The use of temporary workers in the UK rose by more than 10% in March, according to new data from temporary agency labour procurer de Poel.
The research shows that the number of hours worked by temporary agency workers increased by an average of 10.36% in March 2011, compared with March 2010, with sectors such as construction growing by 47.56% and retail by 12.63%.

de Poel ceo Matthew Sanders said: "Temporary agency workers are continually being seen as a great way to fill skills gaps in the workforce. This data shows that businesses are still wary about employing permanent staff and so temporary workers are a brilliant solution to business fluctuations and the need for short-term labour."

However, not every sector is increasing its use of temporary agency labour, with the manufacturing sector decreasing its use by 5.67%.

ONS employment figures released today show the employment rate for those aged 16-64 for the three months to February 2011 was 70.7%, up 0.2% on the previous quarter.

The increase was driven by full-time employment, said the report, which increased by 140,000 people on the quarter to reach 21m.