Microsoft Contract Job Trends in the South West

Microsoft
England > South West

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the South 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 12 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
12 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 4 6
Rank change year-on-year -1 +2 +1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 461 308 416
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 12.35% 15.58% 15.57%
As % of the Vendors category 37.18% 37.98% 35.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 276 190 263
10th Percentile £208 £199 £180
25th Percentile £354 £235 £328
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £470 £419 £500
Median % change year-on-year +12.24% -16.25% -1.23%
75th Percentile £588 £568 £616
90th Percentile £728 £628 £737
England median daily rate £489 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +2.95% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 65 44 20
10th Percentile £12.75 £18.13 £12.50
25th Percentile £14.00 £18.51 £15.50
Median hourly rate £17.50 £18.87 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -7.26% -70.97% +152.43%
75th Percentile £25.75 £33.75 -
90th Percentile £46.24 £37.50 £85.00
England median hourly rate £19.34 £22.63 £16.23
% change year-on-year -14.56% +39.43% -26.23%

All Vendors
South 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 South West.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 1,240 811 1,174
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 33.23% 41.02% 43.94%
Number of daily rates quoted 729 466 716
10th Percentile £305 £213 £264
25th Percentile £413 £350 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -
75th Percentile £613 £619 £634
90th Percentile £716 £675 £700
England median daily rate £513 £502 £525
% change year-on-year +2.07% -4.36% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 180 103 99
10th Percentile £13.65 £13.56 £15.17
25th Percentile £16.62 £18.51 £55.50
Median hourly rate £32.50 £18.87 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +72.23% -73.04% +23.92%
75th Percentile £56.43 £46.37 -
90th Percentile £75.18 £70.00 £74.00
England median hourly rate £30.00 £25.15 £35.00
% change year-on-year +19.28% -28.14% -17.31%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in the South West

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Microsoft relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West.

Microsoft job vacancy trend in the South West

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in the South West

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South West citing Microsoft.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South West citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in the South West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in the South West over the 6 months to 12 September 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in the South West

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in the South West

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South West citing Microsoft.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South West citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in the South West over the 6 months to 12 September 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in the South West

Microsoft
Contract Job Locations in the South 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 South West region over the 6 months to 12 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
Bristol -3 140 £500 +11.11% 129
Somerset 0 90 £450 +62.16% 78
Wiltshire +3 76 £513 -7.24% 56
Gloucestershire +1 74 £425 +21.43% 97
Devon -2 43 £317 +15.36% 61
Dorset -3 24 £515 +47.14% 55
Cornwall -2 2 £525 +138.64% 8
Avon -2 1 - - 60
Microsoft
England

Microsoft
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South 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 74 (16.05%) SharePoint
2 27 (5.86%) Microsoft Exchange
3 17 (3.69%) Confluence
4 5 (1.08%) CMS
5 3 (0.65%) Sitecore CMS
6 2 (0.43%) Apache
6 2 (0.43%) Skype for Business
7 1 (0.22%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.22%) Apache Spark
7 1 (0.22%) Appian
7 1 (0.22%) ColdFusion
7 1 (0.22%) JBoss
7 1 (0.22%) Moodle
7 1 (0.22%) Oracle Workflow
7 1 (0.22%) Palantir Foundry
7 1 (0.22%) Totara
7 1 (0.22%) Umbraco
Applications
1 69 (14.97%) Microsoft Excel
2 65 (14.10%) Microsoft Office
3 28 (6.07%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 16 (3.47%) Microsoft Project
5 9 (1.95%) MS Visio
6 5 (1.08%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 10 (2.17%) NetSuite
2 8 (1.74%) Oracle Payables
2 8 (1.74%) Oracle Receivables
3 6 (1.30%) Dynamics CRM
4 3 (0.65%) Dynamics NAV
4 3 (0.65%) Magento
4 3 (0.65%) SAP CRM
4 3 (0.65%) SAP HR
4 3 (0.65%) SAP S/4HANA
5 2 (0.43%) assyst
5 2 (0.43%) Dynamics AX
5 2 (0.43%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.22%) Oracle General Ledger
6 1 (0.22%) Remedy ITSM
6 1 (0.22%) SAP Hybris
6 1 (0.22%) SAP MM
6 1 (0.22%) SAP PM
Cloud Services
1 163 (35.36%) Azure
2 107 (23.21%) Microsoft 365
3 52 (11.28%) Entra ID
4 51 (11.06%) Power Platform
5 33 (7.16%) Azure DevOps
6 32 (6.94%) AWS
7 23 (4.99%) Dynamics 365
8 18 (3.90%) GitHub
9 15 (3.25%) SaaS
10 14 (3.04%) PowerApps
11 13 (2.82%) Microsoft Copilot
11 13 (2.82%) Power Automate
12 12 (2.60%) OneDrive
13 11 (2.39%) Azure AKS
13 11 (2.39%) Microsoft Purview
14 10 (2.17%) Serverless
15 9 (1.95%) Azure ExpressRoute
15 9 (1.95%) Azure Key Vault
15 9 (1.95%) Cloud Computing
15 9 (1.95%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 22 (4.77%) DNS
2 20 (4.34%) WAN
3 16 (3.47%) DHCP
3 16 (3.47%) Firewall
4 12 (2.60%) VPN
5 11 (2.39%) LAN
5 11 (2.39%) Skype
6 9 (1.95%) TCP/IP
7 8 (1.74%) SAN
8 6 (1.30%) Ethernet
9 5 (1.08%) BGP
9 5 (1.08%) VoIP
10 4 (0.87%) Wi-Fi
10 4 (0.87%) Wireless
11 3 (0.65%) Cisco IOS
11 3 (0.65%) Kerberos
11 3 (0.65%) VLAN
12 2 (0.43%) NAS
12 2 (0.43%) SSL
12 2 (0.43%) VSAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 37 (8.03%) Power BI
2 22 (4.77%) SQL Server
3 13 (2.82%) Geospatial Data
4 10 (2.17%) Metadata
4 10 (2.17%) PostgreSQL
5 7 (1.52%) Azure SQL Database
6 6 (1.30%) Relational Database
7 5 (1.08%) Data Lake
7 5 (1.08%) GIS
7 5 (1.08%) Oracle Database
8 3 (0.65%) NoSQL
8 3 (0.65%) Oracle Reports
8 3 (0.65%) Tableau
9 2 (0.43%) Data Warehouse
9 2 (0.43%) Delta Lake
9 2 (0.43%) EDRMS
9 2 (0.43%) Electronic Patient Records
9 2 (0.43%) MySQL
9 2 (0.43%) Spatial Data
9 2 (0.43%) SQL Server Integration Services
Development Applications
1 35 (7.59%) JIRA
2 29 (6.29%) Git
3 11 (2.39%) MSI
4 9 (1.95%) Visual Studio
5 6 (1.30%) AdminStudio
5 6 (1.30%) GitLab
5 6 (1.30%) InstallShield
6 5 (1.08%) Eclipse
7 4 (0.87%) Visual Studio Code
8 2 (0.43%) Claude Code
9 1 (0.22%) Bitbucket
9 1 (0.22%) HP UFT
9 1 (0.22%) Jenkins
9 1 (0.22%) Rational DOORS
9 1 (0.22%) Selenium
General
1 183 (39.70%) Social Skills
2 56 (12.15%) Analytical Skills
3 55 (11.93%) Finance
4 51 (11.06%) Public Sector
5 45 (9.76%) Organisational Skills
6 34 (7.38%) Military
7 17 (3.69%) Documentation Skills
8 16 (3.47%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 14 (3.04%) Aerospace
9 14 (3.04%) Legal
10 12 (2.60%) Retail
11 11 (2.39%) Local Government
12 9 (1.95%) General Ledger
13 8 (1.74%) Manufacturing
14 7 (1.52%) Presentation Skills
15 5 (1.08%) Influencing Skills
15 5 (1.08%) Marketing
16 4 (0.87%) Banking
17 3 (0.65%) Aviation
18 2 (0.43%) Police
Job Titles
1 60 (13.02%) Architect
2 48 (10.41%) Consultant
3 47 (10.20%) Lead
4 29 (6.29%) Analyst
4 29 (6.29%) Senior
5 28 (6.07%) Developer
6 27 (5.86%) Administrator
6 27 (5.86%) Support Engineer
7 23 (4.99%) IT Support
8 19 (4.12%) Solutions Architect
9 18 (3.90%) Microsoft Consultant
10 16 (3.47%) DevOps Engineer
11 15 (3.25%) IT Engineer
12 14 (3.04%) Project Officer
12 14 (3.04%) Technical Architect
13 13 (2.82%) Azure Engineer
14 12 (2.60%) Azure Consultant
14 12 (2.60%) Data Engineer
14 12 (2.60%) DBA
14 12 (2.60%) Infrastructure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 46 (9.98%) Terraform
2 32 (6.94%) .NET
3 22 (4.77%) .NET Framework
4 19 (4.12%) REST
5 18 (3.90%) .NET Core
5 18 (3.90%) HTML
6 16 (3.47%) RESTful
7 13 (2.82%) CSS
7 13 (2.82%) CSS3
7 13 (2.82%) GeoJSON
7 13 (2.82%) HTML5
8 11 (2.39%) ATL
8 11 (2.39%) COM
8 11 (2.39%) MFC
8 11 (2.39%) WPF
9 9 (1.95%) ARM Templates
9 9 (1.95%) LDAP
10 8 (1.74%) SailPoint
11 7 (1.52%) OAuth
11 7 (1.52%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 37 (8.03%) Onboarding
2 29 (6.29%) Product Ownership
3 25 (5.42%) Cloud Native
4 20 (4.34%) Legacy Systems
5 17 (3.69%) Management Information System
6 16 (3.47%) Wiki
7 15 (3.25%) Enterprise Software
8 13 (2.82%) Hybrid Cloud
8 13 (2.82%) Self-Motivation
9 12 (2.60%) Virtual Team
10 9 (1.95%) EPoS
11 8 (1.74%) AI Agents
11 8 (1.74%) Driving Licence
12 7 (1.52%) Low-Code
12 7 (1.52%) PKI
13 6 (1.30%) Data Centre
13 6 (1.30%) Data Protection Act
13 6 (1.30%) Freedom of Information
13 6 (1.30%) Legacy Applications
14 5 (1.08%) Replication
Operating Systems
1 107 (23.21%) Windows
2 42 (9.11%) Windows 10
3 24 (5.21%) Windows Server
4 18 (3.90%) Android
4 18 (3.90%) Linux
5 6 (1.30%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 5 (1.08%) Mac OS
7 3 (0.65%) Apple iOS
8 2 (0.43%) VMS
8 2 (0.43%) Windows Server 2019
9 1 (0.22%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 88 (19.09%) Continuous Improvement
2 84 (18.22%) Problem-Solving
3 74 (16.05%) Agile
4 71 (15.40%) Stakeholder Management
5 56 (12.15%) DevOps
6 53 (11.50%) CI/CD
7 51 (11.06%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 49 (10.63%) Migration
9 48 (10.41%) Project Delivery
10 45 (9.76%) Customer Service
11 42 (9.11%) ITIL
12 41 (8.89%) Infrastructure as Code
13 40 (8.68%) Technical Leadership
14 38 (8.24%) Decision-Making
15 35 (7.59%) Roadmaps
16 34 (7.38%) Project Management
16 34 (7.38%) Validation
17 33 (7.16%) PRINCE2
18 29 (6.29%) Analytics
18 29 (6.29%) Deployment Automation
Programming Languages
1 48 (10.41%) SQL
2 39 (8.46%) PowerShell
3 31 (6.72%) C#
4 30 (6.51%) Python
5 25 (5.42%) Bicep
6 24 (5.21%) JavaScript
7 14 (3.04%) Bash
8 11 (2.39%) Java
8 11 (2.39%) TypeScript
9 6 (1.30%) C++
9 6 (1.30%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 5 (1.08%) BeanShell
11 2 (0.43%) VB
12 1 (0.22%) Ada
12 1 (0.22%) Ada 95
12 1 (0.22%) C
12 1 (0.22%) Kusto Query Language
12 1 (0.22%) Shell Script
12 1 (0.22%) VBA
12 1 (0.22%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 193 (41.87%) Security Cleared
2 136 (29.50%) SC Cleared
3 57 (12.36%) DV Cleared
4 35 (7.59%) Degree
5 16 (3.47%) BPSS Clearance
5 16 (3.47%) Microsoft Certification
6 11 (2.39%) Azure Certification
7 10 (2.17%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
8 9 (1.95%) PMP
9 8 (1.74%) ACCA
9 8 (1.74%) CIMA
10 5 (1.08%) Cisco Certification
10 5 (1.08%) DBS Check
11 4 (0.87%) CIPD
11 4 (0.87%) CISSP
11 4 (0.87%) Microsoft Certified Professional
11 4 (0.87%) TOGAF Certification
12 3 (0.65%) (ISC)2 CCSP
12 3 (0.65%) ACSP
12 3 (0.65%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (5.64%) Data Quality
2 18 (3.90%) Accessibility
2 18 (3.90%) GDPR
3 17 (3.69%) QA
4 16 (3.47%) NCSC
4 16 (3.47%) SLA
5 11 (2.39%) PMO
5 11 (2.39%) WCAG
6 5 (1.08%) ISO 9000
7 4 (0.87%) Actionable Recommendations
8 3 (0.65%) Cyber Essentials
8 3 (0.65%) Disclosure Scotland
8 3 (0.65%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 3 (0.65%) NIST
9 2 (0.43%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (0.43%) HL7
9 2 (0.43%) SNOMED CT
10 1 (0.22%) Def Stans
10 1 (0.22%) HMG Security Policy Framework
10 1 (0.22%) ISO 22301
System Software
1 83 (18.00%) Active Directory
2 29 (6.29%) Docker
3 18 (3.90%) Virtual Desktop
4 12 (2.60%) Hyper-V
4 12 (2.60%) VMware Infrastructure
5 6 (1.30%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.87%) vSphere
7 2 (0.43%) BitLocker
8 1 (0.22%) Firmware
8 1 (0.22%) Microsoft Virtual Server
8 1 (0.22%) Virtual Servers
8 1 (0.22%) VMware NSX
8 1 (0.22%) zsh
Systems Management
1 30 (6.51%) Kubernetes
2 29 (6.29%) Microsoft Intune
3 27 (5.86%) SCCM
4 8 (1.74%) Ansible
4 8 (1.74%) WSUS
5 5 (1.08%) Failover Clustering
5 5 (1.08%) FortiGate
5 5 (1.08%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
5 5 (1.08%) Single Sign-On
6 4 (0.87%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 3 (0.65%) Grafana
7 3 (0.65%) OPNET
7 3 (0.65%) VxRail
8 2 (0.43%) Argo
8 2 (0.43%) SCOM
9 1 (0.22%) FreeIPA
9 1 (0.22%) Podman
9 1 (0.22%) Prometheus
9 1 (0.22%) PTC Integrity
9 1 (0.22%) SELinux
Vendors
1 27 (5.86%) Oracle
2 17 (3.69%) SAP
3 16 (3.47%) ServiceNow
3 16 (3.47%) VMware
4 15 (3.25%) Apple
4 15 (3.25%) Cisco
5 11 (2.39%) Google
5 11 (2.39%) HP
6 10 (2.17%) Databricks
7 9 (1.95%) Red Hat
8 8 (1.74%) McAfee
9 6 (1.30%) BiZZdesign
10 5 (1.08%) CyberArk
10 5 (1.08%) Informatica
10 5 (1.08%) InterSystems
10 5 (1.08%) NetApp
10 5 (1.08%) Starlink
10 5 (1.08%) Zscaler
11 4 (0.87%) Atlassian
11 4 (0.87%) MuleSoft