Employers looking to retain good staff should be thinking about reviewing salary packages and benefits, if recent figures are anything to go by.

Recruitment website Seek says the average salary for roles on its website rose by 3.1% between January and June this year, and is now $72,277.

The findings are backed up by figures from Statistics New Zealand, which have shown a steady increase in wages since the recent recession.

The organisation says salary and wage rates for the private sector increased 2% in the year to June 2011, following an equal increase in the year to March 2011.

Janet Faulding, general manager of Seek, says the potential for higher pay is one of the main reasons why people decide to start looking for a new job.

"The sustained growth we have seen in salaries over the past six months  is great news for job hunters who are looking to earn more money by changing roles,” Faulding says.

"For employers looking to retain good staff, now is an ideal time to look at salary packages.

Faulding says if budgets are tight, employers should consider non-monetary perks such as annual leave or flexible work hours.

The ICT industry has been experiencing a sustained skills shortage for some time. Both Seek and rival TradeMe Jobs have reported increases in the number of ICT job advertisements in recent months. Read the story here.