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 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
9 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 4 6
Rank change year-on-year -1 +2 +2
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 445 345 406
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 12.02% 17.42% 15.95%
As % of the Vendors category 37.30% 39.88% 35.40%
Number of daily rates quoted 249 216 243
10th Percentile £230 £204 £181
25th Percentile £380 £275 £310
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £450 £500
Median % change year-on-year +11.11% -10.00% -2.44%
75th Percentile £600 £575 £650
90th Percentile £730 £675 £775
England median daily rate £493 £475 £490
% change year-on-year +3.68% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 68 45 22
10th Percentile £12.79 £16.61 £12.80
25th Percentile £14.31 - £27.69
Median hourly rate £17.50 £18.87 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -7.26% -70.97% +33.42%
75th Percentile £25.75 £33.00 -
90th Percentile £48.87 £44.64 £85.00
England median hourly rate £18.50 £22.41 £18.13
% change year-on-year -17.44% +23.59% -21.17%

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 1,193 865 1,147
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 32.23% 43.69% 45.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 670 505 663
10th Percentile £325 £220 £221
25th Percentile £425 £351 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -
75th Percentile £610 £619 £633
90th Percentile £725 £675 £700
England median daily rate £516 £506 £525
% change year-on-year +1.88% -3.62% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 197 112 95
10th Percentile £14.00 £14.86 £28.35
25th Percentile £16.62 £18.87 £59.63
Median hourly rate £26.14 £21.98 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +18.93% -68.60% +23.92%
75th Percentile £55.31 £39.42 -
90th Percentile £76.75 £68.00 £74.26
England median hourly rate £25.75 £25.08 £35.00
% change year-on-year +2.69% -28.36% -20.16%

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 9 October 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 October 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 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
Bristol 0 154 £525 +7.69% 96
Somerset -2 75 £475 +46.15% 91
Wiltshire -3 72 £575 - 86
Gloucestershire 0 65 £430 +7.50% 95
Devon -2 39 £400 +45.45% 72
Dorset -7 23 £515 +47.14% 86
Avon -1 4 - - 48
Cornwall - 2 £525 - 13
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 58 (13.03%) SharePoint
2 29 (6.52%) Microsoft Exchange
3 15 (3.37%) Confluence
4 5 (1.12%) CMS
5 3 (0.67%) Sitecore CMS
6 2 (0.45%) Apache
6 2 (0.45%) 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%) Palantir Foundry
7 1 (0.22%) Totara
7 1 (0.22%) Umbraco
Applications
1 67 (15.06%) Microsoft Excel
2 61 (13.71%) Microsoft Office
3 20 (4.49%) Microsoft Project
4 17 (3.82%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 13 (2.92%) Spreadsheet
6 6 (1.35%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 7 (1.57%) Dynamics CRM
2 6 (1.35%) NetSuite
2 6 (1.35%) Oracle Payables
2 6 (1.35%) Oracle Receivables
3 5 (1.12%) SAP HR
4 3 (0.67%) Dynamics NAV
4 3 (0.67%) Magento
4 3 (0.67%) SAP CRM
4 3 (0.67%) SAP S/4HANA
5 2 (0.45%) assyst
5 2 (0.45%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.22%) Integrated Workplace Management System
6 1 (0.22%) Primavera
6 1 (0.22%) Remedy ITSM
6 1 (0.22%) SAP Hybris
6 1 (0.22%) SAP MM
6 1 (0.22%) SAP PM
6 1 (0.22%) Sonata
Cloud Services
1 149 (33.48%) Azure
2 108 (24.27%) Microsoft 365
3 53 (11.91%) Entra ID
4 41 (9.21%) Power Platform
5 33 (7.42%) Azure DevOps
6 29 (6.52%) AWS
7 25 (5.62%) Dynamics 365
8 16 (3.60%) SaaS
9 14 (3.15%) OneDrive
9 14 (3.15%) PowerApps
10 13 (2.92%) GitHub
10 13 (2.92%) Microsoft Copilot
11 12 (2.70%) Microsoft Purview
11 12 (2.70%) Power Automate
12 10 (2.25%) Azure AKS
12 10 (2.25%) Azure Functions
12 10 (2.25%) Serverless
13 9 (2.02%) Azure ExpressRoute
13 9 (2.02%) Azure Key Vault
13 9 (2.02%) Azure Sentinel
Communications & Networking
1 24 (5.39%) DNS
2 22 (4.94%) WAN
3 19 (4.27%) Firewall
4 17 (3.82%) DHCP
5 12 (2.70%) LAN
6 11 (2.47%) Skype
7 10 (2.25%) VPN
8 9 (2.02%) TCP/IP
9 7 (1.57%) SAN
10 6 (1.35%) Wireless
11 5 (1.12%) BGP
11 5 (1.12%) Cisco IOS
11 5 (1.12%) Ethernet
12 4 (0.90%) Kerberos
12 4 (0.90%) Network Security
12 4 (0.90%) VoIP
12 4 (0.90%) Wi-Fi
13 3 (0.67%) VLAN
14 2 (0.45%) Cisco ASA
14 2 (0.45%) PABX
Database & Business Intelligence
1 26 (5.84%) Power BI
2 19 (4.27%) SQL Server
3 13 (2.92%) Geospatial Data
4 11 (2.47%) Metadata
5 10 (2.25%) PostgreSQL
6 7 (1.57%) Azure SQL Database
7 5 (1.12%) Data Lake
7 5 (1.12%) GIS
7 5 (1.12%) Oracle Database
7 5 (1.12%) Oracle Reports
8 4 (0.90%) Relational Database
9 2 (0.45%) Amazon RDS
9 2 (0.45%) EDRMS
9 2 (0.45%) NoSQL
9 2 (0.45%) Spatial Data
9 2 (0.45%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 2 (0.45%) Tableau
10 1 (0.22%) Data Warehouse
10 1 (0.22%) InfluxDB
10 1 (0.22%) RDBMS
Development Applications
1 34 (7.64%) JIRA
2 27 (6.07%) Git
3 12 (2.70%) MSI
4 8 (1.80%) Visual Studio
5 5 (1.12%) GitLab
6 4 (0.90%) Eclipse
7 2 (0.45%) AdminStudio
7 2 (0.45%) Claude Code
7 2 (0.45%) InstallShield
8 1 (0.22%) HP UFT
8 1 (0.22%) Jenkins
8 1 (0.22%) Rational DOORS
8 1 (0.22%) Selenium
General
1 179 (40.22%) Social Skills
2 49 (11.01%) Analytical Skills
2 49 (11.01%) Public Sector
3 48 (10.79%) Finance
4 42 (9.44%) Organisational Skills
5 27 (6.07%) Military
6 17 (3.82%) Aerospace
6 17 (3.82%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 15 (3.37%) Documentation Skills
8 13 (2.92%) Local Government
8 13 (2.92%) Retail
9 10 (2.25%) Manufacturing
10 8 (1.80%) Legal
11 6 (1.35%) General Ledger
12 5 (1.12%) Influencing Skills
12 5 (1.12%) Marketing
13 4 (0.90%) Banking
13 4 (0.90%) Police
14 3 (0.67%) Aviation
15 2 (0.45%) Advertising
Job Titles
1 56 (12.58%) Architect
2 51 (11.46%) Consultant
3 44 (9.89%) Lead
4 35 (7.87%) Administrator
5 29 (6.52%) Analyst
6 26 (5.84%) Senior
7 24 (5.39%) Developer
8 21 (4.72%) IT Support
9 20 (4.49%) Microsoft Consultant
10 19 (4.27%) Solutions Architect
11 17 (3.82%) Support Engineer
12 16 (3.60%) Azure Consultant
13 15 (3.37%) DevOps Engineer
13 15 (3.37%) IT Engineer
14 14 (3.15%) Project Officer
15 13 (2.92%) Data Engineer
16 12 (2.70%) Coordinator
17 11 (2.47%) DBA
17 11 (2.47%) Project Manager
17 11 (2.47%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 41 (9.21%) Terraform
2 31 (6.97%) .NET
3 21 (4.72%) .NET Framework
4 19 (4.27%) REST
5 17 (3.82%) .NET Core
6 16 (3.60%) HTML
6 16 (3.60%) RESTful
7 13 (2.92%) GeoJSON
8 11 (2.47%) ATL
8 11 (2.47%) COM
8 11 (2.47%) CSS
8 11 (2.47%) CSS3
8 11 (2.47%) HTML5
8 11 (2.47%) MFC
8 11 (2.47%) WPF
9 9 (2.02%) ARM Templates
9 9 (2.02%) LDAP
10 8 (1.80%) OAuth
11 7 (1.57%) SAML
12 6 (1.35%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 36 (8.09%) Onboarding
2 23 (5.17%) Management Information System
3 22 (4.94%) Product Ownership
4 21 (4.72%) Cloud Native
5 18 (4.04%) Legacy Systems
6 16 (3.60%) Virtual Team
7 14 (3.15%) Wiki
8 13 (2.92%) Enterprise Software
8 13 (2.92%) Hybrid Cloud
9 12 (2.70%) Self-Motivation
10 10 (2.25%) AI Agents
11 9 (2.02%) Driving Licence
12 8 (1.80%) EPoS
13 7 (1.57%) Low-Code
13 7 (1.57%) PKI
13 7 (1.57%) Replication
14 5 (1.12%) Data Centre
14 5 (1.12%) Data Protection Act
14 5 (1.12%) Freedom of Information
14 5 (1.12%) Greenfield Project
Operating Systems
1 101 (22.70%) Windows
2 37 (8.31%) Windows 10
3 26 (5.84%) Windows Server
4 17 (3.82%) Android
5 16 (3.60%) Linux
6 6 (1.35%) Mac OS
7 5 (1.12%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 3 (0.67%) Apple iOS
9 2 (0.45%) VMS
9 2 (0.45%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.22%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 75 (16.85%) Continuous Improvement
2 70 (15.73%) Problem-Solving
2 70 (15.73%) Stakeholder Management
3 67 (15.06%) Agile
4 52 (11.69%) DevOps
5 50 (11.24%) Migration
6 48 (10.79%) CI/CD
6 48 (10.79%) Project Delivery
7 47 (10.56%) Customer Service
8 46 (10.34%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 40 (8.99%) Technical Leadership
9 40 (8.99%) Validation
10 39 (8.76%) Decision-Making
11 38 (8.54%) Infrastructure as Code
12 37 (8.31%) ITIL
13 35 (7.87%) Roadmaps
14 31 (6.97%) Project Management
15 30 (6.74%) PRINCE2
16 28 (6.29%) Analytics
16 28 (6.29%) Data Governance
Programming Languages
1 42 (9.44%) SQL
2 40 (8.99%) PowerShell
3 30 (6.74%) C#
4 27 (6.07%) Python
5 25 (5.62%) Bicep
6 20 (4.49%) JavaScript
7 14 (3.15%) Bash
8 12 (2.70%) TypeScript
9 7 (1.57%) Java
10 5 (1.12%) BeanShell
10 5 (1.12%) C++
10 5 (1.12%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 1 (0.22%) Ada
11 1 (0.22%) Ada 95
11 1 (0.22%) C
11 1 (0.22%) Kusto Query Language
11 1 (0.22%) Shell Script
11 1 (0.22%) VB
11 1 (0.22%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 177 (39.78%) Security Cleared
2 119 (26.74%) SC Cleared
3 62 (13.93%) DV Cleared
4 20 (4.49%) Degree
5 15 (3.37%) BPSS Clearance
6 13 (2.92%) Microsoft Certification
7 9 (2.02%) Azure Certification
8 6 (1.35%) ACCA
8 6 (1.35%) CIMA
8 6 (1.35%) CIPD
8 6 (1.35%) Cisco Certification
8 6 (1.35%) Microsoft Certified Professional
8 6 (1.35%) PMP
8 6 (1.35%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
9 5 (1.12%) CISSP
9 5 (1.12%) DBS Check
10 3 (0.67%) (ISC)2 CCSP
10 3 (0.67%) MCSE
10 3 (0.67%) TOGAF Certification
11 2 (0.45%) CCNA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (7.19%) Data Quality
2 18 (4.04%) GDPR
2 18 (4.04%) SLA
3 17 (3.82%) Accessibility
4 16 (3.60%) NCSC
4 16 (3.60%) QA
5 15 (3.37%) PMO
6 11 (2.47%) WCAG
7 5 (1.12%) ISO 9000
8 4 (0.90%) Actionable Recommendations
8 4 (0.90%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 4 (0.90%) NIST
9 3 (0.67%) Cyber Essentials
9 3 (0.67%) Disclosure Scotland
10 2 (0.45%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.45%) ISO 22301
11 1 (0.22%) Def Stans
11 1 (0.22%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 1 (0.22%) MIL-STD-1553
11 1 (0.22%) NIST 800
System Software
1 77 (17.30%) Active Directory
2 27 (6.07%) Docker
3 18 (4.04%) Virtual Desktop
4 15 (3.37%) Hyper-V
4 15 (3.37%) VMware Infrastructure
5 6 (1.35%) Virtual Machines
6 5 (1.12%) vSphere
7 2 (0.45%) BitLocker
7 2 (0.45%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.22%) Firmware
8 1 (0.22%) Microsoft App-V
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 29 (6.52%) Kubernetes
2 23 (5.17%) Microsoft Intune
2 23 (5.17%) SCCM
3 7 (1.57%) Ansible
3 7 (1.57%) WSUS
4 5 (1.12%) Active Directory Federation Services
4 5 (1.12%) Failover Clustering
4 5 (1.12%) FortiGate
4 5 (1.12%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
5 4 (0.90%) Single Sign-On
6 3 (0.67%) Grafana
6 3 (0.67%) OPNET
6 3 (0.67%) VxRail
7 2 (0.45%) Argo
7 2 (0.45%) SCOM
8 1 (0.22%) CASB
8 1 (0.22%) Podman
8 1 (0.22%) Prometheus
8 1 (0.22%) PTC Integrity
8 1 (0.22%) SELinux
Vendors
1 26 (5.84%) Oracle
2 19 (4.27%) VMware
3 18 (4.04%) Cisco
4 17 (3.82%) SAP
5 15 (3.37%) ServiceNow
6 14 (3.15%) Apple
7 12 (2.70%) Google
8 11 (2.47%) HP
9 10 (2.25%) Databricks
10 8 (1.80%) Red Hat
11 6 (1.35%) BiZZdesign
11 6 (1.35%) Informatica
11 6 (1.35%) Workday
11 6 (1.35%) Zscaler
12 5 (1.12%) Citrix
12 5 (1.12%) CyberArk
12 5 (1.12%) MuleSoft
13 4 (0.90%) Atlassian
13 4 (0.90%) InterSystems
13 4 (0.90%) McAfee