Project Manager Job Trends in Manchester

Project Manager
North West > Manchester

The median Project Manager salary in Manchester is £55,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 12 January 2026.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
12 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 64 55 90
Rank change year-on-year -9 +35 +11
Permanent jobs requiring a Project Manager 73 114 58
As % of all permanent jobs in Manchester 2.54% 4.29% 2.28%
As % of the Job Titles category 2.85% 4.57% 2.39%
Number of salaries quoted 33 54 53
10th Percentile £40,000 - £46,250
25th Percentile £50,000 £47,500 £47,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,000 £56,021
Median % change year-on-year - -1.82% +1.86%
75th Percentile £67,500 £63,750 £63,750
90th Percentile £76,750 £67,625 £82,500
North West median annual salary £55,000 £55,000 £52,000
% change year-on-year - +5.77% -5.45%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
Manchester

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in Manchester. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in Manchester with a recognized job title 2,561 2,494 2,422
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 89.17% 93.76% 95.09%
Number of salaries quoted 1,659 1,200 1,954
10th Percentile £29,750 £35,000 £32,000
25th Percentile £39,875 £41,250 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year - - -4.35%
75th Percentile £72,500 £72,500 £71,250
90th Percentile £89,200 £85,000 £84,056
North West median annual salary £50,000 £51,000 £50,396
% change year-on-year -1.96% +1.20% -4.91%

Project Manager
Job Vacancy Trend in Manchester

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Project Manager' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in Manchester.

Project Manager job vacancy trend in Manchester

Project Manager
Salary Trend in Manchester

Salary distribution trend for Project Manager job vacancies in Manchester.

Salary distribution trend for Project Manager job vacancies in Manchester

Project Manager
Salary Histogram in Manchester

Salary distribution for jobs citing Project Manager in Manchester over the 6 months to 12 January 2026.

Salary histogram for Project Manager in Manchester

Project Manager
Job Locations in Manchester

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Project Manager within the Manchester region over the 6 months to 12 January 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Bolton +17 10 £50,000 -9.09%
Salford +12 10 £70,000 +3.70% 2
Wigan - 5 £65,000 -
Stockport +4 1 £55,000 -13.73%
Oldham -2 1 £55,000 +5.77%
Cheadle - 1 - - 2
Project Manager
North West

Project Manager Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Manchester

For the 6 months to 12 January 2026, Project Manager job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads across the Manchester region featuring Project Manager in the job title.

1 26 (35.62%) Project Management
2 16 (21.92%) Agile
2 16 (21.92%) PRINCE2
2 16 (21.92%) Project Delivery
3 15 (20.55%) Commercial Awareness
4 13 (17.81%) Microsoft
4 13 (17.81%) Risk Management
5 12 (16.44%) Analytics
5 12 (16.44%) Budget Management
5 12 (16.44%) Coaching
6 11 (15.07%) Cisco
6 11 (15.07%) Mentoring
6 11 (15.07%) Salesforce
6 11 (15.07%) Software Engineering
7 10 (13.70%) Change Management
7 10 (13.70%) COSHH
7 10 (13.70%) Stakeholder Management
8 9 (12.33%) Business Case
8 9 (12.33%) Degree
8 9 (12.33%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 8 (10.96%) Microsoft Office
9 8 (10.96%) PMI Certification
9 8 (10.96%) PMP
9 8 (10.96%) Project Governance
9 8 (10.96%) Waterfall
10 7 (9.59%) Collaborative Working
10 7 (9.59%) Problem-Solving
10 7 (9.59%) Project Planning
10 7 (9.59%) SharePoint
11 6 (8.22%) AI

Project Manager Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Manchester 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 7 (9.59%) SharePoint
2 1 (1.37%) LiveLink
Applications
1 8 (10.96%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (1.37%) Chatbot
General
1 35 (47.95%) Social Skills
2 33 (45.21%) Law
3 30 (41.10%) Finance
4 26 (35.62%) Military
5 25 (34.25%) Back Office
6 16 (21.92%) Telecoms
7 13 (17.81%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 10 (13.70%) Local Government
9 6 (8.22%) Public Sector
10 3 (4.11%) Analytical Skills
11 2 (2.74%) Legal
11 2 (2.74%) Police
11 2 (2.74%) Presentation Skills
12 1 (1.37%) Agriculture
12 1 (1.37%) Banking
12 1 (1.37%) Documentation Skills
12 1 (1.37%) Retail
Miscellaneous
1 17 (23.29%) Driving Licence
2 5 (6.85%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 5 (6.85%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 26 (35.62%) Project Management
2 16 (21.92%) Agile
2 16 (21.92%) PRINCE2
2 16 (21.92%) Project Delivery
3 15 (20.55%) Commercial Awareness
4 13 (17.81%) Risk Management
5 12 (16.44%) Analytics
5 12 (16.44%) Budget Management
5 12 (16.44%) Coaching
6 11 (15.07%) Mentoring
6 11 (15.07%) Software Engineering
7 10 (13.70%) Change Management
7 10 (13.70%) Stakeholder Management
8 9 (12.33%) Business Case
8 9 (12.33%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 8 (10.96%) Project Governance
9 8 (10.96%) Waterfall
10 7 (9.59%) Collaborative Working
10 7 (9.59%) Problem-Solving
10 7 (9.59%) Project Planning
Programming Languages
1 1 (1.37%) SQL
Qualifications
1 9 (12.33%) Degree
2 8 (10.96%) PMI Certification
2 8 (10.96%) PMP
3 5 (6.85%) DBS Check
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 10 (13.70%) COSHH
2 6 (8.22%) QA
3 1 (1.37%) ISO 14001
3 1 (1.37%) ISO 9001
Vendors
1 13 (17.81%) Microsoft
2 11 (15.07%) Cisco
2 11 (15.07%) Salesforce
3 1 (1.37%) F5