Carr mentioned it comes on the back of strong growth in employed ICT workers, as with higher employment overall, the gap between supply and demand narrows over a relatively short period of time. "With falling job demand, low unemployment and employed labour trending, we expect the number of employed ICT workers to increase. However, many placements will be made as a function of regular turnover, particularly due to the trend of shorter contract durations," he said.

However, ITCRA CEO, Julie Mills, said more organisations are looking to take on workers rather than downsize their workforce in the coming quarter.

The index indicated 46 per cent of organisations plan to significantly or slightly increase the number of permanent or contract ICT staff while 24 per cent want to considerably or slightly decrease their contract ICT staff. Six per cent are planning to do the same with permanent staff.

"In the second quarter of 2012, we saw the number of ICT contractor placements increase. However, we also saw a trend towards shorter contract durations of 1-3 months, which we believe may be a strategic move in response to prospective cost cutting," she said.

The study also showed that the respondents were no less optimistic for the coming quarter than they were over the preceding 12 months, but they predict slightly more turnover of ICT contractors than in previous quarters as well.