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 31 August 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
31 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 4 5 5
Rank change year-on-year +1 0 +2
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 443 299 434
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 12.10% 15.37% 16.01%
As % of the Vendors category 36.61% 36.91% 36.90%
Number of daily rates quoted 273 178 279
10th Percentile £211 £184 £179
25th Percentile £350 £235 £303
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £470 £406 £500
Median % change year-on-year +15.69% -18.75% -
75th Percentile £588 £568 £606
90th Percentile £730 £641 £735
England median daily rate £488 £475 £495
% change year-on-year +2.79% -4.04% -1.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 57 44 24
10th Percentile £12.78 £18.13 £12.50
25th Percentile £14.00 £18.51 £13.69
Median hourly rate £17.50 £18.87 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -7.26% -70.97% +152.43%
75th Percentile £25.75 £33.19 -
90th Percentile £44.95 £37.50 £85.00
England median hourly rate £20.88 £22.63 £16.23
% change year-on-year -7.74% +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 1,210 810 1,176
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 33.06% 41.65% 43.39%
Number of daily rates quoted 727 465 747
10th Percentile £302 £213 £220
25th Percentile £406 £350 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £513 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.44% -2.38% -
75th Percentile £611 £619 £630
90th Percentile £717 £675 £700
England median daily rate £513 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +2.50% -4.76% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 161 104 111
10th Percentile £14.00 £13.67 £13.69
25th Percentile £16.62 £18.51 £53.38
Median hourly rate £28.00 £18.87 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +48.38% -73.04% +23.92%
75th Percentile £56.00 £60.31 -
90th Percentile £85.00 £70.00 £75.00
England median hourly rate £32.00 £25.15 £30.00
% change year-on-year +27.24% -16.17% -27.31%

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 31 August 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 31 August 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 31 August 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 -2 134 £500 +11.11% 115
Somerset 0 86 £450 +100.00% 59
Gloucestershire +3 75 £410 +26.15% 81
Wiltshire +2 71 £506 -8.16% 50
Devon -1 40 £317 -6.00% 61
Dorset -2 23 £515 +21.18% 61
Cornwall -5 2 £525 - 7
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 68 (15.35%) SharePoint
2 25 (5.64%) Microsoft Exchange
3 16 (3.61%) Confluence
4 5 (1.13%) CMS
5 3 (0.68%) Sitecore CMS
5 3 (0.68%) Skype for Business
6 2 (0.45%) Apache
7 1 (0.23%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.23%) Apache Spark
7 1 (0.23%) Appian
7 1 (0.23%) ColdFusion
7 1 (0.23%) JBoss
7 1 (0.23%) Moodle
7 1 (0.23%) Oracle Workflow
7 1 (0.23%) Palantir Foundry
7 1 (0.23%) Totara
7 1 (0.23%) Umbraco
Applications
1 63 (14.22%) Microsoft Excel
2 62 (14.00%) Microsoft Office
3 28 (6.32%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 17 (3.84%) Microsoft Project
5 9 (2.03%) MS Visio
6 6 (1.35%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 10 (2.26%) NetSuite
2 8 (1.81%) Oracle Payables
2 8 (1.81%) Oracle Receivables
3 7 (1.58%) Dynamics CRM
4 3 (0.68%) Dynamics NAV
4 3 (0.68%) Magento
4 3 (0.68%) SAP CRM
5 2 (0.45%) assyst
5 2 (0.45%) Dynamics AX
5 2 (0.45%) Salesforce CRM
5 2 (0.45%) SAP S/4HANA
6 1 (0.23%) Oracle General Ledger
6 1 (0.23%) Remedy ITSM
6 1 (0.23%) SAP Hybris
6 1 (0.23%) SAP MM
6 1 (0.23%) SAP PM
Cloud Services
1 160 (36.12%) Azure
2 106 (23.93%) Microsoft 365
3 51 (11.51%) Entra ID
3 51 (11.51%) Power Platform
4 30 (6.77%) AWS
5 28 (6.32%) Azure DevOps
6 24 (5.42%) Dynamics 365
7 21 (4.74%) GitHub
8 15 (3.39%) SaaS
9 13 (2.93%) Microsoft Copilot
9 13 (2.93%) PowerApps
10 12 (2.71%) Power Automate
11 11 (2.48%) Microsoft Purview
11 11 (2.48%) OneDrive
11 11 (2.48%) Serverless
12 10 (2.26%) Azure Key Vault
13 9 (2.03%) Azure ExpressRoute
13 9 (2.03%) Cloud Computing
13 9 (2.03%) PaaS
14 8 (1.81%) Azure Functions
Communications & Networking
1 19 (4.29%) DNS
1 19 (4.29%) WAN
2 16 (3.61%) Firewall
3 13 (2.93%) DHCP
4 11 (2.48%) Skype
4 11 (2.48%) VPN
5 9 (2.03%) LAN
6 8 (1.81%) SAN
7 7 (1.58%) TCP/IP
8 5 (1.13%) BGP
8 5 (1.13%) VoIP
9 4 (0.90%) Ethernet
9 4 (0.90%) Wi-Fi
10 3 (0.68%) Kerberos
10 3 (0.68%) VLAN
11 2 (0.45%) NAS
11 2 (0.45%) SSL
11 2 (0.45%) VSAN
12 1 (0.23%) RS-232
12 1 (0.23%) S/MIME
Database & Business Intelligence
1 38 (8.58%) Power BI
2 24 (5.42%) SQL Server
3 13 (2.93%) Geospatial Data
4 11 (2.48%) Metadata
4 11 (2.48%) PostgreSQL
5 7 (1.58%) Azure SQL Database
6 6 (1.35%) GIS
6 6 (1.35%) Relational Database
7 5 (1.13%) Data Lake
7 5 (1.13%) Oracle Database
8 3 (0.68%) NoSQL
8 3 (0.68%) Spatial Data
8 3 (0.68%) Tableau
9 2 (0.45%) Data Warehouse
9 2 (0.45%) Delta Lake
9 2 (0.45%) EDRMS
9 2 (0.45%) Electronic Patient Records
9 2 (0.45%) Power Query
9 2 (0.45%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 2 (0.45%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 35 (7.90%) JIRA
2 23 (5.19%) Git
3 11 (2.48%) MSI
4 7 (1.58%) Visual Studio
5 6 (1.35%) AdminStudio
5 6 (1.35%) GitLab
5 6 (1.35%) InstallShield
6 4 (0.90%) Visual Studio Code
7 3 (0.68%) Eclipse
8 1 (0.23%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.23%) Claude Code
8 1 (0.23%) HP UFT
8 1 (0.23%) Rational DOORS
8 1 (0.23%) Selenium
General
1 174 (39.28%) Social Skills
2 54 (12.19%) Analytical Skills
2 54 (12.19%) Finance
3 51 (11.51%) Public Sector
4 40 (9.03%) Organisational Skills
5 32 (7.22%) Military
6 16 (3.61%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 15 (3.39%) Documentation Skills
7 15 (3.39%) Legal
8 13 (2.93%) Local Government
9 11 (2.48%) Aerospace
9 11 (2.48%) Retail
10 9 (2.03%) General Ledger
11 6 (1.35%) Manufacturing
11 6 (1.35%) Presentation Skills
12 5 (1.13%) Influencing Skills
12 5 (1.13%) Marketing
13 4 (0.90%) Banking
14 3 (0.68%) Aviation
15 2 (0.45%) Police
Job Titles
1 59 (13.32%) Architect
2 48 (10.84%) Lead
3 46 (10.38%) Consultant
4 31 (7.00%) Senior
5 30 (6.77%) Developer
6 28 (6.32%) Analyst
6 28 (6.32%) Support Engineer
7 21 (4.74%) IT Support
8 20 (4.51%) Administrator
9 18 (4.06%) Solutions Architect
10 17 (3.84%) Microsoft Consultant
11 16 (3.61%) IT Engineer
12 15 (3.39%) Project Officer
13 14 (3.16%) Desktop Support
13 14 (3.16%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 14 (3.16%) Technical Architect
14 12 (2.71%) Azure Consultant
14 12 (2.71%) Data Engineer
14 12 (2.71%) DBA
14 12 (2.71%) Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 38 (8.58%) Terraform
2 34 (7.67%) .NET
3 24 (5.42%) .NET Framework
4 21 (4.74%) REST
5 19 (4.29%) HTML
6 18 (4.06%) .NET Core
7 16 (3.61%) RESTful
8 14 (3.16%) CSS
9 13 (2.93%) CSS3
9 13 (2.93%) GeoJSON
9 13 (2.93%) HTML5
10 11 (2.48%) ATL
10 11 (2.48%) COM
10 11 (2.48%) MFC
10 11 (2.48%) WPF
11 9 (2.03%) LDAP
12 8 (1.81%) SailPoint
13 7 (1.58%) JDO
13 7 (1.58%) OAuth
13 7 (1.58%) SAML
Miscellaneous
1 37 (8.35%) Onboarding
2 25 (5.64%) Cloud Native
3 23 (5.19%) Product Ownership
4 20 (4.51%) Legacy Systems
5 14 (3.16%) Enterprise Software
5 14 (3.16%) Management Information System
6 13 (2.93%) Hybrid Cloud
6 13 (2.93%) Virtual Team
7 10 (2.26%) Self-Motivation
7 10 (2.26%) Wiki
8 9 (2.03%) EPoS
9 7 (1.58%) Low-Code
10 6 (1.35%) AI Agents
10 6 (1.35%) Data Centre
10 6 (1.35%) Driving Licence
10 6 (1.35%) Legacy Applications
11 5 (1.13%) Clustering
11 5 (1.13%) Freedom of Information
11 5 (1.13%) PKI
11 5 (1.13%) Replication
Operating Systems
1 104 (23.48%) Windows
2 44 (9.93%) Windows 10
3 22 (4.97%) Windows Server
4 19 (4.29%) Android
5 16 (3.61%) Linux
6 6 (1.35%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 3 (0.68%) Apple iOS
7 3 (0.68%) Mac OS
8 2 (0.45%) VMS
8 2 (0.45%) Windows Server 2019
9 1 (0.23%) Windows 7
9 1 (0.23%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 85 (19.19%) Problem-Solving
2 79 (17.83%) Continuous Improvement
3 67 (15.12%) Agile
4 64 (14.45%) Stakeholder Management
5 50 (11.29%) DevOps
6 49 (11.06%) Migration
6 49 (11.06%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 48 (10.84%) Project Delivery
8 46 (10.38%) CI/CD
9 41 (9.26%) Customer Service
9 41 (9.26%) ITIL
9 41 (9.26%) Technical Leadership
10 35 (7.90%) Decision-Making
10 35 (7.90%) Project Management
10 35 (7.90%) Roadmaps
11 33 (7.45%) Infrastructure as Code
11 33 (7.45%) PRINCE2
12 30 (6.77%) Validation
13 29 (6.55%) Data Protection
14 28 (6.32%) Knowledge Transfer
Programming Languages
1 47 (10.61%) SQL
2 32 (7.22%) Python
3 30 (6.77%) PowerShell
4 29 (6.55%) C#
5 24 (5.42%) JavaScript
6 18 (4.06%) Bicep
7 11 (2.48%) Java
7 11 (2.48%) TypeScript
8 8 (1.81%) Bash
9 7 (1.58%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 5 (1.13%) BeanShell
11 4 (0.90%) C++
12 2 (0.45%) VB
13 1 (0.23%) Ada
13 1 (0.23%) C
13 1 (0.23%) Go
13 1 (0.23%) PHP
13 1 (0.23%) Shell Script
13 1 (0.23%) VBA
13 1 (0.23%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 189 (42.66%) Security Cleared
2 134 (30.25%) SC Cleared
3 55 (12.42%) DV Cleared
4 36 (8.13%) Degree
5 17 (3.84%) Microsoft Certification
6 16 (3.61%) BPSS Clearance
7 11 (2.48%) Azure Certification
8 10 (2.26%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
9 9 (2.03%) PMP
10 8 (1.81%) ACCA
10 8 (1.81%) CIMA
11 5 (1.13%) Cisco Certification
11 5 (1.13%) DBS Check
12 4 (0.90%) CISSP
12 4 (0.90%) Microsoft Certified Professional
12 4 (0.90%) TOGAF Certification
13 3 (0.68%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 3 (0.68%) ACSP
14 2 (0.45%) CCNA
14 2 (0.45%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 22 (4.97%) Data Quality
2 17 (3.84%) Accessibility
2 17 (3.84%) QA
3 16 (3.61%) NCSC
3 16 (3.61%) SLA
4 14 (3.16%) GDPR
5 12 (2.71%) PMO
6 11 (2.48%) WCAG
7 5 (1.13%) ISO 9000
8 4 (0.90%) Actionable Recommendations
9 3 (0.68%) Cyber Essentials
9 3 (0.68%) Disclosure Scotland
9 3 (0.68%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 3 (0.68%) NIST
10 2 (0.45%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.45%) HL7
10 2 (0.45%) SNOMED CT
11 1 (0.23%) GRC
11 1 (0.23%) MIL-STD-1553
11 1 (0.23%) NIST 800
System Software
1 79 (17.83%) Active Directory
2 23 (5.19%) Docker
3 16 (3.61%) Virtual Desktop
4 13 (2.93%) Hyper-V
5 10 (2.26%) VMware Infrastructure
6 7 (1.58%) Virtual Machines
7 3 (0.68%) vSphere
8 2 (0.45%) BitLocker
8 2 (0.45%) VMware NSX
9 1 (0.23%) Microsoft Virtual Server
9 1 (0.23%) Virtual Servers
9 1 (0.23%) VMware Workstation
9 1 (0.23%) zsh
Systems Management
1 29 (6.55%) Microsoft Intune
2 24 (5.42%) Kubernetes
2 24 (5.42%) SCCM
3 7 (1.58%) Ansible
4 6 (1.35%) WSUS
5 5 (1.13%) Failover Clustering
5 5 (1.13%) FortiGate
5 5 (1.13%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
5 5 (1.13%) Single Sign-On
6 4 (0.90%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 3 (0.68%) Grafana
7 3 (0.68%) VxRail
8 2 (0.45%) Argo
9 1 (0.23%) FreeIPA
9 1 (0.23%) McAfee ePO
9 1 (0.23%) OPNET
9 1 (0.23%) Podman
9 1 (0.23%) Prometheus
9 1 (0.23%) PTC Integrity
9 1 (0.23%) SELinux
Vendors
1 24 (5.42%) Oracle
2 16 (3.61%) Apple
2 16 (3.61%) ServiceNow
3 15 (3.39%) VMware
4 13 (2.93%) SAP
5 12 (2.71%) HP
6 11 (2.48%) Cisco
6 11 (2.48%) Databricks
7 10 (2.26%) Google
7 10 (2.26%) McAfee
8 9 (2.03%) Red Hat
9 7 (1.58%) Starlink
10 6 (1.35%) BiZZdesign
11 5 (1.13%) CyberArk
11 5 (1.13%) Informatica
11 5 (1.13%) InterSystems
11 5 (1.13%) NetApp
11 5 (1.13%) Zscaler
12 4 (0.90%) MuleSoft
13 3 (0.68%) Palantir