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 19 March 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 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 10 2 5
Rank change year-on-year -8 +3 -2
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 342 233 267
As % of all contract jobs in the West Midlands 12.03% 17.53% 13.66%
As % of the Vendors category 25.33% 35.79% 30.62%
Number of daily rates quoted 246 177 186
10th Percentile £243 £176 £199
25th Percentile £336 £235 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £425 £432
Median % change year-on-year +11.76% -1.62% -4.00%
75th Percentile £573 £543 £575
90th Percentile £675 £638 £688
England median daily rate £494 £475 £488
% change year-on-year +3.89% -2.56% -2.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 6 12 28
10th Percentile £14.90 £12.19 £10.80
25th Percentile £15.69 £12.25 £11.30
Median hourly rate £20.67 £24.50 £16.83
Median % change year-on-year -15.63% +45.62% +6.96%
75th Percentile £25.00 £31.76 £23.88
90th Percentile £27.50 £35.00 £35.78
England median hourly rate £19.91 £23.80 £16.06
% change year-on-year -16.34% +48.19% -24.17%

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 1,350 651 872
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the West Midlands 47.47% 48.98% 44.60%
Number of daily rates quoted 889 434 558
10th Percentile £299 £200 £250
25th Percentile £400 £371 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £497 £450
Median % change year-on-year -4.33% +10.33% -5.76%
75th Percentile £560 £600 £600
90th Percentile £644 £692 £688
England median daily rate £501 £525 £515
% change year-on-year -4.67% +1.94% -4.28%
Number of hourly rates quoted 30 24 58
10th Percentile £16.06 £12.25 £11.11
25th Percentile £20.06 £17.40 £13.44
Median hourly rate £25.08 £19.50 £19.23
Median % change year-on-year +28.59% +1.43% +8.49%
75th Percentile £30.56 £30.17 £26.98
90th Percentile £65.72 £34.03 £46.25
England median hourly rate £25.00 £30.20 £24.75
% change year-on-year -17.22% +22.01% -29.28%

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 19 March 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 19 March 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 19 March 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 -1 123 £475 +5.56% 79
Warwickshire -9 62 £500 -0.10% 19
Coventry -7 35 £450 +114.29% 20
Shropshire -28 33 £449 +21.54% 21
Worcestershire +7 24 £700 -22.22% 19
Staffordshire -1 17 £272 -29.92% 28
Herefordshire -9 11 £700 -22.22% 11
Solihull -3 9 £425 +143.55% 5
Dudley - 5 £400 - 5
Smethwick - 3 - -
Wolverhampton -3 2 £267 +54.09% 10
Brierley Hill - 2 £446 -
Walsall - 1 £160 - 2
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 (7.02%) SharePoint
2 12 (3.51%) Microsoft Exchange
3 8 (2.34%) Confluence
4 3 (0.88%) Jupyter
5 2 (0.58%) SAS
6 1 (0.29%) HCL Notes
Applications
1 41 (11.99%) Microsoft Excel
2 39 (11.40%) Microsoft Office
3 18 (5.26%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 11 (3.22%) MS Visio
5 10 (2.92%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.29%) Oracle Smart View
6 1 (0.29%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 16 (4.68%) Dynamics CRM
2 11 (3.22%) Dynamics NAV
3 4 (1.17%) Workday HCM
4 3 (0.88%) Maximo
5 2 (0.58%) Oracle EBS
5 2 (0.58%) SAP S/4HANA
6 1 (0.29%) Elite 3E
6 1 (0.29%) MIS ActiveH
6 1 (0.29%) Oracle ERP
6 1 (0.29%) Primavera
6 1 (0.29%) SAP BPC
6 1 (0.29%) SAP EHS
6 1 (0.29%) SAP GRC
6 1 (0.29%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 119 (34.80%) Azure
2 70 (20.47%) Power Platform
3 54 (15.79%) Microsoft 365
4 45 (13.16%) AWS
5 42 (12.28%) Dynamics 365
6 37 (10.82%) Entra ID
7 26 (7.60%) Azure DevOps
8 24 (7.02%) Azure Synapse Analytics
9 20 (5.85%) Azure Data Factory
9 20 (5.85%) Power Automate
10 18 (5.26%) Serverless
11 16 (4.68%) GitHub
11 16 (4.68%) Microsoft Purview
12 15 (4.39%) GitHub Actions
13 14 (4.09%) PowerApps
14 12 (3.51%) Azure Key Vault
15 10 (2.92%) GCP
15 10 (2.92%) OneDrive
16 8 (2.34%) Azure Logic Apps
16 8 (2.34%) Azure Sentinel
Communications & Networking
1 26 (7.60%) VPN
2 22 (6.43%) Firewall
3 20 (5.85%) DNS
4 14 (4.09%) Network Security
5 11 (3.22%) SSL
6 10 (2.92%) LAN
7 9 (2.63%) DHCP
7 9 (2.63%) TCP/IP
8 8 (2.34%) HTTP
8 8 (2.34%) WAN
9 7 (2.05%) HTTPS
9 7 (2.05%) Wireless
10 6 (1.75%) BIG-IP
10 6 (1.75%) Cisco ASA
10 6 (1.75%) Cisco Nexus
10 6 (1.75%) Ethereal
10 6 (1.75%) IPsec
10 6 (1.75%) Wireshark
11 5 (1.46%) Intrusion Detection
11 5 (1.46%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 41 (11.99%) Power BI
2 27 (7.89%) Data Warehouse
3 20 (5.85%) PostgreSQL
4 15 (4.39%) SQL Server
5 8 (2.34%) Redis
6 7 (2.05%) Delta Lake
6 7 (2.05%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
6 7 (2.05%) NoSQL
6 7 (2.05%) Oracle Database
6 7 (2.05%) Relational Database
6 7 (2.05%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 5 (1.46%) Azure SQL Database
7 5 (1.46%) MySQL
8 4 (1.17%) Data Lake
8 4 (1.17%) Metadata
8 4 (1.17%) Power Query
9 2 (0.58%) Amazon RDS
9 2 (0.58%) Amazon Redshift
9 2 (0.58%) Data Mining
9 2 (0.58%) InfluxDB
Development Applications
1 25 (7.31%) JIRA
2 12 (3.51%) Git
3 8 (2.34%) GitLab
4 6 (1.75%) Jenkins
5 5 (1.46%) MSI
6 4 (1.17%) MLflow
7 3 (0.88%) InstallShield
7 3 (0.88%) Selenium
8 2 (0.58%) CircleCI
8 2 (0.58%) JMeter
8 2 (0.58%) WebDriver
9 1 (0.29%) AdminStudio
9 1 (0.29%) Cypress.io
General
1 116 (33.92%) Social Skills
2 47 (13.74%) Finance
3 44 (12.87%) Analytical Skills
4 23 (6.73%) Public Sector
5 17 (4.97%) Organisational Skills
6 12 (3.51%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 10 (2.92%) Manufacturing
8 9 (2.63%) Legal
9 7 (2.05%) Games
10 6 (1.75%) Law
10 6 (1.75%) Police
11 5 (1.46%) Banking
11 5 (1.46%) Documentation Skills
11 5 (1.46%) Influencing Skills
12 4 (1.17%) Local Government
12 4 (1.17%) Marketing
12 4 (1.17%) Presentation Skills
13 3 (0.88%) Electronics
14 2 (0.58%) Automotive
14 2 (0.58%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 39 (11.40%) Developer
2 38 (11.11%) Analyst
3 37 (10.82%) Architect
4 20 (5.85%) Senior
5 18 (5.26%) Administrator
6 15 (4.39%) Solutions Architect
7 14 (4.09%) Lead
8 13 (3.80%) Consultant
8 13 (3.80%) Project Manager
9 12 (3.51%) Data Engineer
9 12 (3.51%) Python Developer
9 12 (3.51%) Support Engineer
10 11 (3.22%) Data Architect
10 11 (3.22%) IT Support
11 10 (2.92%) Business Analyst
11 10 (2.92%) Network Engineer
12 8 (2.34%) Backend Developer
12 8 (2.34%) Business Intelligence Developer
12 8 (2.34%) Data Manager
12 8 (2.34%) IT Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 15 (4.39%) REST
2 14 (4.09%) FastAPI
3 12 (3.51%) PySpark
4 11 (3.22%) Flask
4 11 (3.22%) SailPoint
5 8 (2.34%) GraphQL
5 8 (2.34%) gRPC
5 8 (2.34%) LDAP
5 8 (2.34%) SAML
5 8 (2.34%) WebSockets
6 7 (2.05%) .NET
7 6 (1.75%) Middleware
8 4 (1.17%) ADO
8 4 (1.17%) NumPy
8 4 (1.17%) Pandas
9 3 (0.88%) Kafka
9 3 (0.88%) OAuth
9 3 (0.88%) OpenTelemetry
10 2 (0.58%) .NET Framework
10 2 (0.58%) Oracle Fusion
Miscellaneous
1 25 (7.31%) Onboarding
2 19 (5.56%) Cloud Native
3 11 (3.22%) Security Posture
4 9 (2.63%) Hybrid Cloud
4 9 (2.63%) Self-Motivation
5 8 (2.34%) Driving Licence
5 8 (2.34%) Product Ownership
5 8 (2.34%) Security Operations Centre
6 7 (2.05%) Enterprise Software
6 7 (2.05%) Operational Technology
7 5 (1.46%) SCADA
8 4 (1.17%) CSOC
8 4 (1.17%) Data Centre
8 4 (1.17%) Legacy Applications
9 3 (0.88%) CCTV
9 3 (0.88%) Data Protection Act
9 3 (0.88%) Handset
9 3 (0.88%) IoT
9 3 (0.88%) Legacy Systems
9 3 (0.88%) Renewable Energy
Operating Systems
1 57 (16.67%) Windows
2 20 (5.85%) Windows Server
3 17 (4.97%) Linux
3 17 (4.97%) Windows 10
4 4 (1.17%) Mac OS
4 4 (1.17%) Unix
5 3 (0.88%) CatOS
6 2 (0.58%) Apple iOS
6 2 (0.58%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 1 (0.29%) Android
7 1 (0.29%) Windows 7
7 1 (0.29%) Windows Server 2012
7 1 (0.29%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 79 (23.10%) Agile
2 62 (18.13%) CI/CD
2 62 (18.13%) Problem-Solving
3 52 (15.20%) Analytics
4 51 (14.91%) DevOps
5 49 (14.33%) Continuous Improvement
6 44 (12.87%) Business Intelligence
6 44 (12.87%) Migration
7 37 (10.82%) AI
8 33 (9.65%) Cybersecurity
9 32 (9.36%) ITIL
9 32 (9.36%) Stakeholder Management
10 30 (8.77%) Containerisation
11 29 (8.48%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 28 (8.19%) Customer Service
13 27 (7.89%) Decision-Making
13 27 (7.89%) ETL
14 26 (7.60%) Change Management
14 26 (7.60%) Data Modelling
15 24 (7.02%) Infrastructure as Code
Programming Languages
1 57 (16.67%) SQL
2 41 (11.99%) Python
3 23 (6.73%) PowerShell
4 12 (3.51%) Go
5 8 (2.34%) Bicep
5 8 (2.34%) C#
5 8 (2.34%) Data Analysis Expressions
5 8 (2.34%) Kusto Query Language
6 7 (2.05%) Java
7 6 (1.75%) JavaScript
7 6 (1.75%) PL/SQL
8 5 (1.46%) VBScript
9 4 (1.17%) R
9 4 (1.17%) Shell Script
9 4 (1.17%) VB
10 3 (0.88%) MATLAB
11 2 (0.58%) Bash
11 2 (0.58%) Scala
11 2 (0.58%) T-SQL
11 2 (0.58%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 65 (19.01%) Security Cleared
2 50 (14.62%) SC Cleared
3 37 (10.82%) Degree
4 31 (9.06%) Microsoft Certification
5 14 (4.09%) AWS Certification
5 14 (4.09%) DV Cleared
6 12 (3.51%) Azure Certification
7 10 (2.92%) CISSP
8 8 (2.34%) BPSS Clearance
8 8 (2.34%) Cisco Certification
9 7 (2.05%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
9 7 (2.05%) CISM
10 6 (1.75%) Computer Science Degree
10 6 (1.75%) ISTQB
10 6 (1.75%) Master's Degree
11 5 (1.46%) CCNA
12 4 (1.17%) OCP
12 4 (1.17%) Oracle Certification
12 4 (1.17%) PhD
13 3 (0.88%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (4.97%) QA
2 16 (4.68%) Data Quality
3 13 (3.80%) GDPR
4 10 (2.92%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 6 (1.75%) Accessibility
5 6 (1.75%) SLA
6 5 (1.46%) PMO
7 3 (0.88%) Cyber Essentials
7 3 (0.88%) ISO/IEC 12207
7 3 (0.88%) ISO/IEC 15288
7 3 (0.88%) NIST
7 3 (0.88%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 2 (0.58%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 2 (0.58%) GxP
8 2 (0.58%) ISO 9001
8 2 (0.58%) NCSC
9 1 (0.29%) GRC
9 1 (0.29%) HIPAA
9 1 (0.29%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 1 (0.29%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 57 (16.67%) Active Directory
2 31 (9.06%) Docker
3 15 (4.39%) VMware Infrastructure
4 6 (1.75%) VMware NSX
5 4 (1.17%) Microsoft App-V
5 4 (1.17%) Snort
5 4 (1.17%) vSphere
6 2 (0.58%) Hyper-V
6 2 (0.58%) Virtual Machines
7 1 (0.29%) BitLocker
Systems Management
1 40 (11.70%) Kubernetes
2 24 (7.02%) Terraform
3 17 (4.97%) Microsoft Intune
4 14 (4.09%) Prometheus
5 13 (3.80%) Grafana
6 12 (3.51%) SCCM
7 10 (2.92%) Single Sign-On
8 8 (2.34%) Ansible
9 4 (1.17%) CSIRT
10 3 (0.88%) Control-M
10 3 (0.88%) HP ALM
10 3 (0.88%) IBM Guardium
10 3 (0.88%) Nessus
10 3 (0.88%) vRealize
11 2 (0.58%) Docker Swarm
11 2 (0.58%) HP Quality Center
11 2 (0.58%) Progress Chef
11 2 (0.58%) Puppet
12 1 (0.29%) AirWatch
12 1 (0.29%) Jamf Pro
Vendors
1 28 (8.19%) ServiceNow
2 23 (6.73%) Databricks
2 23 (6.73%) Oracle
2 23 (6.73%) SAP
3 17 (4.97%) Cisco
4 16 (4.68%) VMware
5 8 (2.34%) Splunk
6 7 (2.05%) CheckPoint
6 7 (2.05%) Informatica
6 7 (2.05%) SolarWinds
7 6 (1.75%) F5
7 6 (1.75%) Palo Alto
7 6 (1.75%) Tenable
7 6 (1.75%) Workday
8 4 (1.17%) Okta
9 3 (0.88%) Citrix
9 3 (0.88%) CyberArk
9 3 (0.88%) HP
9 3 (0.88%) Virgin Media
10 2 (0.58%) Commvault