The increase in recruitment of contractors and permanent staff in January is "extremely promising", one expert has said.

Dave Fleming, sales director at Badenoch & Clark, suggested that these figures are an indicator of long term growth in the coming months.

He explained that businesses are now looking to instigate sustainable and long-term growth through recruitment.

"The beginning of the year is usually a busy period in the recruitment calendar as candidates look to re-evaluate their career direction - but an upturn in the market, and an increase in demand for candidates at firms who are embracing the upturn, has meant that this January has been particularly active," he commented.

This comes after research by the REC and KPMG found that hiring of both contractors and permanent staff increased at a faster pace during January in rises that were the most significant for six or seven months.