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 13 January 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
13 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 5 7
Rank change year-on-year 0 +2 -2
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 352 309 389
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 14.49% 16.05% 13.34%
As % of the Vendors category 38.01% 35.23% 32.47%
Number of daily rates quoted 252 206 264
10th Percentile £210 £200 £185
25th Percentile £350 £223 £265
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £504 £470 £511
Median % change year-on-year +7.18% -8.07% +2.25%
75th Percentile £600 £595 £639
90th Percentile £724 £709 £700
England median daily rate £475 £475 £500
% change year-on-year - -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 19 10 38
10th Percentile £15.45 £12.39 £14.36
25th Percentile £17.24 £13.25 £18.07
Median hourly rate £21.46 £22.72 £48.72
Median % change year-on-year -5.52% -53.38% -25.05%
75th Percentile £36.25 £28.99 -
90th Percentile £64.60 £37.00 £69.62
England median hourly rate £19.91 £22.27 £21.00
% change year-on-year -10.60% +6.05% -

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 926 877 1,198
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 38.12% 45.56% 41.07%
Number of daily rates quoted 613 529 782
10th Percentile £225 £215 £220
25th Percentile £413 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £545
Median % change year-on-year - -3.67% +3.81%
75th Percentile £613 £623 £638
90th Percentile £725 £700 £700
England median daily rate £505 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -3.81% - -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 84 37 124
10th Percentile £15.08 £12.50 £17.65
25th Percentile £18.87 £18.51 £46.36
Median hourly rate £23.91 £62.50 £56.49
Median % change year-on-year -61.74% +10.64% -13.09%
75th Percentile £59.06 £68.75 £69.62
90th Percentile £68.00 £74.66 £76.25
England median hourly rate £23.75 £30.00 £43.84
% change year-on-year -20.83% -31.57% +51.16%

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 13 January 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 13 January 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 13 January 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
Wiltshire -4 104 £575 +4.55% 54
Gloucestershire +9 77 £425 - 50
Bristol -7 77 £513 +28.13% 63
Somerset +1 55 £425 -5.56% 39
Devon +12 21 £275 +42.86% 44
Dorset -6 11 £385 -23.00% 43
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 72 (20.45%) SharePoint
2 61 (17.33%) Microsoft Exchange
3 23 (6.53%) Skype for Business
4 5 (1.42%) Confluence
4 5 (1.42%) Oracle Application Server
5 4 (1.14%) SharePoint Server
6 3 (0.85%) IIS
7 1 (0.28%) Apache
7 1 (0.28%) CMS
7 1 (0.28%) nginx
7 1 (0.28%) Sitecore CMS
Applications
1 41 (11.65%) Microsoft Office
2 28 (7.95%) Microsoft Excel
3 11 (3.13%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 8 (2.27%) Microsoft Project
5 7 (1.99%) Adobe Creative Suite
6 5 (1.42%) Adobe Captivate
6 5 (1.42%) MS Visio
7 3 (0.85%) Spreadsheet
8 2 (0.57%) Windchill
9 1 (0.28%) Adobe Illustrator
9 1 (0.28%) InDesign
Business Applications
1 8 (2.27%) Maximo
2 4 (1.14%) Dynamics CRM
3 3 (0.85%) Teamcenter
4 2 (0.57%) assyst
4 2 (0.57%) NetSuite
5 1 (0.28%) Primavera
5 1 (0.28%) Remedy ITSM
5 1 (0.28%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 108 (30.68%) Azure
2 94 (26.70%) Microsoft 365
3 40 (11.36%) Power Platform
4 36 (10.23%) Entra ID
5 34 (9.66%) AWS
6 24 (6.82%) Azure DevOps
7 21 (5.97%) Azure Sentinel
8 16 (4.55%) Power Automate
9 15 (4.26%) Azure Monitor
10 14 (3.98%) GitHub
11 13 (3.69%) Azure AKS
11 13 (3.69%) Dynamics 365
11 13 (3.69%) GCP
11 13 (3.69%) PowerApps
12 11 (3.13%) Serverless
13 10 (2.84%) Azure Key Vault
13 10 (2.84%) OneDrive
13 10 (2.84%) SaaS
14 9 (2.56%) GitHub Actions
14 9 (2.56%) Microsoft Purview
Communications & Networking
1 54 (15.34%) DNS
2 33 (9.38%) DHCP
2 33 (9.38%) Skype
3 30 (8.52%) Firewall
4 25 (7.10%) VPN
5 18 (5.11%) TCP/IP
6 11 (3.13%) Unified Communications
7 6 (1.70%) Network Security
8 5 (1.42%) VoIP
9 4 (1.14%) LAN
9 4 (1.14%) VLAN
9 4 (1.14%) WAAS
10 3 (0.85%) HTTP
10 3 (0.85%) Kerberos
10 3 (0.85%) VSAN
10 3 (0.85%) WAN
11 2 (0.57%) H.323
11 2 (0.57%) RTP
11 2 (0.57%) SMTP
11 2 (0.57%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 30 (8.52%) Power BI
2 16 (4.55%) SQL Server
3 13 (3.69%) PostgreSQL
4 7 (1.99%) Data Warehouse
4 7 (1.99%) Redis
5 5 (1.42%) Metadata
5 5 (1.42%) Oracle ODI
5 5 (1.42%) Oracle Reports
5 5 (1.42%) Star Schema
6 3 (0.85%) Azure SQL Database
7 2 (0.57%) Data Lake
7 2 (0.57%) Elasticsearch
7 2 (0.57%) Looker
7 2 (0.57%) MySQL
7 2 (0.57%) Power Query
7 2 (0.57%) Relational Database
7 2 (0.57%) Tableau
8 1 (0.28%) Delta Lake
8 1 (0.28%) SQL Server Analysis Services
8 1 (0.28%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 27 (7.67%) JIRA
2 10 (2.84%) Git
2 10 (2.84%) MSI
3 5 (1.42%) DBeaver
4 4 (1.14%) Artifactory
4 4 (1.14%) Jenkins
5 3 (0.85%) AdminStudio
5 3 (0.85%) InstallShield
6 2 (0.57%) GitLab
7 1 (0.28%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.28%) Eclipse
7 1 (0.28%) Maven
7 1 (0.28%) SonarQube
7 1 (0.28%) Visual Studio
General
1 148 (42.05%) Social Skills
2 55 (15.63%) Analytical Skills
2 55 (15.63%) Public Sector
3 38 (10.80%) Finance
4 21 (5.97%) Documentation Skills
5 14 (3.98%) Organisational Skills
6 11 (3.13%) Telecoms
7 9 (2.56%) Banking
7 9 (2.56%) Military
8 7 (1.99%) Legal
8 7 (1.99%) Manufacturing
9 6 (1.70%) Electronics
9 6 (1.70%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 6 (1.70%) Marketing
10 4 (1.14%) Police
11 3 (0.85%) Influencing Skills
12 2 (0.57%) Back Office
12 2 (0.57%) Law
13 1 (0.28%) Advertising
13 1 (0.28%) Aerospace
Job Titles
1 38 (10.80%) Support Engineer
2 30 (8.52%) Analyst
2 30 (8.52%) Developer
3 25 (7.10%) Architect
4 24 (6.82%) Infrastructure Engineer
5 19 (5.40%) Microsoft Engineer
6 18 (5.11%) Administrator
7 17 (4.83%) Desktop Engineer
8 16 (4.55%) Consultant
8 16 (4.55%) Desktop Support
8 16 (4.55%) Desktop Support Engineer
9 14 (3.98%) Azure Engineer
10 12 (3.41%) IT Support
11 9 (2.56%) Designer
11 9 (2.56%) Platform Engineer
11 9 (2.56%) Senior
11 9 (2.56%) Solutions Architect
12 8 (2.27%) Backend Developer
12 8 (2.27%) Data Engineer
12 8 (2.27%) Security Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 23 (6.53%) OAuth
2 22 (6.25%) SAML
3 20 (5.68%) OAuth2
3 20 (5.68%) OpenID
4 17 (4.83%) REST
5 14 (3.98%) ARM Templates
6 7 (1.99%) FastAPI
6 7 (1.99%) Flask
6 7 (1.99%) GraphQL
6 7 (1.99%) gRPC
6 7 (1.99%) SOAP
6 7 (1.99%) WebSockets
7 6 (1.70%) CSS
7 6 (1.70%) HTML
8 5 (1.42%) .NET
8 5 (1.42%) AngularJS
8 5 (1.42%) LDAP
8 5 (1.42%) Oracle GoldenGate
8 5 (1.42%) React
9 4 (1.14%) Bootstrap
Miscellaneous
1 25 (7.10%) Onboarding
2 19 (5.40%) Cloud Native
3 18 (5.11%) Hybrid Cloud
3 18 (5.11%) PKI
4 11 (3.13%) Management Information System
4 11 (3.13%) Replication
5 10 (2.84%) Driving Licence
5 10 (2.84%) Mobile App
6 9 (2.56%) Enterprise Software
7 8 (2.27%) Private Cloud
7 8 (2.27%) Security Posture
8 6 (1.70%) Data Centre
9 5 (1.42%) Self-Motivation
10 4 (1.14%) Cyber Defence
10 4 (1.14%) Cyber Threat
10 4 (1.14%) Low-Code
10 4 (1.14%) Product Ownership
11 3 (0.85%) Analytical Mindset
11 3 (0.85%) iPad
11 3 (0.85%) Legacy Applications
Operating Systems
1 150 (42.61%) Windows
2 69 (19.60%) Windows 10
3 53 (15.06%) Windows Server
4 30 (8.52%) Linux
5 11 (3.13%) Apple iOS
6 8 (2.27%) Android
6 8 (2.27%) Windows Server 2016
7 7 (1.99%) Mac OS
7 7 (1.99%) Windows Server 2012
7 7 (1.99%) Windows Server 2019
8 5 (1.42%) Windows Server 2008
9 3 (0.85%) CentOS
9 3 (0.85%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 3 (0.85%) Windows 7
10 1 (0.28%) Windows 8
Processes & Methodologies
1 86 (24.43%) Problem-Solving
2 63 (17.90%) ITIL
3 55 (15.63%) Agile
4 43 (12.22%) Migration
5 42 (11.93%) DevOps
6 36 (10.23%) Infrastructure Engineering
7 35 (9.94%) RBAC
8 34 (9.66%) Customer Service
9 33 (9.38%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 32 (9.09%) Business Intelligence
10 32 (9.09%) Change Management
11 27 (7.67%) CI/CD
11 27 (7.67%) Knowledge Transfer
12 25 (7.10%) Analytics
13 24 (6.82%) Cloud Security
13 24 (6.82%) Service Management
14 23 (6.53%) Stakeholder Management
15 22 (6.25%) Identity Access Management
16 21 (5.97%) Project Management
17 19 (5.40%) Continuous Improvement
Programming Languages
1 84 (23.86%) PowerShell
2 41 (11.65%) SQL
3 32 (9.09%) Python
4 19 (5.40%) Bicep
5 15 (4.26%) JavaScript
6 7 (1.99%) Go
7 6 (1.70%) C#
7 6 (1.70%) Java
7 6 (1.70%) TypeScript
8 5 (1.42%) VBScript
9 4 (1.14%) T-SQL
10 3 (0.85%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 3 (0.85%) Perl
11 2 (0.57%) Bash
11 2 (0.57%) PHP
12 1 (0.28%) C++
12 1 (0.28%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 195 (55.40%) Security Cleared
2 139 (39.49%) SC Cleared
3 75 (21.31%) DV Cleared
4 59 (16.76%) Microsoft Certification
5 27 (7.67%) Degree
6 19 (5.40%) Azure Certification
7 12 (3.41%) A+ Certification
7 12 (3.41%) CISSP
7 12 (3.41%) MCSE
8 11 (3.13%) CISM
8 11 (3.13%) ITIL Certification
9 8 (2.27%) Cisco Certification
9 8 (2.27%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
10 7 (1.99%) CCNP
10 7 (1.99%) MCSA
11 5 (1.42%) CCNA
11 5 (1.42%) Master's Degree
12 4 (1.14%) APMP
13 3 (0.85%) ACCA
14 2 (0.57%) JNCIP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (6.53%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 17 (4.83%) GDPR
3 15 (4.26%) NIST
4 12 (3.41%) Data Quality
5 10 (2.84%) PMO
6 8 (2.27%) Accessibility
6 8 (2.27%) NCSC
6 8 (2.27%) NIST 800
7 7 (1.99%) QA
8 5 (1.42%) SLA
9 3 (0.85%) GAAP
9 3 (0.85%) IFRS
10 2 (0.57%) PSD2
10 2 (0.57%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 2 (0.57%) SOC 2
11 1 (0.28%) GRC
11 1 (0.28%) WCAG
System Software
1 120 (34.09%) Active Directory
2 32 (9.09%) VMware Infrastructure
3 14 (3.98%) Virtual Machines
4 13 (3.69%) Hyper-V
5 12 (3.41%) Docker
6 6 (1.70%) VMware ESXi
7 5 (1.42%) Microsoft Virtual Server
7 5 (1.42%) Virtual Servers
7 5 (1.42%) VMware NSX
8 4 (1.14%) Microsoft App-V
8 4 (1.14%) Virtual Desktop
9 1 (0.28%) KVM
9 1 (0.28%) Slurm Workload Manager
9 1 (0.28%) UAG
Systems Management
1 37 (10.51%) Microsoft Intune
2 34 (9.66%) SCCM
3 30 (8.52%) Active Directory Federation Services
4 27 (7.67%) Single Sign-On
5 23 (6.53%) Kubernetes
5 23 (6.53%) Terraform
6 15 (4.26%) vCenter Server
7 14 (3.98%) WSUS
8 7 (1.99%) Grafana
8 7 (1.99%) Norton AntiVirus
8 7 (1.99%) Prometheus
9 3 (0.85%) Ansible
9 3 (0.85%) OPNET
10 2 (0.57%) Cisco CUCM
10 2 (0.57%) Kibana
10 2 (0.57%) Microsoft Clustering
10 2 (0.57%) NetBackup
10 2 (0.57%) Symantec Endpoint Protection
10 2 (0.57%) vMotion
10 2 (0.57%) WhatsUp Gold
Vendors
1 38 (10.80%) VMware
2 26 (7.39%) Cisco
3 12 (3.41%) Red Hat
3 12 (3.41%) SolarWinds
3 12 (3.41%) Veeam
4 11 (3.13%) SAP
5 10 (2.84%) McAfee
5 10 (2.84%) ServiceNow
6 9 (2.56%) Oracle
7 8 (2.27%) Adobe
7 8 (2.27%) IBM
8 7 (1.99%) Blue Prism
8 7 (1.99%) Symantec
9 5 (1.42%) Google
9 5 (1.42%) Splunk
10 4 (1.14%) Atlassian
10 4 (1.14%) Databricks
10 4 (1.14%) ForgeRock
10 4 (1.14%) Fortinet
10 4 (1.14%) Ping Identity