Fears over job security are affecting more than 50 per cent of IT contractors compared with just one in 10 six months ago.

More than half of contractors said they are concerned about job security, compared with just 12 per cent in February, as redundancies increase 20 per cent across the sector.

One in three IT companies are making job cuts, according to the research, but 52 per cent of respondents still felt that IT offered greater job security than other industries.

Gary Ashworth, executive chairman at Interquest which ran the survey, said: “Despite the economic doom and gloom of the past year as other industries fell victim to job cuts and declining profits, IT remained resilient."

“IT has been one of the last fields to be affected this time, meaning it will be one of the first areas to pick up again when the economy revives. No sector is immune from economic fluctuation, but any downturn in IT is only likely to be temporary, because IT companies simply cannot survive without it."

The firm questioned more than 100 UK IT contractors.