Nearly two thirds of the UK's IT staff are currently looking overseas for a better job, a new survey reveals.

Research agency Loudhouse polled 4,967 IT professionals and found that 65 per cent are actively looking for jobs overseas, 87 per cent of whom are doing so because they want a better quality job.

Even staff retention in the UK looks to be a problem, as over a third of respondents are actively looking for new work in the UK and nearly half are " keeping an eye on the market".

Nick Dettmar, managing director of recruitment firm Computer People, which sponsored the research, said: "Over a quarter of respondents expect to change jobs in the next three months.

"Our research shows that the IT industry is made up of professionals that know they are in demand, know they have a skill set that is sought after, and are keeping an eye out for opportunities that will stretch them."

Dettmar explained that it is worrying for IT departments that so many staff are on the lookout for what they perceive as better work.

"Even more worrying is that just 24 per cent of the management teams said that staff turnover is an issue. Clearly this is something that needs to be higher up their agenda," he said.

Average pay for all IT workers is currently £35,160 and, while last year's average pay rise was 3.3 per cent, most staff are expecting a 4.5 per cent rise this year.

London workers have the highest average pay at £41,474, compared to £34,130 for staff in the north of the country.

Only one per cent of staff are paid between £90,000 and £100,000 per year, and six per cent get less than £10,000. The median salary is £40,000 to £50,000.

The top rated skills for staff are surprising. Cobol programmers top the salary stakes with an average of £41,870, while the lowest ranked are Cisco specialists at £32,320.