The economic value of IT work is neither falling nor climbing, despite predictions of a global recession, the Association of Technology Staffing Companies has found.

The average pay of both contract IT staff and permanent employees remained unchanged in the third quarter of 2007, at £40 per hour and £35,000 per annum respectively.

However, IT workers with certain skillsets were more likely than others to see pay increases. Those more likely to enjoy a pay uplift were staff skilled in C++, Java, Oracle, SAP or Unix, or working as analyst/programmers and trainers. In contrast, those working in plain C, Lotus Notes or web development were less likely to see a pay rise.

Meanwhile, a further study conducted by IT design consultancy Conchango found that money was not the principal factor for most IT professionals as they look for a new job. Instead, interesting projects and potential career development were more powerful draws.