The majority of employers in the UK are planning to increase their recruitment of permanent staff over the coming quarter, according to a newly-released report.

Figures from the latest monthly Jobs Outlook survey published by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) show eight out of ten (83 per cent of firms) are intending to create more long-term positions for candidates during the next three months.

In addition, 81 per cent plan to up their staff intake within four to 12 months, a slight increase from the statistic reported four weeks ago.

More than one-third (34 per cent) of employers have found they need an increased number of workers to deal with rises in demand, with 51 per cent planning to recruit these from agencies.

Almost half (48 per cent) intend to do this at some point in the next four to 12 months, even if they do not have immediate plans to contact agencies for more staff.

At the beginning of 2014, just 25 per cent felt the need to recruit more employees to deal with the amount of demand they were experiencing, so this indicates a significant increase.

Head of policy at the REC Kate Shoesmith commented: "Business confidence continues to grow and it is excellent news to see employers planning to hire more people on permanent contracts for the rest of 2014.

"Despite the skills shortages taking hold of many sectors, it is testament to the hard work of recruiters that nearly 90 per cent of employers are satisfied with the quality of the candidates being put forward by their agency."

The survey also found 61 per cent of companies have not needed to reduce the cost of their workforce during the last 12 months, whether by redundancies, cutting pay, reducing workers' hours or freezing recruitment.

This suggests the UK is currently experiencing a period of business stability, the REC states, which is likely to be due to the steadily recovering economy.