Perceptions of the recession

GrammarGirl

Thinking about it, without the media I wouldn't have a job, so that kind of negates my point! :rolleyes:

Thrugelmir

My personal pension plan statements would have been enough to tell me that something was happening out in the world ecomomy.

Masomnia

It's my first recession (that I can remember) so I guess I wouldn't be able to tell.

I'd have noticed falling interest rates, and perhaps house prices dropping, but I wouldn't have connected it to negative GDP growth.

BuddyBonthenet

I live in a small former mining town in the Midlands.

First the town PO closed, then WH Smiths, then a newly opened Wetherspoons and now Woollies - that's just off the top of my head. We still have a few card shops, several charity shops and a couple of banks/building Societies and a small Boots, otherwise shops are now left empty. I go there to visit the Drs or the library - nothing else.

My husband's work as a market researcher dried up last October and he hasn't been able to find regular work since for the first time in his life. He had already taken on a 16 hour a week assembly job to help make up for his loss of salary from his market research job as the work slowly stopped coming through. This part time job stops him getting JSA (and tax credits as we have no children). He worked 8 hours on Saturday for the minimum wage in the hope the agency will get him other work. At least 4 permanent jobs he applied for were withdrawn before the interview stage. I had to give up work in 2006 for health reasons and we lost my salary which was quite decent. I have been trying to run a small business from home and the exchange rates have changes drastically since 2006.

Our gas/electric bills have shot up, filling the car with petrol costs much more and food shopping is more expensive. Houses around here are not selling.

Social Security claims are through the roof (I used to work there) and they are advertising for staff having got rid of thousands less than 3 years ago (mind you there is nowhere for them to sit since the call centres were opened). Forecast is an increase in unemployment by the end of 2010 of between 60%-70%.

My brother works in the UK for a large French owned company that has gone into consultation and staff have to reapply for a smaller number of jobs and 45 were made redundant last week in Birmingham - just the first of their offices to be affected.

Yes, I think I would have noticed the recession without the media.

JayZed

• I work in consulting and [STRIKE]have[/STRIKE] had lots of investment banking clients
  
• The nature of the consulting work we do has completely changed over the past six to nine months
  
• I know quite a few people (mostly bankers and consultants) who have been made redundant
  
• My employer has introduced various measures (recruitment freezes etc) to reduce the risk of redundancies
  
• My wife's self-employed/freelance work has almost completely dried up
  
• The Woolies up the hill has closed down
  
• My investments have nosedived, not to mention house prices, the pound and interest rates

...I could go on. I'm amazed that so many people claim that they wouldn't have noticed. Do you all live in some sort of financial quarantine zone?

davilown

I can honestly say I would not have known we were in a recession because I work in the Forces/NHS and there is very visible effect happening in the last 12 months on these sectors.
Once you look a bit deeping they are some inklings, such as decreased PFI.

ad9898_3

Well, looking at the poll I'm not in a minority, I'm a little surprised. After I'd posted I tried to think of something that I had missed, one thing that came to mind was the interest rates on my savings have gone down.

Then I dismissed this because Brown/BoE reduced interest rates even in the good times, oh well once they've reduced to 0% and the bailouts haven't worked......... there is only one thing left...... Mugabenomics. Interesting times ahead.

Snooze

Yes, wouldn't need the media here as 3 close friends are all currently out of work (1 in entertainment industry, 2 in haulage) and word quickly gets round that x's mate is also out of work along with y's father-in-law etc.

I think it's still well early days yet and people recently out of work are bumbling along by paying the mortgage with their credit cards etc hoping that the current 'crisis' will be over in a few months. I reckon that the real visual signs of it will come in 12-24 months when the credit card money runs out and the fixed mortgage deals come to an end, then you'll see the repo levels hit the roof and people pretty much doing anything to get some money to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. In fact it's happening already if take a look at the jobs:wanted section in just about any city on gumtree : typical ad "work wanted : laid off 4 weeks ago, no jobs about, DESPERATE for money, will do ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING, contact xxx" etc. It's a criminal's market at the moment and it's gonna get worse before it gets better.

Rob

stevetodd

How on earth could you miss it, my personal experience/observations:
1. Kaupthing Edge (there was also NR, BB and Icesave)
2. Property prices collapsing
3. Properties not selling
4. BOE base rate at 1%
5. Friends mentioning work drying up
6. Woolies disapearing
7. FTSE nosediving below 4000 (now below 4500)

spl2nh

I began to suspect we might head for recession about three years ago when I noticed a local lady (single mum, 5 dependant children, full time factory worker) get a mortgage on a 4 bed semi detached, a new car and her first overseas family holiday. Not making any personal judgments but realised that that was a lot of credit for such a low income.