According to Computerworld, a Peoplebank recruitment firm's salary survey showed that the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) workers of Perth were given the highest pay rises in the first quarter of 2010.

The survey covered over 50 IT job categories in the country's capital cities for a period of more than three months, 40% of the categories surveyed witnessed a raise in salary on contract rate. The firm credited this to a declining job market in the western capital, compelling employers to increase salary to maintain the number of existing staffs and attract new employees.

The survey proposes that, while IT employees received the biggest salary rise in Perth, the job market has grown most in Victoria, where the number of available positions are twice the past three months.

South Australians have also become a competitive job market amongst employers in the first quarter of 2010, whereas New South Wales, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory all witnessed lesser rise.

The survey repeats continued rises in the IT job sector through 2010.

Software testing is one area that has witnessed substantial growth recently, with main players like K.J., PlanIT, and Ross & France-based GapGemini. The increase in demand has compelled employers to search locally as well as overseas, as the number of skilled testers declines.