BUSINESSES in Darlington are upbeat about future employment prospects, according to a new survey.

Research carried out by LDS Recruitment, in Darlington, has provided a positive picture for the immediate future.

It showed that, although more than 80 per cent of employers predicted they would be using the same or fewer temporary staff over the next quarter, many said they would be recruiting permanent staff at the same or greater levels over the same period.

The survey was carried out against a background where unemployment in the North-East has fallen to six per cent and employment levels are at their highest nationally for decades.

Dee Milburn, operations director for LDS Recruitment, said: "This most recent survey, carried out at the height of the holiday season, shows that employers are still optimistic about employment locally.

"We had anticipated that rises in National Insurance and uncertainty about the economy might mean that employers would be taking a cautious approach to recruitment - particularly permanent recruitment - but the survey demonstrates that this is not so.

"Although the survey suggests that the demand for temporary and contract staff will fall over the next quarter, this is really due to seasonal factors and the fact that temporary staff are normally in high demand during the summer."

Employers cited a number of reasons for their optimism, she said.

"Improvements in the economy, expansion, and increased demand for their services or products, or winning new business were all mentioned by companies planning to take on more people.

"Those companies who said that they intended to use the same number of workers or to reduce their workforce said that budgets had been capped, or that they enjoyed low staff turnover rates.