The recession has led an extra million people in the UK to join IT contractors in the nation's army of self-employed workers, it has been claimed.

A survey by mortgage provider Kensington has found that there are now five million self-employed people in the UK, with 24 per cent of that number having only become so since the recession began.

The results of the survey support anecdotal evidence that recessions and permanent job losses increase the self-employed population, according to Charles Morley, head of sales at Kensington.

He said: "I'm sure we all know somebody who has harboured ambitions of being their own boss and only taken the opportunity to do so when their employer has started to make cut backs.

"Many of these people are now enjoying very successful businesses of their own."

IT contractors may find locating jobs difficult in the near future, as the National Institute of Economic and Social Research announced earlier this week that the loss of contractor jobs in the public sector would not be absorbed by the growth of private firms.