The UK is lagging behind other nations in terms of digital development, one expert has said, indicating that there could be more IT contractor jobs to come.

Denis McCauley, director of global technology research at the Economist Intelligence Unit, has said that while there are reasons to be proud of some areas of the UK's digital development, others lag behind the rest of Europe.

"I believe it is this sense of lagging behind which fuels many of the debates taking place today over what directions the government's digital strategy should take," he added.

This comes after the UK dropped one place in the digital economy rankings during 2010 ,which is a reflection of how countries optimise information and communication technologies for social and economic business research.

Additionally, Chris Holden, president of FTTH Council, said that nations such as Germany, Spain and the UK need to speed up their digital progress to avoid getting left behind emerging markets.