New figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown that the number of people that are out of work has fallen, IT contractors may be interested to discover.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, claimed that this is good news and shows that an increasing number of people have been finding work through agencies.

"Improving employer confidence is resulting in a more positive outlook on hiring intentions over the coming year, but the UK jobs market remains fragile," he warned.

He added that there are a number of real concerns that falling public expenditure will have a negative impact on the number of available jobs.

Mr Green said that those areas where the economy is heavily reliant on public sector work are in line for a large number of job losses in the future.

Earlier this week, TUC deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady warned that IT contractors could face problems in the wage-frozen job market.