IT managers are struggling with small budgets that are preventing them from bringing in IT contractors to perform essential tasks.

According to research from analysts at Gartner, 28 per cent of firms did not increase their IT staffing levels at all during the 12 months to February 2010.

In addition, the overall rate of increase in worker numbers was just 6.3 per cent.

Gartner's vice-president Lily Mok said that the figure indicates a slow job market and organisations being very cautious about hiring.

"While we expect hiring activities to slowly pick up over the next 12 to 18 months as market conditions improve, we think it is unlikely that many IT organisations will return to their pre-recession staffing levels," she added.

Stephen Overell, associate director of the Work Foundation, recently claimed that the UK's private sector is not in a position to absorb the job losses that are being predicted in public organisations.