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 9 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
9 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 7 5 5
Rank change year-on-year -2 0 +1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 354 275 509
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 10.33% 15.65% 15.55%
As % of the Vendors category 34.74% 34.68% 38.13%
Number of daily rates quoted 236 170 335
10th Percentile £203 £184 £180
25th Percentile £323 £220 £306
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £431 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.35% -13.75% -4.76%
75th Percentile £575 £588 £594
90th Percentile £675 £668 £700
England median daily rate £500 £475 £495
% change year-on-year +5.26% -4.04% -1.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 38 35 47
10th Percentile £13.65 £18.13 £12.50
25th Percentile £15.24 £18.51 £13.69
Median hourly rate £19.33 £18.87 £16.00
Median % change year-on-year +2.44% +17.94% -61.21%
75th Percentile £37.50 £33.75 £51.25
90th Percentile £65.00 £37.50 £65.00
England median hourly rate £21.00 £19.00 £15.00
% change year-on-year +10.53% +26.67% -31.82%

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 1,019 793 1,335
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 29.73% 45.13% 40.78%
Number of daily rates quoted 586 481 848
10th Percentile £263 £213 £204
25th Percentile £391 £363 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £513 £520
Median % change year-on-year -2.44% -1.44% -0.95%
75th Percentile £600 £619 £638
90th Percentile £675 £675 £716
England median daily rate £505 £515 £515
% change year-on-year -1.94% - -2.83%
Number of hourly rates quoted 161 85 189
10th Percentile £16.62 £18.16 £13.82
25th Percentile £20.00 £18.87 £36.25
Median hourly rate £51.00 £32.50 £49.00
Median % change year-on-year +56.92% -33.67% -18.81%
75th Percentile £58.75 £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £71.50 £70.00 £75.50
England median hourly rate £33.98 £27.39 £23.80
% change year-on-year +24.07% +15.07% -39.01%

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 9 June 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 9 June 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 9 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
Bristol -9 94 £500 +112.77% 78
Gloucestershire +2 68 £400 +43.88% 60
Wiltshire -2 66 £550 - 44
Somerset +2 60 £460 +64.11% 50
Devon 0 39 £310 -38.10% 21
Dorset -11 14 £409 -3.76% 41
Cornwall -5 2 £525 - 9
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 50 (14.12%) SharePoint
2 14 (3.95%) Microsoft Exchange
3 4 (1.13%) Confluence
4 2 (0.56%) Apache
4 2 (0.56%) Apache Airflow
4 2 (0.56%) Oracle Workflow
4 2 (0.56%) Skype for Business
5 1 (0.28%) Appian
5 1 (0.28%) CMS
5 1 (0.28%) IIS
5 1 (0.28%) Umbraco
Applications
1 48 (13.56%) Microsoft Excel
2 41 (11.58%) Microsoft Office
3 24 (6.78%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 12 (3.39%) Microsoft Project
5 5 (1.41%) Spreadsheet
6 4 (1.13%) MS Visio
7 3 (0.85%) Adobe Captivate
7 3 (0.85%) Adobe Creative Suite
8 2 (0.56%) InDesign
8 2 (0.56%) InfoPath
9 1 (0.28%) Adobe Illustrator
9 1 (0.28%) PTC Creo
9 1 (0.28%) SOLIDWORKS
Business Applications
1 12 (3.39%) NetSuite
2 8 (2.26%) Oracle Payables
2 8 (2.26%) Oracle Receivables
3 5 (1.41%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (1.41%) Maximo
4 2 (0.56%) assyst
4 2 (0.56%) Dynamics AX
4 2 (0.56%) SAP S/4HANA
5 1 (0.28%) Oracle General Ledger
5 1 (0.28%) Remedy ITSM
5 1 (0.28%) SAP Hybris
5 1 (0.28%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 134 (37.85%) Azure
2 73 (20.62%) Microsoft 365
3 48 (13.56%) Power Platform
4 33 (9.32%) Entra ID
5 26 (7.34%) Azure DevOps
6 24 (6.78%) AWS
7 18 (5.08%) GitHub
8 17 (4.80%) Dynamics 365
9 16 (4.52%) Power Automate
10 12 (3.39%) Azure Synapse Analytics
10 12 (3.39%) PowerApps
11 11 (3.11%) Azure Data Factory
11 11 (3.11%) SaaS
12 9 (2.54%) Cloud Computing
12 9 (2.54%) GCP
13 8 (2.26%) Azure Sentinel
13 8 (2.26%) PaaS
14 7 (1.98%) Azure AKS
14 7 (1.98%) Azure Monitor
15 6 (1.69%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 17 (4.80%) VPN
2 13 (3.67%) Firewall
3 10 (2.82%) DHCP
3 10 (2.82%) DNS
4 8 (2.26%) TCP/IP
5 7 (1.98%) Skype
6 6 (1.69%) Ethernet
7 5 (1.41%) WAN
8 4 (1.13%) LAN
9 3 (0.85%) SAN
9 3 (0.85%) VLAN
9 3 (0.85%) VoIP
9 3 (0.85%) Wi-Fi
10 2 (0.56%) Cisco IOS
10 2 (0.56%) H.323
10 2 (0.56%) Network Security
10 2 (0.56%) RTP
10 2 (0.56%) Wireless
11 1 (0.28%) HTTP
11 1 (0.28%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (9.60%) Power BI
2 18 (5.08%) SQL Server
3 9 (2.54%) PostgreSQL
4 6 (1.69%) Relational Database
5 4 (1.13%) Azure SQL Database
5 4 (1.13%) Data Warehouse
5 4 (1.13%) Delta Lake
5 4 (1.13%) GIS
5 4 (1.13%) Metadata
5 4 (1.13%) MySQL
5 4 (1.13%) Redis
5 4 (1.13%) Star Schema
6 3 (0.85%) NoSQL
6 3 (0.85%) Power Query
7 2 (0.56%) Electronic Patient Records
7 2 (0.56%) Oracle Database
7 2 (0.56%) Spatial Data
7 2 (0.56%) Tableau
8 1 (0.28%) Semantic Layer
8 1 (0.28%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 23 (6.50%) JIRA
2 9 (2.54%) Visual Studio
3 6 (1.69%) AdminStudio
3 6 (1.69%) Eclipse
3 6 (1.69%) Git
3 6 (1.69%) InstallShield
4 5 (1.41%) GitLab
5 4 (1.13%) Visual Studio Code
6 1 (0.28%) Artifactory
6 1 (0.28%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.28%) HP UFT
6 1 (0.28%) MSI
6 1 (0.28%) Selenium
6 1 (0.28%) webpack
General
1 132 (37.29%) Social Skills
2 48 (13.56%) Analytical Skills
3 47 (13.28%) Finance
4 32 (9.04%) Organisational Skills
5 28 (7.91%) Public Sector
6 23 (6.50%) Military
7 14 (3.95%) Legal
8 10 (2.82%) Documentation Skills
9 9 (2.54%) General Ledger
10 8 (2.26%) Presentation Skills
11 7 (1.98%) Marketing
12 5 (1.41%) Aerospace
12 5 (1.41%) Local Government
12 5 (1.41%) Manufacturing
12 5 (1.41%) Police
12 5 (1.41%) Retail
13 4 (1.13%) Back Office
14 2 (0.56%) Advertising
14 2 (0.56%) Banking
14 2 (0.56%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 39 (11.02%) Architect
2 30 (8.47%) Support Engineer
3 29 (8.19%) Consultant
4 27 (7.63%) Lead
5 25 (7.06%) Developer
6 21 (5.93%) Administrator
7 20 (5.65%) Analyst
8 19 (5.37%) Data Engineer
9 18 (5.08%) Senior
10 15 (4.24%) Desktop Support
10 15 (4.24%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 15 (4.24%) IT Support
10 15 (4.24%) Project Officer
11 14 (3.95%) Desktop Engineer
11 14 (3.95%) Desktop Support Engineer
12 13 (3.67%) Azure Engineer
13 12 (3.39%) DevOps Engineer
14 11 (3.11%) Solutions Architect
15 10 (2.82%) Project Support Officer
15 10 (2.82%) Support Officer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (5.08%) .NET
2 10 (2.82%) REST
3 9 (2.54%) .NET Framework
3 9 (2.54%) Web Services
4 8 (2.26%) JDO
5 6 (1.69%) ARM Templates
5 6 (1.69%) HTML
5 6 (1.69%) Node.js
5 6 (1.69%) SailPoint
6 5 (1.41%) CSS
6 5 (1.41%) JSON
7 4 (1.13%) CSS3
7 4 (1.13%) FastAPI
7 4 (1.13%) HTML5
7 4 (1.13%) LDAP
7 4 (1.13%) OAuth
7 4 (1.13%) OpenID
7 4 (1.13%) Spring
7 4 (1.13%) Spring MVC
7 4 (1.13%) WebSockets
Miscellaneous
1 19 (5.37%) Hybrid Cloud
2 15 (4.24%) Cloud Native
3 14 (3.95%) Blackberry
3 14 (3.95%) Enterprise Software
3 14 (3.95%) Product Ownership
4 13 (3.67%) Onboarding
5 11 (3.11%) Self-Motivation
6 10 (2.82%) Management Information System
6 10 (2.82%) Virtual Team
7 8 (2.26%) Data Structures
7 8 (2.26%) Legacy Applications
7 8 (2.26%) Legacy Systems
8 7 (1.98%) Driving Licence
9 4 (1.13%) Augmented Reality
9 4 (1.13%) Freedom of Information
9 4 (1.13%) Low-Code
9 4 (1.13%) Virtual Reality
9 4 (1.13%) Wiki
10 3 (0.85%) CCTV
10 3 (0.85%) Replication
Operating Systems
1 97 (27.40%) Windows
2 30 (8.47%) Windows 10
3 28 (7.91%) Android
4 22 (6.21%) Windows Server
5 17 (4.80%) Apple iOS
6 16 (4.52%) Linux
7 4 (1.13%) Windows Server 2016
8 3 (0.85%) Mac OS
8 3 (0.85%) Windows Server 2019
9 1 (0.28%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 80 (22.60%) Problem-Solving
2 50 (14.12%) Agile
3 44 (12.43%) Continuous Improvement
4 43 (12.15%) DevOps
4 43 (12.15%) Stakeholder Management
5 38 (10.73%) Analytics
6 37 (10.45%) ITIL
7 34 (9.60%) CI/CD
8 31 (8.76%) Project Delivery
8 31 (8.76%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 30 (8.47%) Migration
10 29 (8.19%) PRINCE2
11 28 (7.91%) Project Management
12 25 (7.06%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 24 (6.78%) Change Management
13 24 (6.78%) Data Modelling
13 24 (6.78%) Decision-Making
14 23 (6.50%) Business Intelligence
14 23 (6.50%) Customer Service
15 20 (5.65%) RBAC
Programming Languages
1 43 (12.15%) SQL
2 36 (10.17%) PowerShell
3 25 (7.06%) Python
4 17 (4.80%) C#
4 17 (4.80%) JavaScript
5 13 (3.67%) Java
6 9 (2.54%) Bicep
7 7 (1.98%) C++
8 4 (1.13%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 4 (1.13%) Go
9 3 (0.85%) BeanShell
9 3 (0.85%) T-SQL
10 2 (0.56%) VBA
11 1 (0.28%) Bash
11 1 (0.28%) Kusto Query Language
11 1 (0.28%) PHP
11 1 (0.28%) PL/SQL
11 1 (0.28%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.28%) VB
Qualifications
1 155 (43.79%) Security Cleared
2 118 (33.33%) SC Cleared
3 46 (12.99%) DV Cleared
4 33 (9.32%) Degree
5 20 (5.65%) Microsoft Certification
6 18 (5.08%) Azure Certification
7 10 (2.82%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
8 9 (2.54%) PMP
9 8 (2.26%) ACCA
9 8 (2.26%) CIMA
10 7 (1.98%) CISSP
11 6 (1.69%) BPSS Clearance
12 5 (1.41%) CISM
12 5 (1.41%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
13 3 (0.85%) ACSP
13 3 (0.85%) Computer Science Degree
13 3 (0.85%) ITIL Certification
14 2 (0.56%) (ISC)2 CCSP
14 2 (0.56%) CBAP
14 2 (0.56%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (4.52%) Data Quality
2 10 (2.82%) SLA
3 9 (2.54%) PMO
4 8 (2.26%) Accessibility
5 7 (1.98%) GDPR
6 6 (1.69%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 6 (1.69%) NIST
6 6 (1.69%) QA
7 5 (1.41%) NIST 800
8 2 (0.56%) HL7
8 2 (0.56%) ISO 9000
8 2 (0.56%) SNOMED CT
9 1 (0.28%) Actionable Recommendations
9 1 (0.28%) Cyber Essentials
9 1 (0.28%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 1 (0.28%) Disclosure Scotland
9 1 (0.28%) GRC
9 1 (0.28%) ISO 22301
9 1 (0.28%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 73 (20.62%) Active Directory
2 14 (3.95%) Hyper-V
3 12 (3.39%) Virtual Desktop
4 8 (2.26%) VMware Infrastructure
5 7 (1.98%) Docker
6 3 (0.85%) VMware NSX
7 2 (0.56%) Virtual Machines
7 2 (0.56%) vSphere
8 1 (0.28%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.28%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 43 (12.15%) Microsoft Intune
2 23 (6.50%) Terraform
3 16 (4.52%) Kubernetes
4 14 (3.95%) Single Sign-On
5 13 (3.67%) SCCM
6 7 (1.98%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 7 (1.98%) Ansible
7 4 (1.13%) Grafana
7 4 (1.13%) Prometheus
7 4 (1.13%) VxRail
8 2 (0.56%) Cisco CUCM
8 2 (0.56%) McAfee ePO
8 2 (0.56%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
9 1 (0.28%) CA Single Sign-On
9 1 (0.28%) Failover Clustering
9 1 (0.28%) Puppet
9 1 (0.28%) SCOM
9 1 (0.28%) vCenter Server
9 1 (0.28%) WSUS
Vendors
1 31 (8.76%) VMware
2 19 (5.37%) Oracle
3 16 (4.52%) Citrix
4 15 (4.24%) SAP
5 14 (3.95%) MobileIron
6 12 (3.39%) Apple
7 11 (3.11%) Google
7 11 (3.11%) ServiceNow
8 9 (2.54%) Adobe
8 9 (2.54%) Databricks
9 8 (2.26%) McAfee
10 7 (1.98%) HP
10 7 (1.98%) NetApp
10 7 (1.98%) Starlink
11 6 (1.69%) Cisco
11 6 (1.69%) Dell
11 6 (1.69%) Red Hat
12 5 (1.41%) IBM
12 5 (1.41%) InterSystems
13 4 (1.13%) Thales