73%) Microsoft Project
6 5 (0.86%) AutoCAD
7 4 (0.69%) Navisworks
7 4 (0.69%) ProjectWise
7 4 (0.69%) Revit
8 1 (0.17%) Chatbot
8 1 (0.17%) MicroStation
8 1 (0.17%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 15 (2.59%) Dynamics CRM
2 7 (1.21%) Oracle Payables
2 7 (1.21%) Remedy ITSM
3 5 (0.86%) Integrated Workplace Management System
4 4 (0.69%) Primavera
4 4 (0.69%) SAP MM
4 4 (0.69%) 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%) Oracle Utilities
6 1 (0.17%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.17%) Unit4 Business World
6 1 (0.17%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 215 (37.13%) Azure
2 198 (34.20%) Microsoft 365
3 117 (20.21%) Power Platform
4 95 (16.41%) Entra ID
5 47 (8.12%) AWS
6 44 (7.60%) Microsoft Copilot
7 36 (6.22%) Azure DevOps
7 36 (6.22%) PowerApps
8 35 (6.04%) Power Automate
9 32 (5.53%) OneDrive
10 31 (5.35%) Dynamics 365
11 23 (3.97%) GCP
12 20 (3.45%) Azure AI
13 16 (2.76%) Azure Monitor
14 13 (2.25%) Azure Sentinel
15 12 (2.07%) SaaS
16 9 (1.55%) Serverless
17 8 (1.38%) Microsoft Purview
18 7 (1.21%) AWS CloudFormation
18 7 (1.21%) GitHub
Communications & Networking
1 34 (5.87%) VPN
2 33 (5.70%) DNS
3 25 (4.32%) Firewall
4 22 (3.80%) Skype
5 21 (3.63%) DHCP
6 20 (3.45%) Network Security
7 14 (2.42%) LAN
8 13 (2.25%) TCP/IP
8 13 (2.25%) VLAN
9 12 (2.07%) SSL
9 12 (2.07%) WAN
10 9 (1.55%) Wi-Fi
11 8 (1.38%) SAN
12 4 (0.69%) NAS
12 4 (0.69%) NetScaler
12 4 (0.69%) SMTP
13 3 (0.52%) PABX
13 3 (0.52%) Remote Desktop
13 3 (0.52%) SSH
13 3 (0.52%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 72 (12.44%) Power BI
2 47 (8.12%) SQL Server
3 30 (5.18%) MySQL
4 19 (3.28%) PostgreSQL
5 16 (2.76%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 10 (1.73%) Power Query
7 6 (1.04%) Data Warehouse
8 5 (0.86%) Metadata
9 4 (0.69%) Oracle Database
10 3 (0.52%) Data Lake
10 3 (0.52%) Relational Database
10 3 (0.52%) SQL Server Reporting Services
10 3 (0.52%) 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
11 2 (0.35%) SQL Server Analysis Services
12 1 (0.17%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 18 (3.11%) JIRA
2 10 (1.73%) Git
3 8 (1.38%) Jenkins
4 7 (1.21%) GitLab
4 7 (1.21%) MSI
5 2 (0.35%) Claude Code
5 2 (0.35%) MSTest
5 2 (0.35%) NUnit
5 2 (0.35%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
5 2 (0.35%) Toad
6 1 (0.17%) Sonatype Nexus
6 1 (0.17%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 190 (32.82%) Social Skills
2 95 (16.41%) Finance
3 69 (11.92%) Analytical Skills
4 29 (5.01%) Banking
4 29 (5.01%) Manufacturing
5 28 (4.84%) Public Sector
6 25 (4.32%) Organisational Skills
7 19 (3.28%) Documentation Skills
7 19 (3.28%) Legal
8 12 (2.07%) Retail
9 8 (1.38%) Military
10 6 (1.04%) Influencing Skills
10 6 (1.04%) Marketing
10 6 (1.04%) Presentation Skills
11 5 (0.86%) Games
11 5 (0.86%) Investment Banking
11 5 (0.86%) Local Government
12 4 (0.69%) Telecoms
13 3 (0.52%) Advertising
13 3 (0.52%) Law
Job Titles
1 55 (9.50%) Support Engineer
2 52 (8.98%) IT Support
3 46 (7.94%) Analyst
4 41 (7.08%) Architect
5 39 (6.74%) Developer
6 38 (6.56%) Lead
7 37 (6.39%) DBA
7 37 (6.39%) IT Engineer
7 37 (6.39%) IT Support Engineer
8 35 (6.04%) Administrator
9 27 (4.66%) Consultant
10 24 (4.15%) Security Engineer
10 24 (4.15%) SQL DBA
11 22 (3.80%) Cloud Engineer
11 22 (3.80%) Service Analyst
12 21 (3.63%) Senior
13 19 (3.28%) Desktop Engineer
14 17 (2.94%) Service Desk Analyst
15 16 (2.76%) Coordinator
16 14 (2.42%) Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 31 (5.35%) Terraform
2 10 (1.73%) Microsoft Graph
3 9 (1.55%) SAML
4 8 (1.38%) Software Packaging
5 7 (1.21%) .NET
5 7 (1.21%) ARM Templates
6 6 (1.04%) REST
7 5 (0.86%) Azure Blueprints
7 5 (0.86%) SailPoint
8 4 (0.69%) ADO
8 4 (0.69%) JSON
8 4 (0.69%) Kafka
9 3 (0.52%) A2A Protocol
9 3 (0.52%) HTML5 Canvas
9 3 (0.52%) Model Context Protocol
9 3 (0.52%) PySpark
9 3 (0.52%) React
10 2 (0.35%) LangChain
10 2 (0.35%) Next.js
10 2 (0.35%) WPF
Miscellaneous
1 42 (7.25%) Onboarding
2 38 (6.56%) Management Information System
3 24 (4.15%) Replication
4 23 (3.97%) Clustering
5 20 (3.45%) Cloud Native
6 17 (2.94%) Enterprise Software
7 13 (2.25%) CMDB
7 13 (2.25%) Security Posture
8 11 (1.90%) PKI
9 10 (1.73%) Data Centre
10 9 (1.55%) Data Protection Act
10 9 (1.55%) Driving Licence
11 8 (1.38%) Legacy Systems
11 8 (1.38%) Product Ownership
12 7 (1.21%) AI Agents
12 7 (1.21%) Handset
13 6 (1.04%) Blackberry
14 5 (0.86%) Cyber Threat
14 5 (0.86%) Greenfield Project
14 5 (0.86%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 185 (31.95%) Windows
2 66 (11.40%) Windows 10
3 52 (8.98%) Windows Server
4 29 (5.01%) Linux
5 18 (3.11%) Solaris
5 18 (3.11%) Windows 7
6 17 (2.94%) Apple iOS
7 14 (2.42%) Android
7 14 (2.42%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 13 (2.25%) Unix
9 9 (1.55%) Mac OS
10 4 (0.69%) AIX
10 4 (0.69%) VMS
10 4 (0.69%) Windows Server 2012
10 4 (0.69%) Windows Server 2019
11 3 (0.52%) HPUX
11 3 (0.52%) Oracle Linux
11 3 (0.52%) SUSE
11 3 (0.52%) Windows Server 2016
12 2 (0.35%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 106 (18.31%) Problem-Solving
2 105 (18.13%) ITIL
3 85 (14.68%) Stakeholder Management
4 78 (13.47%) Customer Service
5 70 (12.09%) Continuous Improvement
6 66 (11.40%) Business Intelligence
7 62 (10.71%) Service Management
8 55 (9.50%) DevOps
9 52 (8.98%) Migration
10 49 (8.46%) Analytics
11 48 (8.29%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 47 (8.12%) User Experience
13 45 (7.77%) Agile
13 45 (7.77%) ITSM
14 44 (7.60%) AI
15 40 (6.91%) Cybersecurity
16 39 (6.74%) Infrastructure as Code
17 38 (6.56%) Change Management
18 37 (6.39%) CI/CD
19 34 (5.87%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 115 (19.86%) PowerShell
2 76 (13.13%) SQL
3 51 (8.81%) Python
4 20 (3.45%) T-SQL
5 19 (3.28%) VBScript
6 15 (2.59%) Bash
6 15 (2.59%) Bicep
6 15 (2.59%) VB
7 13 (2.25%) C#
8 10 (1.73%) Java
9 9 (1.55%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 7 (1.21%) JavaScript
11 5 (0.86%) Kusto Query Language
11 5 (0.86%) Search Processing Language
12 3 (0.52%) TypeScript
13 2 (0.35%) Go
14 1 (0.17%) Google Apps Script
14 1 (0.17%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 132 (22.80%) Security Cleared
2 105 (18.13%) SC Cleared
3 75 (12.95%) Degree
4 57 (9.84%) Microsoft Certification
5 54 (9.33%) BPSS Clearance
6 23 (3.97%) Azure Certification
7 19 (3.28%) CISSP
8 14 (2.42%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 12 (2.07%) AWS Certification
10 11 (1.90%) DBS Check
11 10 (1.73%) Computer Science Degree
12 9 (1.55%) MCSE
13 8 (1.38%) MCSA
13 8 (1.38%) VCAP
13 8 (1.38%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
14 6 (1.04%) Cisco Certification
15 5 (0.86%) A+ Certification
15 5 (0.86%) GCFA
15 5 (0.86%) GCIH
16 4 (0.69%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (4.66%) SLA
2 26 (4.49%) Data Quality
3 16 (2.76%) GDPR
4 13 (2.25%) PMO
5 8 (1.38%) GRC
5 8 (1.38%) NIST
6 7 (1.21%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 7 (1.21%) PCI DSS
7 6 (1.04%) Accessibility
8 5 (0.86%) Cyber Essentials
8 5 (0.86%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 5 (0.86%) WCAG
9 4 (0.69%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 4 (0.69%) ISO 19650
9 4 (0.69%) QA
10 3 (0.52%) P3O
11 2 (0.35%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.35%) NCSC
12 1 (0.17%) Disclosure Scotland
12 1 (0.17%) ITGC
System Software
1 146 (25.22%) Active Directory
2 30 (5.18%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (3.97%) Virtual Machines
4 17 (2.94%) BitLocker
5 16 (2.76%) Virtual Desktop
6 14 (2.42%) Hyper-V
7 13 (2.25%) Docker
8 11 (1.90%) VMware ESXi
8 11 (1.90%) vSphere
9 6 (1.04%) Microsoft App-V
10 4 (0.69%) Citrix Hypervisor
10 4 (0.69%) Oracle RAC
11 3 (0.52%) NFS
12 2 (0.35%) GPFS
12 2 (0.35%) XenApp
12 2 (0.35%) XenDesktop
13 1 (0.17%) Microsoft Virtual Server
13 1 (0.17%) Veritas Volume Manager
13 1 (0.17%) Virtual Servers
13 1 (0.17%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 56 (9.67%) Microsoft Intune
2 55 (9.50%) SCCM
3 26 (4.49%) Ansible
4 17 (2.94%) Kubernetes
4 17 (2.94%) Progress Chef
5 16 (2.76%) Single Sign-On
6 11 (1.90%) SCOM
7 10 (1.73%) vCenter Server
8 5 (0.86%) CASB
8 5 (0.86%) Failover Clustering
9 4 (0.69%) Data Guard
9 4 (0.69%) SysTrack
10 3 (0.52%) Grafana
10 3 (0.52%) Microsoft Clustering
10 3 (0.52%) WSUS
11 2 (0.35%) Enterprise Manager Cloud Control
11 2 (0.35%) Nagios
11 2 (0.35%) Oracle RMAN
11 2 (0.35%) vRealize
11 2 (0.35%) VxRail
Vendors
1 101 (17.44%) ServiceNow
2 37 (6.39%) VMware
3 32 (5.53%) Oracle
4 28 (4.84%) BeyondTrust
5 27 (4.66%) Cisco
6 25 (4.32%) Splunk
7 22 (3.80%) Google
8 20 (3.45%) SAP
9 16 (2.76%) iManage
10 15 (2.59%) Red Hat
11 11 (1.90%) CyberArk
11 11 (1.90%) Remedy
12 10 (1.73%) Databricks
13 9 (1.55%) Citrix
14 8 (1.38%) Okta
15 7 (1.21%) Apple
15 7 (1.21%) Ribbon
16 6 (1.04%) CrowdStrike
17 5 (0.86%) Cribl.io
17 5 (0.86%) UiPath