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Information technology professionals can expect to see starting salaries increase an average of 3.4 percent next year, according to a recent report by Robert Half Technology.

The 2011 salary guide cited that larger-than-average increases in base compensation are expected for IT workers in high-demand career fields such as applications and Web development, data security and enterprise resource planning. Industries forecasting particularly strong demand for IT professionals in 2011 include business services, transportation and healthcare, according to the report.

Web designers will see the greatest starting salary gains of any job classification, with base compensation expected to rise an average of 5.5 percent, to between $50,750 and $83,000 annually. Base pay for ERP technical developers is projected to raise 5.2 percent next year, ranging from $79,250 to $109,500, while base pay for data modelers is expected to rise 4.5 percent, ranging from $80,750 to $111,250, Robert Half reported.

John Reed, executive director at Robert Half, said the increased focus among organizations on improving efficiency, managing assets and securing data has increased demand and base compensation for IT professionals. "Additionally, the rise of social media and focus on customer-facing technologies have created additional demand for web professionals and applications developers," he said.

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