Employees with IT skills are in short-supply, new figures show.

Research published by the National Computing Centre (NCC) reveals that firms now believe that the skills shortage is at the highest level for a decade.

It found that the overall rate of perceived shortages has increased from 4.2 per cent in 2007 to 6.8 per cent this year.

The report also said that respondents felt the shortages were a recruitment, rather than a retention issue, raising the possibility that IT outsourcing might provide a solution.

Ian Jones, NCC's head of content, said: "With some skills moving into shortage, employers should be planning and budgeting for how best to acquire these skills now. It is an unwelcome message but they should be prepared for the extra cost."

Last month a study by theregister.com and Freeform Dynamics said that a lack of joined-up-management across IT services could create problems for companies.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).