An analysis from global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters has pinpointed five specialist roles across the Australian economy as having had the strongest wage growth for 2018 thus far.

According to the results, in-house lawyers in NSW make the top five cut, behind Microsoft developers in Western Australia, project developers in Queensland and HR organisational development managers in Victoria.

Rounding out the top five is senior IT consultants in South Australia, who have experienced the same wage growth in 2018 as in-house lawyers, according to the analysis.

The analysis showed that current wages for in-house lawyers is $170,000 (max), with the potential wage by the end of 2018 set as approximately $187,000, depending on level of expertise and seniority.

“The reason for the huge growth in wage is simply about supply and demand. There just isn’t enough people employed in these roles, and looking down the pipeline the trend is expected to continue well into next year,” said Robert Walters managing director Andrew Hanson.

“Infrastructure budgets both federally and on state-level are at record levels, the banking royal commission has no end in sight, meaning banks and financial service companies are locking down their risk practices, while investment in government IT and data storage regulation and requirements continues to escalate.”

Speaking on the legal profession specifically, Mr Hanson said in-house corporate lawyers in Sydney with 10 years in financial services have potential to see wage growth increase by 10 per cent by the end of the year.

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However, he also suggested that the rest of the legal profession isn’t far behind.

“While these are highly specialised positions, the good news for the other Australians employed in the broader sectors is that they will be the first to see wage growth compared to the rest of us,” Mr Hanson said.

“If you are among the lucky 2 million Australians employed in the construction and infrastructure, legal, technology and HR sectors you are well placed to take advantage of these unique conditions as the trickle down of wage conditions impact the broader economy.”