In Christchurch, office relocations due to the earthquakes and the implementation of projects delayed due to the quakes have impacted demand for IT skills, the report notes.

In the Upper North Island, hiring intentions in telecommunications are up 13.4 percentage points, from 21.2 percent to 36.4 percent, compared with the July-September quarter, and up 20.8 percentage points year-on-year. According to Hudson this is due to the ultra-fast broadband rollout.

In the Lower North Island, hiring intentions in IT dropped 10.6 percentage points from the previous quarter and 6.5 percentage points year-on-year.

"The softening in IT recruitment points to the stabilisation of some major national and international transformation programmes which have reached capacity from earlier recruitment drives", the commentary on the survey notes.

The election and mergers of some government departments may also have contributed to the downturn in sentiment.