People with management, testing and development skills are likely to see the greatest pay rises this year, according to a report.
The latest Global Salary Survey, by specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters, was confident hiring activity would return after the first quarter this year.
Robert Walters IT associate director Peter Bateson said the slowdown in hiring at the end of 2012 would change as IT investment and infrastructure was vital to operational efficiency.
"However, demand for candidates with niche skills will continue regardless of how the market develops, with a particular focus on cloud, application development and e-commerce skills," he said.
The survey found a program manager could expect an increase of up to 11 per cent, a project manager up to 16 per cent, UX/UI designers/digital producers up to eight per cent, and test/QA managers up to seven per cent.
The sectors expected to perform the strongest include e-commerce, digital media, insurance, superannuation and parts of the telecommunications industry.
IT spend would rise across the oil and gas sector as network implementation projects and major system development projects commenced, the report said.
A large portion of activity would come from organisations looking to streamline processes, restructure and operate more efficiently.
The research focused on the IT markets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
It found the Sydney IT commerce and industry sector would need skills with a particular focus on cloud, mobile applications and e-commerce as business performance became more dependent on the internet.
The Sydney IT banking and financial services market would have a continued requirement for business analysts and project managers with specialist experience in regulatory reforms such as FOFA, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, Dodd-Frank and Basel III. Developers with trading system experience and consultants with online and mobile expertise would also be required.
In Melbourne, an expected return in confidence would result in growth across the IT market, the survey predicted. It then anticipated a return to a candidate-short market due to a lack of specialist skills in the local market.
In Brisbane, the outlook was for change and opportunity as the government should prioritise key technology investments, which would lead to greater hiring activity, the report said.
