Microsoft Contract Job Trends in the West Midlands

Microsoft
England > West Midlands

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the West Midlands 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 18 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
18 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 8 4 7
Rank change year-on-year -4 +3 -4
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 353 221 230
As % of all contract jobs in the West Midlands 11.52% 16.23% 11.97%
As % of the Vendors category 24.69% 34.10% 27.95%
Number of daily rates quoted 253 163 159
10th Percentile £258 £175 £190
25th Percentile £349 £235 £343
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £400 £438
Median % change year-on-year +12.50% -8.57% -7.89%
75th Percentile £541 £538 £575
90th Percentile £618 £648 £658
England median daily rate £492 £475 £490
% change year-on-year +3.58% -3.06% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 8 12 22
10th Percentile £14.08 £12.19 £10.54
25th Percentile £18.04 £12.25 £11.08
Median hourly rate £25.00 £24.50 £14.00
Median % change year-on-year +2.04% +75.00% -13.71%
75th Percentile £40.00 £31.76 £26.50
90th Percentile £70.18 £41.28 £53.38
England median hourly rate £20.09 £21.23 £15.00
% change year-on-year -5.37% +41.53% -28.59%

All Vendors
West Midlands

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 West Midlands.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 1,430 648 823
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the West Midlands 46.69% 47.58% 42.82%
Number of daily rates quoted 958 430 532
10th Percentile £305 £190 £251
25th Percentile £400 £346 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £474 £500 £450
Median % change year-on-year -5.25% +11.11% -10.00%
75th Percentile £548 £600 £600
90th Percentile £639 £689 £700
England median daily rate £500 £525 £520
% change year-on-year -4.76% +0.96% -3.26%
Number of hourly rates quoted 37 24 53
10th Percentile £18.04 £12.25 £11.07
25th Percentile £22.50 £15.22 £13.25
Median hourly rate £30.50 £18.76 £19.95
Median % change year-on-year +62.62% -5.99% +9.32%
75th Percentile £53.75 £30.17 £28.75
90th Percentile £70.23 £34.03 £55.00
England median hourly rate £30.00 £28.75 £22.50
% change year-on-year +4.35% +27.78% -40.00%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in the West Midlands

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Microsoft relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the West Midlands.

Microsoft job vacancy trend in the West Midlands

Microsoft
Daily Rate Trend in the West Midlands

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Microsoft.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in the West Midlands

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in the West Midlands over the 6 months to 18 April 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in the West Midlands

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Trend in the West Midlands

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Microsoft.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Microsoft

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in the West Midlands

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in the West Midlands over the 6 months to 18 April 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in the West Midlands

Microsoft
Contract Job Locations in the West Midlands

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Microsoft within the West Midlands region over the 6 months to 18 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
Birmingham 0 126 £450 +2.86% 73
Warwickshire -5 66 £500 +21.21% 24
Coventry -5 44 £450 +119.51% 18
Shropshire -30 34 £450 +12.04% 7
Worcestershire +7 19 £700 -22.22% 22
Staffordshire -1 13 £323 -14.00% 32
Solihull -12 10 £425 -11.64% 4
Herefordshire -6 9 £700 -22.22% 11
Dudley - 5 £400 - 4
Smethwick - 3 - -
Wolverhampton -2 2 £267 - 4
Brierley Hill - 2 £446 - 1
Walsall - 1 £160 - 3
West Bromwich - 1 - - 5
Microsoft
England

Microsoft
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the West Midlands 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 24 (6.80%) SharePoint
2 13 (3.68%) Microsoft Exchange
3 8 (2.27%) Confluence
4 5 (1.42%) SAS
5 4 (1.13%) Apache Spark
6 3 (0.85%) Apache Airflow
6 3 (0.85%) Jupyter
7 2 (0.57%) IIS
7 2 (0.57%) Oracle Workflow
8 1 (0.28%) Apache
8 1 (0.28%) Appian
8 1 (0.28%) CMS
8 1 (0.28%) HCL Notes
Applications
1 35 (9.92%) Microsoft Excel
2 33 (9.35%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (4.25%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 14 (3.97%) MS Visio
5 12 (3.40%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.28%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 16 (4.53%) Dynamics CRM
2 9 (2.55%) Dynamics NAV
3 4 (1.13%) Workday HCM
4 3 (0.85%) Maximo
5 1 (0.28%) Elite 3E
5 1 (0.28%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.28%) Oracle ERP
5 1 (0.28%) Primavera
5 1 (0.28%) SAP EHS
5 1 (0.28%) SAP S/4HANA
5 1 (0.28%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 123 (34.84%) Azure
2 64 (18.13%) Power Platform
3 62 (17.56%) Microsoft 365
4 42 (11.90%) AWS
5 34 (9.63%) Dynamics 365
5 34 (9.63%) Entra ID
6 24 (6.80%) Azure Synapse Analytics
7 22 (6.23%) Azure DevOps
8 20 (5.67%) Power Automate
9 19 (5.38%) Microsoft Purview
10 18 (5.10%) Azure Data Factory
11 17 (4.82%) PowerApps
12 15 (4.25%) Serverless
13 12 (3.40%) GitHub
14 11 (3.12%) GitHub Actions
14 11 (3.12%) OneDrive
15 9 (2.55%) GCP
16 8 (2.27%) Azure Logic Apps
17 7 (1.98%) Azure Key Vault
17 7 (1.98%) Azure Sentinel
Communications & Networking
1 26 (7.37%) DNS
2 25 (7.08%) Firewall
2 25 (7.08%) VPN
3 16 (4.53%) Network Security
4 13 (3.68%) DHCP
4 13 (3.68%) SSL
5 11 (3.12%) LAN
6 9 (2.55%) HTTP
6 9 (2.55%) TCP/IP
6 9 (2.55%) WAN
7 8 (2.27%) BIG-IP
7 8 (2.27%) HTTPS
7 8 (2.27%) Wireless
8 7 (1.98%) Cisco ASA
8 7 (1.98%) Cisco Nexus
8 7 (1.98%) Ethereal
8 7 (1.98%) IPsec
8 7 (1.98%) Wireshark
9 5 (1.42%) Intrusion Detection
10 4 (1.13%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 38 (10.76%) Power BI
2 26 (7.37%) Data Warehouse
3 16 (4.53%) SQL Server
4 14 (3.97%) PostgreSQL
5 9 (2.55%) Delta Lake
6 7 (1.98%) Data Lake
6 7 (1.98%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
6 7 (1.98%) NoSQL
6 7 (1.98%) Relational Database
7 6 (1.70%) Oracle Database
7 6 (1.70%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 5 (1.42%) Azure SQL Database
8 5 (1.42%) Metadata
8 5 (1.42%) MySQL
9 4 (1.13%) Power Query
9 4 (1.13%) Redis
10 3 (0.85%) Amazon Redshift
10 3 (0.85%) SAP Data Services
10 3 (0.85%) Tableau
11 2 (0.57%) SAS Enterprise Guide
Development Applications
1 28 (7.93%) JIRA
2 14 (3.97%) Git
3 8 (2.27%) GitLab
4 4 (1.13%) MLflow
4 4 (1.13%) MSI
5 3 (0.85%) Jenkins
5 3 (0.85%) Selenium
6 2 (0.57%) InstallShield
6 2 (0.57%) JMeter
6 2 (0.57%) WebDriver
7 1 (0.28%) AdminStudio
7 1 (0.28%) CircleCI
7 1 (0.28%) Cypress.io
7 1 (0.28%) Maven
7 1 (0.28%) NUnit
7 1 (0.28%) SonarQube
General
1 111 (31.44%) Social Skills
2 41 (11.61%) Analytical Skills
2 41 (11.61%) Finance
3 20 (5.67%) Public Sector
4 13 (3.68%) Inclusion and Diversity
4 13 (3.68%) Organisational Skills
5 9 (2.55%) Legal
6 7 (1.98%) Games
6 7 (1.98%) Manufacturing
7 6 (1.70%) Banking
7 6 (1.70%) Documentation Skills
7 6 (1.70%) Influencing Skills
7 6 (1.70%) Law
7 6 (1.70%) Police
8 4 (1.13%) Electronics
8 4 (1.13%) Local Government
8 4 (1.13%) Marketing
9 3 (0.85%) Presentation Skills
9 3 (0.85%) Publishing
9 3 (0.85%) Retail
Job Titles
1 42 (11.90%) Analyst
2 37 (10.48%) Architect
3 36 (10.20%) Developer
4 27 (7.65%) Senior
5 19 (5.38%) Administrator
6 18 (5.10%) Data Engineer
7 15 (4.25%) Solutions Architect
8 14 (3.97%) Lead
9 13 (3.68%) Consultant
10 12 (3.40%) Business Analyst
10 12 (3.40%) IT Support
11 11 (3.12%) Data Architect
11 11 (3.12%) Network Engineer
11 11 (3.12%) Support Engineer
12 10 (2.83%) Project Manager
13 9 (2.55%) IT Engineer
14 8 (2.27%) Azure Engineer
14 8 (2.27%) Business Intelligence Developer
14 8 (2.27%) Data Manager
14 8 (2.27%) Infrastructure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 17 (4.82%) PySpark
2 10 (2.83%) FastAPI
2 10 (2.83%) SailPoint
3 9 (2.55%) LDAP
3 9 (2.55%) SAML
4 8 (2.27%) .NET
4 8 (2.27%) REST
5 7 (1.98%) Flask
6 5 (1.42%) ADO
7 4 (1.13%) GraphQL
7 4 (1.13%) gRPC
7 4 (1.13%) JSON
7 4 (1.13%) Kafka
7 4 (1.13%) Middleware
7 4 (1.13%) NumPy
7 4 (1.13%) OpenTelemetry
7 4 (1.13%) Pandas
7 4 (1.13%) WebSockets
8 3 (0.85%) .NET Framework
8 3 (0.85%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 23 (6.52%) Onboarding
2 21 (5.95%) Cloud Native
3 12 (3.40%) Security Posture
4 10 (2.83%) Hybrid Cloud
5 9 (2.55%) Enterprise Software
5 9 (2.55%) Self-Motivation
6 8 (2.27%) Driving Licence
6 8 (2.27%) Product Ownership
6 8 (2.27%) Security Operations Centre
7 7 (1.98%) Operational Technology
8 5 (1.42%) SCADA
9 4 (1.13%) CSOC
9 4 (1.13%) Data Centre
9 4 (1.13%) Data Protection Act
9 4 (1.13%) PKI
10 3 (0.85%) CMDB
10 3 (0.85%) Cyber Threat
10 3 (0.85%) IoT
10 3 (0.85%) Management Information System
10 3 (0.85%) Renewable Energy
Operating Systems
1 66 (18.70%) Windows
2 25 (7.08%) Windows Server
3 22 (6.23%) Windows 10
4 20 (5.67%) Linux
5 4 (1.13%) Unix
6 3 (0.85%) Apple iOS
6 3 (0.85%) CatOS
6 3 (0.85%) Mac OS
6 3 (0.85%) Windows Server 2012
6 3 (0.85%) Windows Server 2019
7 2 (0.57%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 2 (0.57%) Windows Server 2016
8 1 (0.28%) Android
8 1 (0.28%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 80 (22.66%) Agile
2 65 (18.41%) Problem-Solving
3 62 (17.56%) CI/CD
4 52 (14.73%) Analytics
5 49 (13.88%) Continuous Improvement
5 49 (13.88%) DevOps
6 47 (13.31%) Migration
7 41 (11.61%) Business Intelligence
8 40 (11.33%) AI
9 34 (9.63%) Stakeholder Management
10 33 (9.35%) Cybersecurity
10 33 (9.35%) ITIL
11 30 (8.50%) Containerisation
12 29 (8.22%) Customer Service
12 29 (8.22%) Infrastructure as Code
12 29 (8.22%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 28 (7.93%) ETL
14 26 (7.37%) Change Management
14 26 (7.37%) Data Modelling
15 25 (7.08%) Decision-Making
Programming Languages
1 59 (16.71%) SQL
2 42 (11.90%) Python
3 23 (6.52%) PowerShell
4 11 (3.12%) Bicep
5 9 (2.55%) Java
6 8 (2.27%) C#
7 7 (1.98%) Kusto Query Language
7 7 (1.98%) PL/SQL
8 6 (1.70%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 6 (1.70%) Go
8 6 (1.70%) JavaScript
9 4 (1.13%) R
9 4 (1.13%) Shell Script
9 4 (1.13%) VBScript
10 3 (0.85%) MATLAB
10 3 (0.85%) Scala
10 3 (0.85%) VB
11 2 (0.57%) Bash
11 2 (0.57%) T-SQL
11 2 (0.57%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 67 (18.98%) Security Cleared
2 52 (14.73%) SC Cleared
3 41 (11.61%) Degree
4 27 (7.65%) Microsoft Certification
5 12 (3.40%) AWS Certification
6 11 (3.12%) CISSP
7 10 (2.83%) Azure Certification
7 10 (2.83%) DV Cleared
8 9 (2.55%) BPSS Clearance
8 9 (2.55%) Cisco Certification
9 8 (2.27%) CISM
10 7 (1.98%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
11 6 (1.70%) ISTQB
12 5 (1.42%) CCNA
12 5 (1.42%) Computer Science Degree
12 5 (1.42%) ITIL Certification
12 5 (1.42%) Master's Degree
13 4 (1.13%) DBS Check
13 4 (1.13%) OCP
13 4 (1.13%) Oracle Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (5.67%) QA
2 19 (5.38%) Data Quality
3 13 (3.68%) GDPR
4 12 (3.40%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 7 (1.98%) NIST
5 7 (1.98%) PMO
6 6 (1.70%) Accessibility
6 6 (1.70%) SLA
7 3 (0.85%) GRC
7 3 (0.85%) ISO 9001
7 3 (0.85%) ISO/IEC 12207
7 3 (0.85%) ISO/IEC 15288
8 2 (0.57%) GxP
8 2 (0.57%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 1 (0.28%) FATCA
9 1 (0.28%) HIPAA
9 1 (0.28%) ISO 14001
9 1 (0.28%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 1 (0.28%) PCI DSS
9 1 (0.28%) WCAG
System Software
1 64 (18.13%) Active Directory
2 31 (8.78%) Docker
3 19 (5.38%) VMware Infrastructure
4 7 (1.98%) VMware NSX
5 4 (1.13%) Snort
5 4 (1.13%) vSphere
6 3 (0.85%) Hyper-V
6 3 (0.85%) Microsoft App-V
6 3 (0.85%) Virtual Machines
7 2 (0.57%) BitLocker
7 2 (0.57%) XenApp
7 2 (0.57%) XenDesktop
8 1 (0.28%) NFS
Systems Management
1 40 (11.33%) Kubernetes
2 27 (7.65%) Terraform
3 20 (5.67%) Microsoft Intune
4 13 (3.68%) SCCM
5 11 (3.12%) Ansible
5 11 (3.12%) Grafana
5 11 (3.12%) Prometheus
6 10 (2.83%) Single Sign-On
7 4 (1.13%) CSIRT
8 3 (0.85%) Control-M
8 3 (0.85%) HP ALM
8 3 (0.85%) IBM Guardium
8 3 (0.85%) Nessus
8 3 (0.85%) vRealize
8 3 (0.85%) WSUS
9 2 (0.57%) Docker Swarm
9 2 (0.57%) HP Quality Center
9 2 (0.57%) Puppet
9 2 (0.57%) QRadar
9 2 (0.57%) SCOM
Vendors
1 30 (8.50%) ServiceNow
2 24 (6.80%) Databricks
2 24 (6.80%) Oracle
3 22 (6.23%) VMware
4 20 (5.67%) SAP
5 19 (5.38%) Cisco
6 10 (2.83%) Splunk
7 9 (2.55%) CheckPoint
8 8 (2.27%) F5
8 8 (2.27%) Informatica
8 8 (2.27%) SolarWinds
9 7 (1.98%) Okta
9 7 (1.98%) Palo Alto
10 6 (1.70%) Workday
11 5 (1.42%) Citrix
11 5 (1.42%) Tenable
12 3 (0.85%) CyberArk
12 3 (0.85%) HP
12 3 (0.85%) MobileIron
13 2 (0.57%) AppDynamics