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 26 June 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
26 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 4 2
Rank change year-on-year -3 -2 +3
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 416 365 428
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 11.88% 18.18% 15.32%
As % of the Vendors category 29.63% 35.85% 38.63%
Number of daily rates quoted 274 241 228
10th Percentile £185 £205 £198
25th Percentile £350 £350 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £449 £425 £464
Median % change year-on-year +5.65% -8.36% +0.27%
75th Percentile £538 £528 £600
90th Percentile £619 £600 £656
England median daily rate £500 £475 £498
% change year-on-year +5.26% -4.52% -0.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 38 36 104
10th Percentile £18.68 £12.82 £10.95
25th Percentile £25.38 £13.00 £11.05
Median hourly rate £29.00 £27.13 £15.27
Median % change year-on-year +6.91% +77.61% -37.06%
75th Percentile £71.63 £31.80 £17.86
90th Percentile £178.75 £63.40 £26.50
England median hourly rate £22.64 £21.00 £16.00
% change year-on-year +7.79% +31.25% -27.27%

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 1,404 1,018 1,108
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 40.08% 50.70% 39.66%
Number of daily rates quoted 818 672 645
10th Percentile £282 £300 £270
25th Percentile £400 £385 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £481 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +1.16% -5.00% +5.26%
75th Percentile £588 £575 £588
90th Percentile £675 £661 £650
England median daily rate £507 £513 £520
% change year-on-year -1.07% -1.44% -0.95%
Number of hourly rates quoted 99 62 153
10th Percentile £18.87 £13.00 £10.95
25th Percentile £23.34 £19.91 £12.00
Median hourly rate £30.00 £38.80 £16.06
Median % change year-on-year -22.67% +141.56% -45.19%
75th Percentile £62.88 £63.30 £28.75
90th Percentile £85.20 £84.83 £46.18
England median hourly rate £35.00 £26.45 £24.50
% change year-on-year +32.33% +7.96% -34.67%

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 26 June 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 26 June 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 26 June 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 -6 202 £449 +5.53% 173
Cheshire -3 94 £474 +8.29% 63
Merseyside -1 55 £140 -65.00% 44
Cumbria -3 36 £472 +1.51% 14
Lancashire -13 22 £366 -30.24% 95
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 42 (10.10%) SharePoint
2 39 (9.38%) Microsoft Exchange
3 15 (3.61%) Confluence
4 12 (2.88%) Skype for Business
5 4 (0.96%) CMS
6 3 (0.72%) IIS
7 2 (0.48%) Apache
7 2 (0.48%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.24%) CICS
8 1 (0.24%) Headless CMS
8 1 (0.24%) SharePoint 2013
8 1 (0.24%) WebSphere
Applications
1 54 (12.98%) Microsoft Office
2 31 (7.45%) Microsoft Excel
3 13 (3.13%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 11 (2.64%) Microsoft Project
5 8 (1.92%) MS Visio
6 4 (0.96%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.24%) AutoCAD
7 1 (0.24%) MicroStation
Business Applications
1 13 (3.13%) Remedy ITSM
2 8 (1.92%) Dynamics CRM
3 6 (1.44%) Primavera
3 6 (1.44%) SAP MM
4 5 (1.20%) Oracle Payables
5 4 (0.96%) SAP S/4HANA
6 3 (0.72%) Elite 3E
7 2 (0.48%) Dynamics AX
8 1 (0.24%) Infor M3
8 1 (0.24%) NEC Housing
8 1 (0.24%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 159 (38.22%) Azure
2 130 (31.25%) Microsoft 365
3 60 (14.42%) Power Platform
4 54 (12.98%) Entra ID
5 37 (8.89%) Dynamics 365
5 37 (8.89%) Microsoft Copilot
6 36 (8.65%) AWS
7 27 (6.49%) Azure DevOps
8 24 (5.77%) Power Automate
9 23 (5.53%) PowerApps
10 14 (3.37%) Microsoft Purview
10 14 (3.37%) OneDrive
11 13 (3.13%) GCP
11 13 (3.13%) Serverless
12 10 (2.40%) Azure AKS
12 10 (2.40%) GitHub
13 9 (2.16%) Azure Logic Apps
14 8 (1.92%) SaaS
15 7 (1.68%) GitHub Actions
16 6 (1.44%) Azure Functions
Communications & Networking
1 21 (5.05%) DNS
2 20 (4.81%) Firewall
3 18 (4.33%) Skype
3 18 (4.33%) VPN
4 14 (3.37%) Wi-Fi
5 11 (2.64%) DHCP
5 11 (2.64%) Network Security
6 10 (2.40%) LAN
6 10 (2.40%) WAN
7 8 (1.92%) VLAN
8 6 (1.44%) TCP/IP
9 3 (0.72%) WebEx
10 2 (0.48%) Internet
10 2 (0.48%) Kerberos
10 2 (0.48%) SAN
10 2 (0.48%) SSH
10 2 (0.48%) VSAN
11 1 (0.24%) BGP
11 1 (0.24%) Intrusion Detection
11 1 (0.24%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 37 (8.89%) Power BI
2 26 (6.25%) SQL Server
3 14 (3.37%) PostgreSQL
4 9 (2.16%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 8 (1.92%) MySQL
5 8 (1.92%) Power Query
5 8 (1.92%) Relational Database
6 5 (1.20%) MongoDB
6 5 (1.20%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 4 (0.96%) Data Warehouse
7 4 (0.96%) SQL Server Analysis Services
8 3 (0.72%) Azure SQL Database
8 3 (0.72%) BusinessObjects
8 3 (0.72%) Data Lake
8 3 (0.72%) Metadata
8 3 (0.72%) NoSQL
8 3 (0.72%) Oracle Reports
8 3 (0.72%) RDBMS
9 1 (0.24%) Data Vault
9 1 (0.24%) Qlik Sense
Development Applications
1 21 (5.05%) JIRA
2 13 (3.13%) Git
3 5 (1.20%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.72%) GitLab
4 3 (0.72%) MSI
5 2 (0.48%) Claude Code
6 1 (0.24%) Cypress.io
6 1 (0.24%) Postman
6 1 (0.24%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 123 (29.57%) Social Skills
2 87 (20.91%) Finance
3 57 (13.70%) Analytical Skills
4 49 (11.78%) Public Sector
5 46 (11.06%) Banking
6 35 (8.41%) Legal
7 17 (4.09%) Manufacturing
8 16 (3.85%) Organisational Skills
9 14 (3.37%) Local Government
10 10 (2.40%) Retail
11 9 (2.16%) Telecoms
12 6 (1.44%) Influencing Skills
12 6 (1.44%) Investment Banking
13 5 (1.20%) Documentation Skills
13 5 (1.20%) Military
14 4 (0.96%) Billing
14 4 (0.96%) Retail Banking
15 3 (0.72%) Corporate Banking
15 3 (0.72%) Marketing
15 3 (0.72%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 50 (12.02%) Analyst
2 39 (9.38%) Architect
3 33 (7.93%) Developer
4 32 (7.69%) IT Support
5 21 (5.05%) Administrator
5 21 (5.05%) Lead
6 20 (4.81%) 1st Line Support
7 19 (4.57%) Security Engineer
7 19 (4.57%) Support Engineer
8 18 (4.33%) Support Analyst
9 17 (4.09%) IT Analyst
10 16 (3.85%) DBA
10 16 (3.85%) IT Engineer
10 16 (3.85%) IT Support Engineer
11 14 (3.37%) IT Support Analyst
12 13 (3.13%) Project Manager
13 12 (2.88%) Designer
13 12 (2.88%) Solutions Architect
13 12 (2.88%) Tester
13 12 (2.88%) Wintel Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (2.40%) Spring
1 10 (2.40%) Spring Boot
2 9 (2.16%) REST
3 8 (1.92%) .NET
4 6 (1.44%) JSON
4 6 (1.44%) Software Packaging
4 6 (1.44%) XML
5 5 (1.20%) HTML5 Canvas
5 5 (1.20%) Kafka
5 5 (1.20%) Microsoft Graph
5 5 (1.20%) OAuth
6 4 (0.96%) ARM Templates
6 4 (0.96%) Node.js
6 4 (0.96%) SAML
7 3 (0.72%) LangChain
7 3 (0.72%) LDAP
7 3 (0.72%) OpenID
7 3 (0.72%) React
7 3 (0.72%) SailPoint
7 3 (0.72%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 30 (7.21%) Onboarding
2 20 (4.81%) Cloud Native
3 16 (3.85%) Clustering
3 16 (3.85%) Replication
4 15 (3.61%) Management Information System
5 11 (2.64%) Product Ownership
6 9 (2.16%) Security Posture
7 8 (1.92%) Legacy Systems
8 7 (1.68%) Data Centre
9 6 (1.44%) Data Protection Act
10 5 (1.20%) AI Agents
10 5 (1.20%) Analytical Mindset
10 5 (1.20%) Driving Licence
11 4 (0.96%) Cloud Security Posture
11 4 (0.96%) Cyber Threat
11 4 (0.96%) Enterprise Cloud
11 4 (0.96%) Linux Command Line
11 4 (0.96%) Operational Technology
12 3 (0.72%) Data Structures
12 3 (0.72%) Hybrid Cloud
Operating Systems
1 118 (28.37%) Windows
2 60 (14.42%) Windows 10
3 21 (5.05%) Windows Server
4 20 (4.81%) Linux
5 13 (3.13%) Windows 7
6 7 (1.68%) Mac OS
6 7 (1.68%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 7 (1.68%) Solaris
6 7 (1.68%) Unix
7 6 (1.44%) Apple iOS
8 4 (0.96%) AIX
8 4 (0.96%) Windows Server 2012
9 3 (0.72%) VMS
10 2 (0.48%) HPUX
10 2 (0.48%) Oracle Linux
10 2 (0.48%) SUSE
10 2 (0.48%) Windows Server 2016
10 2 (0.48%) Windows Server 2019
11 1 (0.24%) Android
11 1 (0.24%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 64 (15.38%) Problem-Solving
2 60 (14.42%) DevOps
3 54 (12.98%) Agile
4 51 (12.26%) ITIL
5 48 (11.54%) Customer Service
6 47 (11.30%) CI/CD
7 45 (10.82%) Migration
8 40 (9.62%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 39 (9.38%) ITSM
10 36 (8.65%) Business Intelligence
10 36 (8.65%) Service Management
11 35 (8.41%) AI
12 32 (7.69%) Change Management
12 32 (7.69%) Stakeholder Management
13 31 (7.45%) Continuous Improvement
14 30 (7.21%) Roadmaps
15 29 (6.97%) Analytics
15 29 (6.97%) Project Delivery
16 24 (5.77%) Identity Access Management
17 22 (5.29%) User Experience
Programming Languages
1 76 (18.27%) PowerShell
2 53 (12.74%) SQL
3 40 (9.62%) Python
4 17 (4.09%) Java
5 15 (3.61%) VBScript
6 13 (3.13%) C#
7 11 (2.64%) VB
8 9 (2.16%) Bicep
8 9 (2.16%) JavaScript
9 8 (1.92%) T-SQL
10 7 (1.68%) Bash
10 7 (1.68%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 4 (0.96%) TypeScript
12 3 (0.72%) VBA
13 2 (0.48%) C++
14 1 (0.24%) COBOL
14 1 (0.24%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 76 (18.27%) Security Cleared
2 69 (16.59%) SC Cleared
3 61 (14.66%) Degree
4 45 (10.82%) Microsoft Certification
5 17 (4.09%) BPSS Clearance
6 13 (3.13%) Azure Certification
6 13 (3.13%) Computer Science Degree
6 13 (3.13%) MCSA
6 13 (3.13%) MCSE
7 12 (2.88%) VCAP
7 12 (2.88%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
8 11 (2.64%) A+ Certification
8 11 (2.64%) CISSP
9 9 (2.16%) AWS Certification
9 9 (2.16%) Network+ Certification
10 7 (1.68%) DBS Check
10 7 (1.68%) ITIL Certification
11 4 (0.96%) PMI Certification
12 3 (0.72%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
12 3 (0.72%) RHCE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (3.85%) GDPR
2 11 (2.64%) Data Quality
3 10 (2.40%) PMO
4 9 (2.16%) NIST
4 9 (2.16%) SLA
5 7 (1.68%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 6 (1.44%) Accessibility
7 5 (1.20%) WCAG
8 4 (0.96%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 3 (0.72%) Cyber Essentials
9 3 (0.72%) NCSC
9 3 (0.72%) QA
10 2 (0.48%) California Consumer Privacy Act
10 2 (0.48%) GRC
10 2 (0.48%) HIPAA
11 1 (0.24%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
11 1 (0.24%) PCI DSS
11 1 (0.24%) SOC 2
System Software
1 95 (22.84%) Active Directory
2 22 (5.29%) Docker
3 18 (4.33%) Virtual Machines
3 18 (4.33%) VMware Infrastructure
4 15 (3.61%) VMware ESXi
5 14 (3.37%) vSphere
6 13 (3.13%) BitLocker
7 5 (1.20%) Virtual Desktop
8 3 (0.72%) Hyper-V
8 3 (0.72%) NFS
9 2 (0.48%) GPFS
9 2 (0.48%) Microsoft App-V
10 1 (0.24%) Veritas Volume Manager
Systems Management
1 25 (6.01%) Kubernetes
2 22 (5.29%) Microsoft Intune
2 22 (5.29%) Terraform
3 21 (5.05%) SCCM
4 18 (4.33%) Ansible
5 14 (3.37%) vCenter Server
6 8 (1.92%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 6 (1.44%) Grafana
8 4 (0.96%) Progress Chef
8 4 (0.96%) Single Sign-On
9 3 (0.72%) Prometheus
10 2 (0.48%) AirWatch
10 2 (0.48%) Argo
10 2 (0.48%) CA Single Sign-On
10 2 (0.48%) CASB
10 2 (0.48%) Failover Clustering
10 2 (0.48%) Istio
10 2 (0.48%) linkerd
10 2 (0.48%) vRealize
10 2 (0.48%) VxRail
Vendors
1 56 (13.46%) ServiceNow
2 31 (7.45%) Cisco
3 20 (4.81%) VMware
4 18 (4.33%) Oracle
4 18 (4.33%) SAP
5 17 (4.09%) Remedy
6 14 (3.37%) Splunk
7 12 (2.88%) Bomgar
7 12 (2.88%) iManage
8 9 (2.16%) BeyondTrust
8 9 (2.16%) Red Hat
9 8 (1.92%) Citrix
10 7 (1.68%) Google
11 6 (1.44%) CrowdStrike
11 6 (1.44%) Databricks
12 5 (1.20%) IBM
13 4 (0.96%) CyberArk
13 4 (0.96%) HP
13 4 (0.96%) UiPath
14 3 (0.72%) Infoblox