Thirty-six percent of employers plan to bring in temporary or contract workers in 2012, up from 34 percent who said the same a year ago, according to a survey released by CareerBuilder.

Some companies will begin recruitment right away as 27 percent of employers will hire temporary or contract workers in the first quarter of 2012.

Thirty-five percent of companies hiring temporary or contract workers plan to hire them on a permanent basis.

“Temporary jobs from staffing and recruiting firms are playing an increasingly important role in the economic recovery,” said Eric Gilpin, president of CareerBuilder’s staffing and recruiting group. “Employers are relying on temporary and contract workers to support leaner staffs, and in many cases, will transition those workers to permanent roles.”

The CareerBuilder survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive from Nov. 9 to Dec. 5, 2011, included 3,023 hiring managers and human resource professionals.