"There has been a fairly steady demand at the senior end of the market which will possibly grow as the market heats up, but companies will have to dangle fairly big carrots to get the big name CIOs to move around," he said.

The Olivier Internet Job Index also paints a pretty picture for the IT job market, with IT outperforming other industries in growth by nearly eight per cent in 2005.

Group Director Robert Olivier is optimistic that the amount of IT jobs advertised will continue its steady growth this year even though there has been a seasonal slump.

"This silly season goes away. The employment market overall is bumping along the top right now. IT is not yet bumping along the top but I think that it will get there," he said.

In the last three months the number of IT jobs advertised rose six per cent when the rest of the market rose by only one per cent on average.