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 8 February 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
8 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 5 5
Rank change year-on-year 0 0 0
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 356 299 446
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 13.30% 15.90% 14.12%
As % of the Vendors category 37.01% 34.41% 33.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 258 197 309
10th Percentile £204 £190 £200
25th Percentile £350 £220 £300
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £463 £525
Median % change year-on-year +8.11% -11.90% -
75th Percentile £600 £600 £630
90th Percentile £725 £709 £715
England median daily rate £475 £475 £500
% change year-on-year - -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 19 11 46
10th Percentile £15.60 £12.50 £13.00
25th Percentile £18.87 £14.00 £14.44
Median hourly rate £22.27 £25.00 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year -10.94% -16.67% -53.85%
75th Percentile £49.38 £28.99 £48.72
90th Percentile £64.60 £37.00 £66.06
England median hourly rate £19.10 £22.27 £18.00
% change year-on-year -14.26% +23.72% -12.20%

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 962 869 1,324
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 35.95% 46.22% 41.91%
Number of daily rates quoted 623 530 859
10th Percentile £225 £215 £213
25th Percentile £406 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £523 £525
Median % change year-on-year +0.48% -0.48% -2.33%
75th Percentile £600 £623 £638
90th Percentile £725 £694 £725
England median daily rate £501 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -4.67% - -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 117 35 159
10th Percentile £18.22 £12.59 £14.54
25th Percentile £21.25 £21.76 £36.88
Median hourly rate £38.94 £58.00 £48.72
Median % change year-on-year -32.86% +19.05% -25.05%
75th Percentile £60.00 £68.75 £65.98
90th Percentile £73.75 £72.66 £71.28
England median hourly rate £23.83 £30.45 £30.00
% change year-on-year -21.76% +1.50% -6.25%

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 8 February 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 8 February 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 8 February 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 +1 109 £575 +4.55% 34
Bristol -8 76 £519 +29.69% 59
Gloucestershire +7 74 £406 +1.31% 53
Somerset +1 55 £425 -5.56% 34
Devon +13 25 £220 +14.29% 35
Dorset -12 8 £394 -21.15% 35
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 67 (18.82%) SharePoint
2 58 (16.29%) Microsoft Exchange
3 22 (6.18%) Skype for Business
4 5 (1.40%) Confluence
4 5 (1.40%) Oracle Application Server
5 4 (1.12%) SharePoint Server
6 3 (0.84%) IIS
7 2 (0.56%) Apache
8 1 (0.28%) Apache Airflow
8 1 (0.28%) CMS
8 1 (0.28%) nginx
8 1 (0.28%) Sitecore CMS
Applications
1 38 (10.67%) Microsoft Office
2 25 (7.02%) Microsoft Excel
3 9 (2.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 7 (1.97%) Adobe Creative Suite
5 6 (1.69%) Microsoft Project
6 5 (1.40%) Adobe Captivate
7 3 (0.84%) MS Visio
7 3 (0.84%) Spreadsheet
8 2 (0.56%) Windchill
9 1 (0.28%) Adobe Illustrator
9 1 (0.28%) InDesign
9 1 (0.28%) PTC Creo
9 1 (0.28%) SOLIDWORKS
Business Applications
1 8 (2.25%) Maximo
2 6 (1.69%) Dynamics CRM
3 3 (0.84%) NetSuite
3 3 (0.84%) Teamcenter
4 2 (0.56%) SAP S/4HANA
5 1 (0.28%) assyst
5 1 (0.28%) Primavera
Cloud Services
1 112 (31.46%) Azure
2 90 (25.28%) Microsoft 365
3 38 (10.67%) Power Platform
4 35 (9.83%) Entra ID
5 34 (9.55%) AWS
6 28 (7.87%) Azure DevOps
7 20 (5.62%) Azure Sentinel
8 15 (4.21%) Azure Monitor
8 15 (4.21%) Dynamics 365
8 15 (4.21%) GitHub
8 15 (4.21%) Power Automate
9 13 (3.65%) Azure AKS
9 13 (3.65%) PowerApps
10 11 (3.09%) Azure Key Vault
10 11 (3.09%) GCP
11 10 (2.81%) GitHub Actions
11 10 (2.81%) OneDrive
11 10 (2.81%) SaaS
11 10 (2.81%) Serverless
12 8 (2.25%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 57 (16.01%) DNS
2 34 (9.55%) DHCP
3 31 (8.71%) Firewall
4 30 (8.43%) Skype
5 25 (7.02%) VPN
6 19 (5.34%) TCP/IP
7 10 (2.81%) Unified Communications
8 5 (1.40%) Network Security
9 4 (1.12%) LAN
9 4 (1.12%) VLAN
9 4 (1.12%) VoIP
9 4 (1.12%) WAAS
10 3 (0.84%) Kerberos
10 3 (0.84%) WAN
11 2 (0.56%) Cisco IOS
11 2 (0.56%) H.323
11 2 (0.56%) HTTP
11 2 (0.56%) RTP
11 2 (0.56%) SMTP
11 2 (0.56%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 29 (8.15%) Power BI
2 18 (5.06%) SQL Server
3 14 (3.93%) PostgreSQL
4 8 (2.25%) Redis
5 7 (1.97%) Data Warehouse
6 6 (1.69%) Star Schema
7 5 (1.40%) Metadata
7 5 (1.40%) Oracle ODI
7 5 (1.40%) Oracle Reports
8 4 (1.12%) MySQL
9 3 (0.84%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.56%) Data Lake
10 2 (0.56%) Delta Lake
10 2 (0.56%) Elasticsearch
10 2 (0.56%) Looker
10 2 (0.56%) Power Query
10 2 (0.56%) Tableau
11 1 (0.28%) SQL Server Analysis Services
11 1 (0.28%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 1 (0.28%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 25 (7.02%) JIRA
2 9 (2.53%) MSI
3 8 (2.25%) Git
4 5 (1.40%) DBeaver
5 4 (1.12%) Artifactory
5 4 (1.12%) Jenkins
6 3 (0.84%) GitLab
7 2 (0.56%) AdminStudio
7 2 (0.56%) InstallShield
8 1 (0.28%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.28%) Eclipse
8 1 (0.28%) Maven
8 1 (0.28%) SonarQube
8 1 (0.28%) Visual Studio
General
1 151 (42.42%) Social Skills
2 52 (14.61%) Analytical Skills
3 46 (12.92%) Public Sector
4 38 (10.67%) Finance
5 21 (5.90%) Documentation Skills
6 13 (3.65%) Organisational Skills
7 11 (3.09%) Telecoms
8 10 (2.81%) Manufacturing
9 8 (2.25%) Legal
9 8 (2.25%) Military
10 7 (1.97%) Marketing
11 6 (1.69%) Banking
11 6 (1.69%) Electronics
12 5 (1.40%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 4 (1.12%) Police
14 3 (0.84%) Back Office
15 2 (0.56%) Law
16 1 (0.28%) Aerospace
16 1 (0.28%) Automotive
16 1 (0.28%) Retail
Job Titles
1 39 (10.96%) Support Engineer
2 34 (9.55%) Analyst
3 29 (8.15%) Developer
4 28 (7.87%) Architect
4 28 (7.87%) Infrastructure Engineer
5 21 (5.90%) Microsoft Engineer
6 20 (5.62%) Desktop Engineer
7 19 (5.34%) Desktop Support
7 19 (5.34%) Desktop Support Engineer
8 18 (5.06%) Administrator
9 17 (4.78%) Azure Engineer
10 14 (3.93%) Solutions Architect
11 13 (3.65%) Consultant
11 13 (3.65%) Data Engineer
12 12 (3.37%) IT Support
13 11 (3.09%) Senior
14 9 (2.53%) Backend Developer
14 9 (2.53%) Designer
14 9 (2.53%) DevOps Engineer
14 9 (2.53%) Platform Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 25 (7.02%) OAuth
2 24 (6.74%) SAML
3 22 (6.18%) OAuth2
3 22 (6.18%) OpenID
4 17 (4.78%) REST
5 14 (3.93%) ARM Templates
6 8 (2.25%) CSS
6 8 (2.25%) FastAPI
6 8 (2.25%) Flask
6 8 (2.25%) GraphQL
6 8 (2.25%) gRPC
6 8 (2.25%) HTML
6 8 (2.25%) WebSockets
7 6 (1.69%) React
7 6 (1.69%) SOAP
8 5 (1.40%) .NET
8 5 (1.40%) JDO
8 5 (1.40%) JSON
8 5 (1.40%) LDAP
8 5 (1.40%) Oracle GoldenGate
Miscellaneous
1 23 (6.46%) Onboarding
2 21 (5.90%) Hybrid Cloud
3 17 (4.78%) PKI
4 14 (3.93%) Cloud Native
4 14 (3.93%) Driving Licence
5 12 (3.37%) Replication
6 11 (3.09%) Management Information System
7 10 (2.81%) Enterprise Software
7 10 (2.81%) Mobile App
8 8 (2.25%) Private Cloud
9 6 (1.69%) Security Posture
10 5 (1.40%) Cyber Threat
10 5 (1.40%) Legacy Applications
10 5 (1.40%) Product Ownership
11 4 (1.12%) Low-Code
12 3 (0.84%) Blackberry
12 3 (0.84%) Data Centre
12 3 (0.84%) iPad
12 3 (0.84%) iPhone
12 3 (0.84%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 155 (43.54%) Windows
2 63 (17.70%) Windows 10
3 59 (16.57%) Windows Server
4 30 (8.43%) Linux
5 11 (3.09%) Apple iOS
6 8 (2.25%) Android
6 8 (2.25%) Windows Server 2016
7 7 (1.97%) Windows Server 2012
8 5 (1.40%) Windows Server 2019
9 3 (0.84%) CentOS
9 3 (0.84%) Mac OS
9 3 (0.84%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 3 (0.84%) Windows Server 2008
10 2 (0.56%) Windows 7
11 1 (0.28%) Windows 8
Processes & Methodologies
1 89 (25.00%) Problem-Solving
2 58 (16.29%) ITIL
3 50 (14.04%) Agile
4 41 (11.52%) DevOps
4 41 (11.52%) Infrastructure Engineering
5 40 (11.24%) Migration
6 38 (10.67%) RBAC
7 33 (9.27%) Customer Service
7 33 (9.27%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 32 (8.99%) Analytics
9 31 (8.71%) Business Intelligence
9 31 (8.71%) Change Management
10 27 (7.58%) CI/CD
11 26 (7.30%) Knowledge Transfer
12 25 (7.02%) Stakeholder Management
13 24 (6.74%) Continuous Improvement
13 24 (6.74%) Identity Access Management
13 24 (6.74%) Service Management
14 21 (5.90%) Cloud Security
15 18 (5.06%) SIEM
Programming Languages
1 89 (25.00%) PowerShell
2 48 (13.48%) SQL
3 35 (9.83%) Python
4 18 (5.06%) Bicep
4 18 (5.06%) JavaScript
5 8 (2.25%) Go
6 7 (1.97%) Java
7 6 (1.69%) C#
7 6 (1.69%) TypeScript
8 4 (1.12%) T-SQL
8 4 (1.12%) VBScript
9 3 (0.84%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 3 (0.84%) Perl
10 2 (0.56%) Bash
10 2 (0.56%) PHP
11 1 (0.28%) C++
11 1 (0.28%) Kusto Query Language
11 1 (0.28%) VBA
Qualifications
1 194 (54.49%) Security Cleared
2 132 (37.08%) SC Cleared
3 82 (23.03%) DV Cleared
4 58 (16.29%) Microsoft Certification
5 27 (7.58%) Degree
6 20 (5.62%) Azure Certification
7 12 (3.37%) ITIL Certification
8 11 (3.09%) CISSP
8 11 (3.09%) MCSE
9 10 (2.81%) A+ Certification
9 10 (2.81%) CISM
10 8 (2.25%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
11 6 (1.69%) MCSA
12 5 (1.40%) CCNA
12 5 (1.40%) CCNP
12 5 (1.40%) Cisco Certification
12 5 (1.40%) Master's Degree
13 3 (0.84%) ACCA
13 3 (0.84%) APMP
14 2 (0.56%) Computer Science Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 21 (5.90%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 18 (5.06%) GDPR
3 13 (3.65%) NIST
4 12 (3.37%) Data Quality
5 9 (2.53%) PMO
6 8 (2.25%) Accessibility
6 8 (2.25%) NIST 800
7 6 (1.69%) SLA
8 5 (1.40%) NCSC
9 3 (0.84%) GAAP
9 3 (0.84%) IFRS
10 2 (0.56%) PSD2
10 2 (0.56%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 2 (0.56%) SOC 2
11 1 (0.28%) GRC
11 1 (0.28%) ISO 9001
11 1 (0.28%) QA
11 1 (0.28%) WCAG
System Software
1 129 (36.24%) Active Directory
2 32 (8.99%) VMware Infrastructure
3 16 (4.49%) Hyper-V
4 13 (3.65%) Docker
4 13 (3.65%) Virtual Machines
5 5 (1.40%) Microsoft Virtual Server
5 5 (1.40%) Virtual Servers
5 5 (1.40%) VMware NSX
6 4 (1.12%) Microsoft App-V
6 4 (1.12%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.56%) Virtual Desktop
8 1 (0.28%) KVM
8 1 (0.28%) Slurm Workload Manager
8 1 (0.28%) UAG
Systems Management
1 37 (10.39%) Microsoft Intune
2 33 (9.27%) Single Sign-On
3 32 (8.99%) SCCM
4 31 (8.71%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 25 (7.02%) Terraform
6 24 (6.74%) Kubernetes
7 14 (3.93%) WSUS
8 13 (3.65%) vCenter Server
9 8 (2.25%) Grafana
9 8 (2.25%) Prometheus
10 7 (1.97%) Norton AntiVirus
11 5 (1.40%) Ansible
12 3 (0.84%) VxRail
13 2 (0.56%) Kibana
13 2 (0.56%) Microsoft Clustering
13 2 (0.56%) NetApp OnCommand
13 2 (0.56%) NetBackup
13 2 (0.56%) PingFederate
13 2 (0.56%) Symantec Endpoint Protection
13 2 (0.56%) vMotion
Vendors
1 45 (12.64%) VMware
2 24 (6.74%) Cisco
3 15 (4.21%) SAP
4 12 (3.37%) Red Hat
4 12 (3.37%) SolarWinds
4 12 (3.37%) Veeam
5 11 (3.09%) Oracle
6 10 (2.81%) McAfee
7 9 (2.53%) Adobe
8 8 (2.25%) IBM
8 8 (2.25%) ServiceNow
9 7 (1.97%) Symantec
10 6 (1.69%) Blue Prism
10 6 (1.69%) Databricks
11 5 (1.40%) Citrix
11 5 (1.40%) Google
11 5 (1.40%) Splunk
12 4 (1.12%) Atlassian
12 4 (1.12%) Dell
12 4 (1.12%) ForgeRock