My local newspaper...

lostinrates

...soetime ago I noted here that my local newspaper had really reduced property and employment areas (I think at one time therE were no real Jobs advertised).

I picked up a copy yesterday, and there was a page and a half of jobs (the best news) and several pages of property. Including more lettings than ever, which can be slim on the ground here and is good news for landlords & renters, but lots and lots of sub £200k property which is good news for the bottom of chains etc I would guess?

lemonjelly

lir I've posted on previous threads. A few local newspapers to me used big A frames to advertise (in the heady days of 2007 + early 2008) "2000+ jobs in tonights edition". Not long after that I was facing redundancy, & tbh was very scared, seeing as the market & economy seemed to me to be turning downwards sharply. I got lucky, & managed to secure employment (lower paid, but secure, & tbh happier than the previous job) just before it got really bad. But I was scared. Those headlines on the A frames went from 2000+ jobs, to 150. Tht's in the midlands too, where we've borne the brunt of job losses (together with the North east, as usual).
Job advertisements haven't bounced back yet. Indeed, one of the local papers has just announced it will become a weekly edition (rather than daily), and another is cutting its size & distribution. A couple of weekend (ok, sports) papers have folded.
Glad to hear it's better where you are. I may check this weeks editions...

purch

...soetime ago I noted here that my local newspaper had really reduced property and employment areas (I think at one time therE were no real Jobs advertised).

There were hardly any Jobs advertised in the West Somerset Free Press even in the Boom years !!! :eek:

lemonjelly

lir an update. This week the local paper is advertising 475 jobs in tonights edition. Highest it has been for over a year by some margin!:eek:

Of course, what remains to be seen is how many of these jobs are temporary/agency/part-time/seasonal/minimum wage.

lostinrates

lemonjelly wrote: »

lir an update. This week the local paper is advertising 475 jobs in tonights edition. Highest it has been for over a year by some margin!:eek:

Of course, what remains to be seen is how many of these jobs are temporary/agency/part-time/seasonal/minimum wage.

Of course, a lot will be seasonal I guess, but better some money coming in for a bit than no money at all. My concern is what it was last year: that a lot of people will make short term spending decidions around Christmas.

Also arttime, well, lots of people DO only work part time permanantly, s we often revisit here, working primry parents for example (that sounds ridiculously PC, working Mums .)

lemonjelly

lostinrates wrote: »

Of course, a lot will be seasonal I guess, but better some money coming in for a bit than no money at all. My concern is what it was last year: that a lot of people will make short term spending decidions around Christmas.

Also arttime, well, lots of people DO only work part time permanantly, s we often revisit here, working primry parents for example (that sounds ridiculously PC, working Mums .)

Agree with all you say.
I also think there will be people looking for an additional income this christmas joining the clamour here, as well as many recently made redundant. Some employers really will be able to take their pick!

Good luck to those applying - it'll be a bit of a gold rush.

I wonder if/how this will affect the unemployment figures now, across the next 3-6 months, & whether it'll be spun in the GE run-up.

lostinrates

and then, today.....

I go to the litle town where my GP is, and decide to go early and have a little look around, its been awhile, as I'm not a hobby-shopper. Frankly I'm shocked. In the last couple of weeks three shops have closed down, and the pub making up the little row is now for sale too. I sigh but keep going, two other shops have closed down, I ask in the cafe, and was told one actually went very early this year, the other about three months later.

and our independant supermarket....I go to walk in, and.....its gone....its there, the signage is up, no signs in the window saying whats happening, but the tills and shelves all are there, some with covers over them...no idea what that is about.

One charity shop has moved....into an empty shop that was an estate agents. One pharmasist gone, one taken over by boots.

And a small office building, for let. This is in the busiest..stretch of this tiny town.

Suddenly its hit here...when everything seems better in the local paper.

Its near a very much more popular couple of small towns, one of which is much more dependant n the weekenders, and tourist and incomers money, so I'll check that one out next week: it should be better news.

Davesnave

The North Devon Journal is one week on and one week off with its property sales section. The rental section is continuous.

Five shops closed in my local town this year. That might not sound bad, but there were only about 20 to start with!

lemonjelly

lostinrates wrote: »

and then, today.....

I go to the litle town where my GP is, and decide to go early and have a little look around, its been awhile, as I'm not a hobby-shopper. Frankly I'm shocked. In the last couple of weeks three shops have closed down, and the pub making up the little row is now for sale too. I sigh but keep going, two other shops have closed down, I ask in the cafe, and was told one actually went very early this year, the other about three months later.

and our independant supermarket....I go to walk in, and.....its gone....its there, the signage is up, no signs in the window saying whats happening, but the tills and shelves all are there, some with covers over them...no idea what that is about.

One charity shop has moved....into an empty shop that was an estate agents. One pharmasist gone, one taken over by boots.

And a small office building, for let. This is in the busiest..stretch of this tiny town.

Suddenly its hit here...when everything seems better in the local paper.

Its near a very much more popular couple of small towns, one of which is much more dependant n the weekenders, and tourist and incomers money, so I'll check that one out next week: it should be better news.

Living in a more metropolitan area, I probably miss some things lir, however I have noticed shops closing. Round the corner from me a supermarket/minimarket has been closed now for a few weeks. I have slowly become aware of a few other shops that don't appear to be open. I'm wondering if some town centres will start reducing sunday trading perhaps?

Davesnave wrote: »

The North Devon Journal is one week on and one week off with its property sales section. The rental section is continuous.

Five shops closed in my local town this year. That might not sound bad, but there were only about 20 to start with!

:eek: that's 25%! Quite remarkable.

lostinrates

lemonjelly wrote: »

:eek: that's 25%! Quite remarkable.

well, it is and it isn't 25%, when in a rural area ...you almost certainly go to one small town for one thing and another for another thing and so on. Forexample, the small town i went to earlier is the only one with a laundrette I can think of, but the dry cleaner there is pretty poor, so We go to different places for that.

what I'm sayin is 25% of shops might have closed, but not necesarily 25% of ''normal'' availabilty to the local inhabitants.

Does that mke sense?

sjaypink

Still hardly any jobs in my local paper this week. Quite a big property pullout though- certainly more pages than last month- unless they've just made the ads bigger :rolleyes::D

TBH I haven't looked at the property pages or rightmove for a couple months now- too depressing hearing about all these rises, 25% min. deposits etc- pretty much given up on the idea of buying now... :cool: