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 19 April 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
19 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 5 5
Rank change year-on-year -1 0 +1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 338 266 489
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 10.59% 15.47% 15.25%
As % of the Vendors category 32.66% 33.80% 37.27%
Number of daily rates quoted 252 190 328
10th Percentile £200 £200 £180
25th Percentile £325 £220 £272
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £470 £470 £500
Median % change year-on-year - -6.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £575 £588 £582
90th Percentile £710 £675 £696
England median daily rate £492 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +3.58% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 27 17 46
10th Percentile £13.65 £16.64 £12.50
25th Percentile £14.00 £18.13 £13.69
Median hourly rate £22.79 £18.51 £14.54
Median % change year-on-year +23.10% +27.30% -73.48%
75th Percentile £38.13 £25.00 £51.25
90th Percentile £65.00 £37.50 -
England median hourly rate £20.09 £20.00 £15.00
% change year-on-year +0.45% +33.33% -28.96%

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 1,035 787 1,312
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 32.41% 45.76% 40.92%
Number of daily rates quoted 671 530 840
10th Percentile £275 £220 £200
25th Percentile £400 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £508 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -3.33% - -
75th Percentile £594 £606 £638
90th Percentile £725 £688 £725
England median daily rate £500 £525 £520
% change year-on-year -4.76% +0.96% -3.26%
Number of hourly rates quoted 140 53 170
10th Percentile £16.62 £18.13 £13.69
25th Percentile £22.78 £18.51 £27.50
Median hourly rate £57.50 £55.00 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year +4.55% +15.79% -24.88%
75th Percentile £60.00 £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £74.68 £70.00 £77.50
England median hourly rate £29.00 £28.75 £22.50
% change year-on-year +0.87% +27.78% -41.75%

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 19 April 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 19 April 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 19 April 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 +3 90 £550 - 36
Gloucestershire -1 71 £410 -3.53% 59
Bristol -13 70 £500 +34.32% 70
Somerset 0 51 £450 +15.02% 44
Devon +3 35 £220 -35.77% 39
Dorset -19 9 £409 -13.89% 38
Cornwall -8 1 £525 +40.94% 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 45 (13.31%) SharePoint
2 17 (5.03%) Microsoft Exchange
3 4 (1.18%) Confluence
3 4 (1.18%) Skype for Business
4 2 (0.59%) Apache
4 2 (0.59%) Oracle Workflow
5 1 (0.30%) Apache Airflow
5 1 (0.30%) Appian
5 1 (0.30%) CMS
5 1 (0.30%) IIS
5 1 (0.30%) Umbraco
Applications
1 45 (13.31%) Microsoft Excel
2 42 (12.43%) Microsoft Office
3 20 (5.92%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 11 (3.25%) Microsoft Project
5 7 (2.07%) Spreadsheet
6 6 (1.78%) MS Visio
7 3 (0.89%) Adobe Captivate
7 3 (0.89%) Adobe Creative Suite
8 2 (0.59%) InDesign
8 2 (0.59%) InfoPath
9 1 (0.30%) Adobe Illustrator
9 1 (0.30%) PTC Creo
9 1 (0.30%) SOLIDWORKS
Business Applications
1 7 (2.07%) Dynamics CRM
2 6 (1.78%) Maximo
2 6 (1.78%) NetSuite
3 2 (0.59%) Dynamics AX
3 2 (0.59%) Oracle Payables
3 2 (0.59%) Oracle Receivables
3 2 (0.59%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.30%) assyst
4 1 (0.30%) Oracle General Ledger
4 1 (0.30%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 110 (32.54%) Azure
2 65 (19.23%) Microsoft 365
3 48 (14.20%) Power Platform
4 28 (8.28%) Entra ID
5 24 (7.10%) Azure DevOps
6 20 (5.92%) Dynamics 365
6 20 (5.92%) Power Automate
7 19 (5.62%) AWS
8 17 (5.03%) GitHub
9 16 (4.73%) PowerApps
10 14 (4.14%) Azure Sentinel
11 12 (3.55%) Azure Monitor
12 10 (2.96%) Azure AKS
13 9 (2.66%) Azure Synapse Analytics
13 9 (2.66%) GCP
13 9 (2.66%) PaaS
14 8 (2.37%) Azure Data Factory
14 8 (2.37%) SaaS
14 8 (2.37%) Serverless
15 6 (1.78%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 24 (7.10%) DNS
1 24 (7.10%) Firewall
2 20 (5.92%) VPN
3 13 (3.85%) DHCP
4 8 (2.37%) TCP/IP
5 7 (2.07%) Skype
6 4 (1.18%) Ethernet
6 4 (1.18%) Unified Communications
6 4 (1.18%) WAN
7 3 (0.89%) LAN
7 3 (0.89%) Network Security
7 3 (0.89%) VLAN
7 3 (0.89%) VoIP
7 3 (0.89%) Wireless
8 2 (0.59%) Cisco IOS
8 2 (0.59%) H.323
8 2 (0.59%) HTTP
8 2 (0.59%) RTP
8 2 (0.59%) Wi-Fi
9 1 (0.30%) WAAS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 33 (9.76%) Power BI
2 13 (3.85%) SQL Server
3 4 (1.18%) Azure SQL Database
3 4 (1.18%) Data Warehouse
3 4 (1.18%) Delta Lake
3 4 (1.18%) Metadata
3 4 (1.18%) MySQL
3 4 (1.18%) PostgreSQL
3 4 (1.18%) Redis
3 4 (1.18%) Relational Database
3 4 (1.18%) Star Schema
4 3 (0.89%) GIS
4 3 (0.89%) Power Query
5 2 (0.59%) Data Lake
5 2 (0.59%) Electronic Patient Records
5 2 (0.59%) NoSQL
5 2 (0.59%) Spatial Data
5 2 (0.59%) Tableau
6 1 (0.30%) Semantic Layer
6 1 (0.30%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 24 (7.10%) JIRA
2 6 (1.78%) Git
2 6 (1.78%) Visual Studio
3 4 (1.18%) AdminStudio
3 4 (1.18%) Eclipse
3 4 (1.18%) GitLab
3 4 (1.18%) InstallShield
3 4 (1.18%) Visual Studio Code
4 3 (0.89%) Artifactory
4 3 (0.89%) MSI
5 1 (0.30%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.30%) HP UFT
5 1 (0.30%) Selenium
5 1 (0.30%) webpack
General
1 139 (41.12%) Social Skills
2 51 (15.09%) Analytical Skills
3 40 (11.83%) Finance
4 33 (9.76%) Public Sector
5 26 (7.69%) Organisational Skills
6 20 (5.92%) Military
7 18 (5.33%) Documentation Skills
8 15 (4.44%) Legal
9 8 (2.37%) Manufacturing
9 8 (2.37%) Presentation Skills
10 7 (2.07%) Marketing
11 4 (1.18%) Back Office
11 4 (1.18%) Banking
11 4 (1.18%) Local Government
11 4 (1.18%) Police
12 3 (0.89%) Electronics
12 3 (0.89%) General Ledger
12 3 (0.89%) Telecoms
13 2 (0.59%) Investment Banking
14 1 (0.30%) Retail
Job Titles
1 48 (14.20%) Architect
2 31 (9.17%) Developer
2 31 (9.17%) Support Engineer
3 25 (7.40%) Analyst
4 20 (5.92%) Infrastructure Engineer
5 19 (5.62%) Solutions Architect
6 16 (4.73%) Administrator
6 16 (4.73%) Desktop Engineer
6 16 (4.73%) Desktop Support
6 16 (4.73%) Desktop Support Engineer
6 16 (4.73%) Senior
7 15 (4.44%) Azure Engineer
7 15 (4.44%) Project Officer
8 14 (4.14%) IT Support
9 13 (3.85%) Data Engineer
10 12 (3.55%) Lead
11 10 (2.96%) Consultant
11 10 (2.96%) DevOps Engineer
11 10 (2.96%) Technical Architect
12 9 (2.66%) Business Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 19 (5.62%) OAuth
2 18 (5.33%) OAuth2
2 18 (5.33%) SAML
3 16 (4.73%) OpenID
4 13 (3.85%) .NET
5 12 (3.55%) REST
6 11 (3.25%) ARM Templates
7 8 (2.37%) .NET Framework
7 8 (2.37%) CSS
7 8 (2.37%) HTML
7 8 (2.37%) JDO
8 7 (2.07%) Web Services
9 5 (1.48%) JSON
10 4 (1.18%) CSS3
10 4 (1.18%) Flask
10 4 (1.18%) HTML5
10 4 (1.18%) Node.js
10 4 (1.18%) Spring
10 4 (1.18%) Spring MVC
10 4 (1.18%) WebSockets
Miscellaneous
1 19 (5.62%) Hybrid Cloud
2 14 (4.14%) Blackberry
2 14 (4.14%) Cloud Native
3 12 (3.55%) Product Ownership
4 11 (3.25%) Enterprise Software
4 11 (3.25%) Onboarding
5 9 (2.66%) Management Information System
6 8 (2.37%) Data Structures
6 8 (2.37%) Self-Motivation
7 7 (2.07%) Low-Code
7 7 (2.07%) Private Cloud
7 7 (2.07%) Replication
7 7 (2.07%) Virtual Team
8 6 (1.78%) Legacy Applications
8 6 (1.78%) Legacy Systems
9 5 (1.48%) Driving Licence
10 4 (1.18%) PKI
11 3 (0.89%) Freedom of Information
11 3 (0.89%) Mobile App
11 3 (0.89%) Wiki
Operating Systems
1 113 (33.43%) Windows
2 38 (11.24%) Windows Server
3 30 (8.88%) Windows 10
4 22 (6.51%) Android
5 17 (5.03%) Linux
6 16 (4.73%) Apple iOS
7 4 (1.18%) Windows Server 2016
8 3 (0.89%) Windows Server 2012
9 2 (0.59%) CentOS
9 2 (0.59%) Mac OS
9 2 (0.59%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.30%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 85 (25.15%) Problem-Solving
2 48 (14.20%) Agile
3 38 (11.24%) Continuous Improvement
4 37 (10.95%) ITIL
5 35 (10.36%) DevOps
6 34 (10.06%) Analytics
6 34 (10.06%) Infrastructure Engineering
6 34 (10.06%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 31 (9.17%) CI/CD
7 31 (9.17%) Stakeholder Management
8 30 (8.88%) RBAC
9 27 (7.99%) Project Management
10 26 (7.69%) Migration
10 26 (7.69%) Project Delivery
11 25 (7.40%) Business Intelligence
11 25 (7.40%) Identity Access Management
12 24 (7.10%) Change Management
12 24 (7.10%) Customer Service
13 22 (6.51%) PRINCE2
14 19 (5.62%) Data Modelling
Programming Languages
1 58 (17.16%) PowerShell
2 38 (11.24%) SQL
3 26 (7.69%) Python
4 23 (6.80%) JavaScript
5 15 (4.44%) C#
6 14 (4.14%) Bicep
7 10 (2.96%) Java
8 5 (1.48%) C++
9 4 (1.18%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 4 (1.18%) Go
9 4 (1.18%) TypeScript
10 3 (0.89%) PHP
10 3 (0.89%) T-SQL
11 2 (0.59%) Kusto Query Language
11 2 (0.59%) VBA
12 1 (0.30%) Bash
12 1 (0.30%) PL/SQL
12 1 (0.30%) VB
Qualifications
1 169 (50.00%) Security Cleared
2 116 (34.32%) SC Cleared
3 61 (18.05%) DV Cleared
4 38 (11.24%) Microsoft Certification
5 36 (10.65%) Degree
6 22 (6.51%) Azure Certification
7 7 (2.07%) CISSP
7 7 (2.07%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
8 6 (1.78%) CISM
8 6 (1.78%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
9 4 (1.18%) BPSS Clearance
10 3 (0.89%) APMP
10 3 (0.89%) Computer Science Degree
10 3 (0.89%) ITIL Certification
10 3 (0.89%) MCSE
10 3 (0.89%) PMP
11 2 (0.59%) ACCA
11 2 (0.59%) CBAP
11 2 (0.59%) CIMA
11 2 (0.59%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 13 (3.85%) Data Quality
2 11 (3.25%) PMO
3 8 (2.37%) GDPR
3 8 (2.37%) NIST
4 7 (2.07%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 6 (1.78%) Accessibility
5 6 (1.78%) NIST 800
6 4 (1.18%) QA
7 2 (0.59%) HL7
7 2 (0.59%) SNOMED CT
8 1 (0.30%) Actionable Recommendations
8 1 (0.30%) GRC
8 1 (0.30%) ISO 22301
8 1 (0.30%) ISO 9001
8 1 (0.30%) NCSC
8 1 (0.30%) SLA
System Software
1 86 (25.44%) Active Directory
2 13 (3.85%) Hyper-V
3 12 (3.55%) VMware Infrastructure
4 9 (2.66%) Docker
5 5 (1.48%) Virtual Desktop
6 3 (0.89%) Virtual Machines
6 3 (0.89%) VMware NSX
7 1 (0.30%) KVM
7 1 (0.30%) UAG
7 1 (0.30%) VMware ESXi
7 1 (0.30%) VMware Workstation
7 1 (0.30%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 43 (12.72%) Microsoft Intune
2 28 (8.28%) Single Sign-On
3 27 (7.99%) Terraform
4 22 (6.51%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 19 (5.62%) Kubernetes
6 12 (3.55%) SCCM
7 5 (1.48%) Ansible
8 4 (1.18%) Grafana
8 4 (1.18%) Prometheus
8 4 (1.18%) WSUS
9 3 (0.89%) VxRail
10 2 (0.59%) Cisco CUCM
10 2 (0.59%) McAfee ePO
10 2 (0.59%) Norton AntiVirus
10 2 (0.59%) Puppet
11 1 (0.30%) CA Single Sign-On
11 1 (0.30%) Failover Clustering
11 1 (0.30%) SCOM
11 1 (0.30%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 36 (10.65%) VMware
2 16 (4.73%) Citrix
3 14 (4.14%) MobileIron
4 11 (3.25%) SAP
4 11 (3.25%) ServiceNow
5 10 (2.96%) Google
5 10 (2.96%) McAfee
5 10 (2.96%) Red Hat
6 9 (2.66%) Databricks
7 8 (2.37%) Adobe
7 8 (2.37%) Cisco
8 7 (2.07%) Oracle
8 7 (2.07%) Starlink
9 6 (1.78%) IBM
10 5 (1.48%) Apple
10 5 (1.48%) Blue Prism
10 5 (1.48%) NetApp
11 4 (1.18%) Dell
12 3 (0.89%) HP
12 3 (0.89%) Workday