The number of IT contractors who were out of work for three months or more fell by 33% in the first quarter of the year, according to research from the giant group.

The data compares with one in 10 (10.1%) of IT contractors had been out of work for three months or more six months ago.

Matthew Brown, managing director of giant, says: “This is a very dramatic drop in long-term joblessness among IT contractors. It shows just how deeply IT departments cut back on personnel during the recession and how strongly investment in IT is bouncing back.”

“After cutting back on IT investment for so long, businesses are now kick-starting projects which were stalled during the recession. Many IT directors shed contractors over the last 18 months, but are now finding themselves dangerously understaffed as project workloads start to pick up.”