An increasing number of IT workers in the UK are turning to contract work to earn the best money, according to a new survey.

More than one in ten technology contractors quizzed by technology site Silicon.com earns more than £110,000 from their skills, more than double the amount in 2005 and five times the amount in 2004.

The percentage of contractors bringing in £70,001 to £110,000 also increased to 26 per cent in 2006, from 17 per cent in 2004.

The research also revealed contractors have no desire to become permanent employees, thanks to the lucrative pay, and they currently make up ten per cent of the IT workforce – up 2.6 per cent on last year.

But it seems that those workers who want to be freelance have already made the move as the number of permanent employees moving to contracting has fallen back to seven per cent of the workforce, after three consecutive years of gains from 2003 to 2005.