IT contractors looking for work who were buoyed by the UK's recent economic growth have been warned it will not last.

According to research consultancy Capital Economics, the growth seen in the second quarter of 2010 will not be sustained in the second half of the year, and job prospects will suffer as a consequence.

The firm also recently noted that GDP shot up by 1.2 per cent between April and June.

Capital Economics' chief European economist Jonathan Loynes has described the figures as a "complete one-off", with the economy now beginning to cool again as government austerity measures begin to take hold.

Mr Loynes admits that following this growth spurt the outlook for employment appears quite good in the short term, but in the next few months opportunities will be restricted.

"You're not going to see large amounts of job creation, and also, if the economy slows quite a long way, you could see jobs starting to be shed again," he added.