One in five IT directors in the UK plans to reduce their head count over the next year, in the face of mounting budgetary pressures. And a further 46% expect to continue their current freeze on staffing numbers, while only 33% are planning to increase the number of IT staff this year.

The employment picture, from a survey by recruitment company ReThink, found a third of IT departments have already cut staff during the past 12 months, even though 61% expect an increase in workload. Over a fifth now have “major concerns” about their capability to deliver support and new projects to the business given their current budgets.

“Demanding that IT departments do more for less is not sustainable in the long-term,” said ReThink’s director Michael Bennett. “The concern of many IT directors is that they will be denied the funding to complete projects that can deliver their colleagues more significant cost and efficiency savings.”