The number of employers looking to take on IT contractors or other temporary staff has fallen slightly in the last month, according to the latest statistics.

Seventy-six per cent of firms are now predicting that their temporary worker use will remain the same or increase in the next three months - a fall of one per cent since August, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) notes in its latest JobsOutlook.

In addition, public sector cuts have hit confidence in the employment sector as it falls to a six-month low.

REC director of research Roger Tweedy said that although more companies plan to reduce their number of temporary workers, the latest figures underline the importance of the flexible labour market to the UK economy.

"The overall number of temporary workers has exceeded 1.5 million for the first time, which demonstrates their crucial role in helping employers to deliver key services and to meet peaks in demand," he explained.

In a recent report, the UK Computer Skills Council claimed that demand for IT contractors was exceeding the requirement for permanent employees.