Reduced funding, pressure on head counts and election-year uncertainty have led to a drop in the average salary for the ICT industry, according to sector recruitment specialists absoluteIT.

Although still pretty healthy overall, the base median salary has dropped from $76,500 to $75,000, a 2% decrease.

Total employment packages are down 3.1%, from $80,000 to $77,500, suggesting IT managers are also cutting back on employee perks.

Grant Burley, director of absoluteIT, sees the drop as a hiatus rather than a trend.

"With current political and ongoing economic uncertainty, we’re seeing more organisations focusing on maintenance, improvement and fine-tuning rather than investing in new projects, which is reflected in the increased remuneration rates for these types of skill sets,” Burley says.

"There are some pockets of increased recruitment activity, especially in the public sector with certain Government agencies requiring extra staff to support the role out of new systems and services.

"We expect to see a gradual rise in recruitment activity following the election and into the next three years, alongside continued industry growth and a new round of public sector investment in infrastructure and platforms.

"The demand for skilled IT talent will continue to outstrip supply over this period.”

The figures show a significant gap between pay rates between the genders, with men earning 7.8% more on salary and 12.5% more on contract.

Wellingtonians earn more than Aucklanders, at $80,000 compared with $75,000.

Go here to read the full report.