Employers are increasingly taking on more members of staff as a result of the improving jobs market, IT contractors may be relieved to hear.

Tom Hadley, director of external affairs at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, claimed that there has been a rise in demand for staff, albeit from a low base level.

He stated that this remains fragile and that IT contractors should not take the current situation for granted.

"A lot of people in work at the current time have been reluctant to move around and might be thinking right, I might start to make some moves now - so we could see some more fluidity in the jobs market," he asserted.

Mr Hadley claimed that this could be the beginning of the jobs market unblocking itself, with more people willing to leave their existing roles.

Recent research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 1.31 million people were made redundant during the downturn.