According to human resources agency Hudson, the sentiment is generally good for IT professionals in this region.
Yeo Gek Cheng, director of IT and telecoms (IT&T) at Hudson Singapore, said there are more jobs for candidates in Singapore as demand far exceeds supply.
Similarly in Hong Kong, the IT job market is short of candidates--almost like how it was in 2000 during the dotcom days, according to Ellis Seder, IT&T manager at Hudson Hong Kong. "The banking industry, in particular, is experiencing a hiring frenzy for candidates with technology skills," he said.
Indeed, the HR experts' views dovetailed with findings from ZDNet Asia's inaugural IT Salary Survey, which provides an overview of salary data for several IT positions, including IT management, project development and systems development. It also highlights the most popular technical skills and professional certifications.
The survey was conducted on the Internet between Aug. 25 and Nov. 6, 2006, and drew 5,090 respondents from key industry sectors such as government, healthcare, IT, services, telecommunications, legal and finance. The study covered Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Among the key findings: IT professionals command the highest pay in Hong Kong, with an overall average annual salary of HK$404,144 (US$51,964), followed by Singapore at S$64,943 (US$41,601). Surprisingly, Thailand is in third place with an average of THB 994,203 (US$27,044).
Industry observers say the high salaries are hardly surprising, thanks to a shrinking IT workforce and expanding IT teams.
Rohit Chattree, director at HR consultancy Adecco, noted: "We are getting a lot more requests from clients to look for more candidates, as they expand their IT teams. We're also speaking to a lot of candidates who get offers regularly."
Particularly in Singapore, Chattree said, the local IT talent pool has dried up. Employers are even open to talking to IT professionals looking for jobs while they are in Singapore on tourist visits.
Noting trends across the region, Chattree said: "There is strong interest from different industries to hire IT professionals".
Among the industries surveyed, respondents from the legal and finance sector command the highest average annual salaries in four out of the seven countries: Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
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