Almost two-thirds of voters think zero-hours contracts are bad for the economy, a survey has found.

A total of 64% respondents said they disapproved of the contracts, while only 16% backed them.

Labour has pledged to outlaw "exploitative" zero-hours contracts if it wins the General Election.

The Conservative Party has dismissed the proposal as a threat to jobs, while the Liberal Democrats have said they would ban exclusivity clauses that prevent people looking for additional work to boost their income.

The online poll by uSurv found broad agreement among male and female voters about zero-hours contracts, with 61% of men and 66% of women saying they were bad for the economy. Just 13% of females and 18% of males said the contracts had a positive impact.

Support for zero-hours contracts was highest among young voters, with 21% of 18 to 29-year-olds backing them.

By contrast, only 10% of 50 to 59-year-olds felt they were a positive form of employment.

There was similar variation in the responses of voters across the regions of the UK. Just over a quarter of people in Wales said zero-hours contracts were good for the economy, but in the East Midlands this figure fell to 10%.

Voters earning over £40,000 were most in favour of the contracts (28%) while those earning under £10,000 were least in favour (11%).

:: uSurv polled 1,000 respondents online on Wednesday April 1. The results reflect the gender and regional breakdown of the UK according to data from HMRC and the UK 2011 census.