View on the Ground

Generali

As many of you will be aware, I no longer live in the UK having moved to Australia (mostly on the basis that if you have to be broke it may as well be in the sun)...........

Anyway, what does a 5% fall in GDP feel like to you? Loads of mates losing their jobs and overtime taking a dive or just a storm in a newspaper shaped tecup?

Wookster

Generali wrote: »

Anyway, what does a 5% fall in GDP feel like to you? Loads of mates losing their jobs and overtime taking a dive or just a storm in a newspaper shaped tecup?

Well about 50% of my mates have either lost jobs, had to take a massive step backwards (career & paywise) to find one or are finding that there just isn't much out there jobwise (me).

Most of my mates are in IT work of some sort or another, but some are in finance as well.

wigglebeena

No ordinary office temp type work out there. Recruitment agencies desperately calling for a 'chat' while pumping for any contacts you have/jobs you might be up for so they can undercut with their quote.

Not that that wasn't always the case, but it's all that's going on now. Some agency staff will admit they have nothing.

Rochdale_Pioneers

I know quite a few people who have lost their jobs. I know quite a few people who seem to have more money than ever. The recession still hasn't affected everyone in a bad way - if you have a job you're benefitting from low interest rates and retailers falling over themselves to take your money out of your pocket.

halight

I know a lot of people who are now on a three day week. I also know people who have lost there Jobs too.

And i know of one who is still working full time but he and evrone else that works in his team have had to take a 7% pay cut.

But saying all that I know people who are still working full time and doing over time its a real mish mash really. Some have been hit hard and for some its still the good times

Degenerate

Generali wrote: »

As many of you will be aware, I no longer live in the UK having moved to Australia (mostly on the basis that if you have to be broke it may as well be in the sun)...........

Anyway, what does a 5% fall in GDP feel like to you? Loads of mates losing their jobs and overtime taking a dive or just a storm in a newspaper shaped tecup?

Thanks to the interest rate cuts, I've never been richer. Most of my work colleagues feel the same. I don't know anyone in trouble.

Then again, I live in an affluent home-counties town and have a very safe full-time job working for an essential utility, as well as a part-time sideline as a company director. YMMV.

lemonjelly

I've been more aware of the severe contraction in the jobs market, that to be honest has been going on for about a year or 15 months.

I think previously people were less concerned, as they felt they could go out and get another job. Now, that is a real difficulty. I know how nervous I was when I was made redundant in Nov 2008 (& of course the 3 months leading up to that!)

What is really affecting joe public, IMO is facing up to the prospect of having to go without work for a considerable period of time.

I don't know many who have lost their jobs (fortunate?), though that said I lost mine at the end of last year.

We're all miserable !!!!!!s in the UK anyway. It is raining, food prices are more than we'd like to pay, and petrol appears to be going up quicker than we'd like too. We're starting to struggle to make wages last through the whole month - this is made worse by the unavailability of credit.

I expect the OS board will get busier over the next few months...

chewmylegoff

a few people i know have been made redundant - the worst hit were a couple that both worked at woolworths' head office - one of them is still jobless. (he's the only person i know of who didn't get a new job (at least temping) almost straight away).

don't know anyone who has taken a paycut. a lot of people i know are getting married this year - no expense seems to be getting spared on that, and i am being forced to attend a string of overseas stagdos which is really starting to get on my nerves.

the tube isn't getting any less busy either, which i was really hoping for.

purch

I havn't got any mates

StevieJ

lemonjelly wrote: »

We're all miserable !!!!!!s in the UK anyway. It is raining, food prices are more than we'd like to pay, and petrol appears to be going up quicker than we'd like too.

It is still raining and we are supposedly experiencing a heatwave Like the tropics here.

baileysbattlebus

Degenerate wrote: »

Thanks to the interest rate cuts, I've never been richer. Most of my work colleagues feel the same. I don't know anyone in trouble.

Then again, I live in an affluent home-counties town and have a very safe full-time job working for an essential utility, as well as a part-time sideline as a company director. YMMV.

We live in a similar area - the only people I know who have been affected are people in the construction industry - my son was out of work for couple of months - now working - for the same type of money.

My daughter is a recruitment consultant and the division she works for specialises in insurance - permanent placements. She is still able to get vacancies - but she has difficulty filling a lot of them - it seems people submit their cv's, go for interview, get offered and then often turn the offer down. She said that has happened a lot in recent months. I think the one's that are in work are probably too frightened to leave their current employers incase it doesn't work out in a new firm. So she is finding it much tougher than a year or even 6 months ago.

Other daughter is dental nurse and there has been no impact for her.

The girl next took voluntary redunancy a couple of months ago when her company relocatated to Watford - she is currently temping for Prudential.

OH works in the control tower at Heathrow - no impact.

For us and most of the people we know it is life as usual - we are probably better off than before - because mortgage repayments are lower.

I think as someone said before it is a real mixed bag.