Demand for key personnel across a range of industry sectors in eastern England is on the rise but employers are frustrated by a perceived skills deficit, according to a survey.

New-found confidence among businesses is driving 'modest' rises in wages across the board, with 'spectacular gains' for some, the 2014 Cooper Lomaz Recruitment Salary Survey has found.

Employers are looking well beyond county boundaries to fill senior posts vital to firms' acceleration plans, says the Bury St Edmunds-based recruitment firm, whose own business is booming.

The survey, which provides a regional barometer of employment and remuneration trends, found that vacancies are drawing candidates attracted by the lower cost of living from London and beyond.

Operations director Mark Fletcher said: 'Employers are displaying more confidence in planning for the future, but many are frustrated by the lack of candidates with the niche skills they need to drive those plans forward.'

The big earnings winners are those with niche skills in engineering, information technology or energy or those with a wider more commercial or strategic skills base, particularly in accountancy and marketing.

'The 2014 salary survey findings are a positive endorsement of the buoyancy of the East Anglian jobs market that there are a lot of quality positions paying good salaries which need filling,' said Mr Fletcher.

The trend is expected to continue as long-awaited trunk road improvements develop, including a fully-dualled A11 which is due to open during 2014, speedier rail links and faster broadband speeds. 'Faster transport links will also mean it is easier for people to travel between regional centres to work,' said Mr Fletcher.

Salaries continue to be markedly higher in Cambridgeshire and those parts of Essex nearer to London.

One of the 'boom' areas for recruitment in Suffolk and Norfolk is the oil, gas and renewables sector.

Typical salaries:

Bookkeeper

Norfolk £18k-25k

Suffolk £18k-22k

Cambridgeshire £18k-23k

Essex £18k-23k

Payroll Manager

Norfolk £22k-29k

Suffolk £22k-308k

Cambridgeshire £25k-40k

Essex £22k-30k

Financial Director

Norfolk £60k-100k

Suffolk £60k-100k

Cambridgeshire £60k-110k

Essex £60k-100k

Graduate Engineer

Norfolk £18k-26k

Suffolk £19k-24k

Cambridgeshire £20k-28k

Essex £20k-28k

Manufacturing Engineer

Norfolk £30k-45k

Suffolk £30k-45k

Cambridgeshire £30k-50k

Essex £35k-50k

Health and Safety Officer

Norfolk £20k-30k

Suffolk £20k-30k

Cambridgeshire £20k-30k

Essex £20k-30k

Head of IT

Norfolk £50k-85k

Suffolk £50k-85k

Cambridgeshire £55k-90k

Essex £60k-90k

Mobile Developer

Norfolk £25k-50k

Suffolk £30k-52k

Cambridgeshire £25k-55k

Essex £30k-55k

Oil, Gas & Renewable Energy

Construction/Installation (all areas) £30k-130k

Reservoir/Petroleum Engineering (all areas) £35k-125k

Technical Safety (all areas) £35k-70k

Maintenance (all areas) £23k-65k

Business Development (all areas) £27k-85k

Social Media Manager

Norfolk £25k-45k

Suffolk £25k-35k

Cambridgeshire £25k-45k

Essex £25k-45k

Transport Manager

Norfolk £30k-35k

Suffolk £30k-36k

Cambridgeshire £30k-40k

Essex £30k-40k