One-fifth of companies are eyeing reductions in the number of contract worker spend amid the Covid-19 pandemic and most are encouraging current employees to work from home, according to a survey of 800 global HR executives conducted by Gartner Inc. on March 17.

The survey found approximately 20% of companies plan to stop or limit consultant spend and/or reduce the number of contract workers, according to Gartner. And nearly half plan hiring freezes.

However, only 10% of employers plan to reduce working hours and just 6% report asking employees to take unpaid leave.

“Our research shows that only a minority of employers plan to downsize or ask employees to take unpaid leave,” Brian Kropp, chief of research for the Gartner HR practice, said in a statement. “Instead, most organizations are focusing on measures such as more effective use of technology and freezing new hiring to cut costs.”

In contrast to the Gartner survey, some industries are seeing increased demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to other reports. One segment is healthcare staffing firms, according to an article in Staffing Industry Review’s Online Showcase. And Amazon announced plans to hire 100,000 workers.

Gartner’s survey also found that, in response to Covid-19, a large majority of organizations, 88%, have encouraged or required employees to work from home. The requests to work from home were regardless of whether or not workers had Covid-19 symptoms.

Companies also have curtailed travel, with 97% reporting they cancelled work-related trips. That marks an 80% increase since March 3, according to Gartner.