The survey, completed by 2381 respondents over December, and analysed and compiled in January, revealed that a third were looking at opportunities overseas, with Australia the most popular destination.

AbsoluteIT director Grant Burley says: "We're seeing a lot of developers heading to Australia."

Of all the skill sets represented by survey respondents, developers "are the biggest gap we have in our demand in New Zealand.

"Look on any IT jobs website and the type in highest demand is developers, especially .Net developers."

When Computerworld spoke to Burley earlier this month, he said AbsoluteIT had approximately 50 developer vacancies on its books.