Nearly half of IT directors plan to freeze staff headcounts during the next year, according to new research by IT staffing company ReThink Recruitment.

The survey found that a third of IT departments have already cut staff in the past year, and 20 per cent plan to reduce headcounts as the recession deepens.

However, IT managers are fairly optimistic about taking on new staff, according to ReThink Recruitment director Michael Bennett, and a third intend to increase staff levels over the next year.

"On balance IT directors remain reasonably optimistic about taking on new staff and skills. Very few expect a repeat of the job cut carnage that followed the 2001/2 post dot-com downturn," he said.

"In fact the real and growing concern among many IT directors is that further cuts in budgets will start to jeopardise the quality of work and support they provide to the rest of the organisation."

Nearly a quarter of IT directors have concerns about delivering IT support and projects under their new budgets, while 18 per cent are concerned that further staff cuts would jeopardise the quality of their service.