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 1 July 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
1 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 6 5
Rank change year-on-year 0 -1 +1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 391 260 499
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 10.96% 14.68% 15.21%
As % of the Vendors category 35.29% 33.21% 36.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 254 155 327
10th Percentile £205 £200 £180
25th Percentile £351 £220 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £425 £500
Median % change year-on-year +11.76% -15.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £575 £578 £599
90th Percentile £725 £633 £700
England median daily rate £498 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +4.74% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 39 39 47
10th Percentile £13.65 £18.13 £12.50
25th Percentile £15.24 £18.51 £13.69
Median hourly rate £19.33 £18.87 £27.52
Median % change year-on-year +2.44% -31.42% +6.85%
75th Percentile £37.50 £33.38 £52.13
90th Percentile £65.00 £37.50 £65.00
England median hourly rate £22.63 £22.50 £16.00
% change year-on-year +0.59% +40.63% -27.27%

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 1,108 783 1,374
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 31.05% 44.21% 41.89%
Number of daily rates quoted 642 466 870
10th Percentile £300 £216 £208
25th Percentile £400 £356 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £511 £525
Median % change year-on-year +0.73% -2.62% -
75th Percentile £600 £613 £638
90th Percentile £700 £675 £714
England median daily rate £508 £513 £520
% change year-on-year -0.98% -1.44% -0.95%
Number of hourly rates quoted 165 91 193
10th Percentile £16.62 £18.13 £14.54
25th Percentile £19.93 £18.87 £37.50
Median hourly rate £51.00 £32.50 £56.49
Median % change year-on-year +56.92% -42.47% -5.69%
75th Percentile £58.75 £67.50 £70.00
90th Percentile £71.50 £70.00 £75.00
England median hourly rate £35.00 £26.04 £24.65
% change year-on-year +34.41% +5.64% -33.38%

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 1 July 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 1 July 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 1 July 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 -4 105 £500 +112.77% 80
Somerset +1 73 £469 +67.50% 57
Gloucestershire +1 71 £410 +47.48% 81
Wiltshire -2 69 £550 - 35
Devon -1 41 £310 -38.10% 33
Dorset -6 18 £409 -3.76% 41
Cornwall -4 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 50 (12.79%) SharePoint
2 14 (3.58%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (2.81%) Confluence
4 2 (0.51%) Apache
4 2 (0.51%) Apache Airflow
4 2 (0.51%) Oracle Workflow
4 2 (0.51%) Skype for Business
5 1 (0.26%) Appian
5 1 (0.26%) CMS
5 1 (0.26%) ColdFusion
5 1 (0.26%) IIS
5 1 (0.26%) Umbraco
Applications
1 50 (12.79%) Microsoft Excel
2 48 (12.28%) Microsoft Office
3 25 (6.39%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 12 (3.07%) Microsoft Project
5 6 (1.53%) MS Visio
5 6 (1.53%) Spreadsheet
6 3 (0.77%) Adobe Captivate
7 2 (0.51%) InfoPath
8 1 (0.26%) Adobe Creative Suite
8 1 (0.26%) InDesign
8 1 (0.26%) PTC Creo
8 1 (0.26%) SOLIDWORKS
Business Applications
1 12 (3.07%) NetSuite
2 8 (2.05%) Oracle Payables
2 8 (2.05%) Oracle Receivables
3 5 (1.28%) Dynamics CRM
4 2 (0.51%) assyst
4 2 (0.51%) Dynamics AX
4 2 (0.51%) Maximo
4 2 (0.51%) SAP S/4HANA
5 1 (0.26%) Oracle General Ledger
5 1 (0.26%) Remedy ITSM
5 1 (0.26%) Salesforce CRM
5 1 (0.26%) SAP Hybris
5 1 (0.26%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 153 (39.13%) Azure
2 79 (20.20%) Microsoft 365
3 46 (11.76%) Power Platform
4 45 (11.51%) Entra ID
5 29 (7.42%) Azure DevOps
6 25 (6.39%) AWS
7 19 (4.86%) GitHub
8 18 (4.60%) Dynamics 365
9 14 (3.58%) Power Automate
9 14 (3.58%) SaaS
10 11 (2.81%) Azure ExpressRoute
10 11 (2.81%) Azure Key Vault
10 11 (2.81%) Azure Synapse Analytics
11 10 (2.56%) Azure Monitor
11 10 (2.56%) Azure Sentinel
11 10 (2.56%) PowerApps
11 10 (2.56%) Serverless
12 9 (2.30%) Azure Data Factory
12 9 (2.30%) Cloud Computing
13 8 (2.05%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 18 (4.60%) DNS
2 17 (4.35%) Firewall
3 14 (3.58%) WAN
4 13 (3.32%) VPN
5 11 (2.81%) DHCP
6 10 (2.56%) TCP/IP
7 8 (2.05%) SAN
8 7 (1.79%) Ethernet
8 7 (1.79%) Skype
9 6 (1.53%) VoIP
10 5 (1.28%) BGP
11 4 (1.02%) Wi-Fi
12 3 (0.77%) LAN
12 3 (0.77%) VLAN
13 2 (0.51%) NAS
13 2 (0.51%) Network Security
13 2 (0.51%) SSL
14 1 (0.26%) HTTP
14 1 (0.26%) RTP
14 1 (0.26%) SMTP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (8.70%) Power BI
2 24 (6.14%) SQL Server
3 13 (3.32%) PostgreSQL
4 9 (2.30%) Azure SQL Database
4 9 (2.30%) Geospatial Data
5 6 (1.53%) Relational Database
6 4 (1.02%) Data Lake
6 4 (1.02%) Data Warehouse
6 4 (1.02%) GIS
6 4 (1.02%) Metadata
6 4 (1.02%) MySQL
6 4 (1.02%) Oracle Database
6 4 (1.02%) Redis
6 4 (1.02%) Star Schema
7 3 (0.77%) Delta Lake
7 3 (0.77%) NoSQL
8 2 (0.51%) Electronic Patient Records
8 2 (0.51%) Power Query
8 2 (0.51%) Spatial Data
8 2 (0.51%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 31 (7.93%) JIRA
2 13 (3.32%) Git
3 10 (2.56%) Visual Studio
4 8 (2.05%) MSI
5 6 (1.53%) AdminStudio
5 6 (1.53%) Eclipse
5 6 (1.53%) GitLab
5 6 (1.53%) InstallShield
6 4 (1.02%) Visual Studio Code
7 1 (0.26%) Artifactory
7 1 (0.26%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.26%) HP UFT
7 1 (0.26%) Rational DOORS
7 1 (0.26%) Selenium
7 1 (0.26%) webpack
General
1 145 (37.08%) Social Skills
2 52 (13.30%) Analytical Skills
3 48 (12.28%) Finance
4 35 (8.95%) Public Sector
5 33 (8.44%) Organisational Skills
6 32 (8.18%) Military
7 16 (4.09%) Legal
8 14 (3.58%) Documentation Skills
9 10 (2.56%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 9 (2.30%) General Ledger
11 8 (2.05%) Presentation Skills
12 6 (1.53%) Aerospace
12 6 (1.53%) Marketing
13 5 (1.28%) Local Government
13 5 (1.28%) Manufacturing
13 5 (1.28%) Retail
14 4 (1.02%) Police
15 3 (0.77%) Back Office
16 2 (0.51%) Advertising
16 2 (0.51%) Banking
Job Titles
1 51 (13.04%) Architect
2 37 (9.46%) Lead
3 35 (8.95%) Consultant
4 32 (8.18%) Developer
5 30 (7.67%) Support Engineer
6 24 (6.14%) Senior
7 23 (5.88%) Analyst
8 19 (4.86%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 18 (4.60%) Administrator
10 17 (4.35%) Data Engineer
11 15 (3.84%) Project Officer
12 14 (3.58%) IT Support
12 14 (3.58%) Solutions Architect
13 13 (3.32%) Desktop Support
13 13 (3.32%) IT Engineer
13 13 (3.32%) Technical Architect
14 12 (3.07%) Azure Consultant
14 12 (3.07%) Desktop Engineer
14 12 (3.07%) Desktop Support Engineer
15 11 (2.81%) DBA
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (6.91%) .NET
2 17 (4.35%) .NET Framework
2 17 (4.35%) REST
3 13 (3.32%) HTML
4 12 (3.07%) CSS
4 12 (3.07%) RESTful
5 11 (2.81%) .NET Core
5 11 (2.81%) CSS3
5 11 (2.81%) HTML5
6 10 (2.56%) GeoJSON
7 9 (2.30%) Web Services
8 8 (2.05%) ATL
8 8 (2.05%) COM
8 8 (2.05%) JDO
8 8 (2.05%) MFC
8 8 (2.05%) SailPoint
9 7 (1.79%) WPF
10 6 (1.53%) LDAP
10 6 (1.53%) Node.js
11 5 (1.28%) JSON
Miscellaneous
1 25 (6.39%) Onboarding
2 24 (6.14%) Cloud Native
3 16 (4.09%) Hybrid Cloud
3 16 (4.09%) Product Ownership
4 15 (3.84%) Legacy Systems
5 14 (3.58%) Blackberry
6 13 (3.32%) Enterprise Software
7 11 (2.81%) Management Information System
7 11 (2.81%) Self-Motivation
7 11 (2.81%) Virtual Team
8 8 (2.05%) Legacy Applications
9 7 (1.79%) Data Structures
9 7 (1.79%) Driving Licence
10 5 (1.28%) Data Centre
10 5 (1.28%) PKI
11 4 (1.02%) Augmented Reality
11 4 (1.02%) Clustering
11 4 (1.02%) Freedom of Information
11 4 (1.02%) Low-Code
11 4 (1.02%) Wiki
Operating Systems
1 114 (29.16%) Windows
2 33 (8.44%) Windows 10
3 31 (7.93%) Android
4 24 (6.14%) Windows Server
5 18 (4.60%) Linux
6 17 (4.35%) Apple iOS
7 5 (1.28%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 3 (0.77%) Mac OS
9 2 (0.51%) Windows Server 2016
9 2 (0.51%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 88 (22.51%) Problem-Solving
2 60 (15.35%) Agile
3 54 (13.81%) Continuous Improvement
4 49 (12.53%) Stakeholder Management
5 46 (11.76%) DevOps
6 40 (10.23%) CI/CD
7 38 (9.72%) Project Delivery
8 37 (9.46%) Analytics
8 37 (9.46%) ITIL
9 36 (9.21%) Migration
10 33 (8.44%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 31 (7.93%) PRINCE2
12 30 (7.67%) Decision-Making
13 27 (6.91%) Project Management
13 27 (6.91%) Technical Leadership
14 26 (6.65%) Roadmaps
15 25 (6.39%) Infrastructure Engineering
15 25 (6.39%) Validation
16 23 (5.88%) Collaborative Working
16 23 (5.88%) Customer Service
Programming Languages
1 52 (13.30%) SQL
2 34 (8.70%) PowerShell
3 30 (7.67%) Python
4 26 (6.65%) C#
5 24 (6.14%) JavaScript
6 16 (4.09%) Java
7 14 (3.58%) Bicep
8 8 (2.05%) C++
8 8 (2.05%) TypeScript
9 5 (1.28%) BeanShell
10 4 (1.02%) Go
11 3 (0.77%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 2 (0.51%) T-SQL
12 2 (0.51%) VBA
13 1 (0.26%) Ada
13 1 (0.26%) Bash
13 1 (0.26%) C
13 1 (0.26%) PHP
13 1 (0.26%) PL/SQL
13 1 (0.26%) VB
Qualifications
1 170 (43.48%) Security Cleared
2 121 (30.95%) SC Cleared
3 53 (13.55%) DV Cleared
4 34 (8.70%) Degree
5 19 (4.86%) Microsoft Certification
6 14 (3.58%) Azure Certification
7 10 (2.56%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
8 9 (2.30%) BPSS Clearance
8 9 (2.30%) PMP
9 8 (2.05%) ACCA
9 8 (2.05%) CIMA
10 5 (1.28%) CISSP
11 4 (1.02%) Cisco Certification
12 3 (0.77%) (ISC)2 CCSP
12 3 (0.77%) ACSP
12 3 (0.77%) Computer Science Degree
12 3 (0.77%) ITIL Certification
13 2 (0.51%) DBS Check
13 2 (0.51%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
13 2 (0.51%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (4.35%) Data Quality
2 13 (3.32%) Accessibility
3 12 (3.07%) QA
4 11 (2.81%) PMO
4 11 (2.81%) SLA
5 9 (2.30%) NCSC
6 7 (1.79%) GDPR
6 7 (1.79%) WCAG
7 4 (1.02%) ISO 9000
7 4 (1.02%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 3 (0.77%) NIST
9 2 (0.51%) Actionable Recommendations
9 2 (0.51%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.51%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (0.51%) HL7
9 2 (0.51%) NIST 800
9 2 (0.51%) SNOMED CT
10 1 (0.26%) ISO 22301
10 1 (0.26%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.26%) MIL-STD-1553
System Software
1 79 (20.20%) Active Directory
2 17 (4.35%) Virtual Desktop
3 15 (3.84%) Docker
4 14 (3.58%) Hyper-V
5 10 (2.56%) VMware Infrastructure
6 5 (1.28%) Virtual Machines
7 3 (0.77%) VMware NSX
7 3 (0.77%) vSphere
8 1 (0.26%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.26%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 44 (11.25%) Microsoft Intune
2 33 (8.44%) Terraform
3 21 (5.37%) Kubernetes
4 15 (3.84%) Single Sign-On
5 14 (3.58%) SCCM
6 7 (1.79%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 7 (1.79%) Ansible
7 5 (1.28%) FortiGate
7 5 (1.28%) WSUS
8 4 (1.02%) Grafana
8 4 (1.02%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 4 (1.02%) Prometheus
8 4 (1.02%) VxRail
9 3 (0.77%) Failover Clustering
10 2 (0.51%) McAfee ePO
11 1 (0.26%) CA Single Sign-On
11 1 (0.26%) Cisco CUCM
11 1 (0.26%) Puppet
11 1 (0.26%) SCOM
11 1 (0.26%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 33 (8.44%) VMware
2 24 (6.14%) Oracle
3 15 (3.84%) Citrix
4 14 (3.58%) MobileIron
4 14 (3.58%) SAP
5 13 (3.32%) Apple
5 13 (3.32%) ServiceNow
6 11 (2.81%) Cisco
6 11 (2.81%) McAfee
7 9 (2.30%) HP
8 8 (2.05%) Google
8 8 (2.05%) Red Hat
9 7 (1.79%) Databricks
9 7 (1.79%) Starlink
10 6 (1.53%) Adobe
10 6 (1.53%) BiZZdesign
10 6 (1.53%) Dell
11 5 (1.28%) InterSystems
11 5 (1.28%) NetApp
11 5 (1.28%) Zscaler