A Tale of Two Cities

The media have been preoccupied with two cities of late; the glamour of New York as the long awaited Sex and the City film finally hits cinemas and tales of woe from the City of London as redundancies hit the finance sector. Two different cities and two very different stories, with the credit crunch seeming to have little effect on Carrie Bradshaw and co’s spending power. Back in the real world we perhaps can’t afford to be so blasé: with so many conflicting media reports about the state of the economy, the question remains – what, exactly, is going on in the City? Is it time to sell our designer threads on ebay just to pay next month’s rent or can we hang on to them until next season at least?

To the Sex & the City girls, a credit crunch is something you earn at the gym after you’ve finished toning your stomach muscles. Who cares if it takes the best part of a month’s salary to pay for a pair of Carrie’s iconic Manolo Blahnik shoes – some people just don’t do recession. But maybe she’s got a point: with so many conflicting reports surrounding the current credit crunch and its impending redundancies, could we actually be in danger of talking ourselves into a recession, or is there really a cause for concern?

Experts in the City of London are warning that employment figures are dipping, with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) estimating that 10,000 jobs in the financial services sector are to be shed in the next quarter. However, Ryan Edwards from Cityjobs.com, which specialises in recruiting for the financial and banking sector within London’s square mile and other major UK cities, says he hasn’t seen any significant dip in employment figures that gives him cause for concern. “Despite all the publicity – and it’s fair to say that things have eased a little – we are actually performing better than this time last year,” he says. “Businesses are still looking for good candidates and we are working hard to source these right candidates.”

Edwards says that candidates are also showing a confident mood, that people want to work in the City and are happy to commute. “There is still an air of confidence surrounding London – it is seen as the hub of the financial world and people still want that. There might be a few people saying that London has to take a new stance but it is certainly not looking gloomy. And, because salaries have been so buoyant, there is still a lot of money changing hands in London, so I don’t foresee a huge panic in the future.”

The developments in online recruitment may have helped to ease the blow this time around, thinks Edwards. “Online recruitment is more established than in previous times of slowdown and this helps to keep the market buoyant. If recruiters are cautious about what they are spending, online services offer a good option.”

This optimism spills over into other sectors of online recruitment across the country. Keith Potts, CEO of Jobsite.co.uk says: “Traditionally, recession is associated with decreased job security and in previous economic downturns many workers have been worried about losing their jobs. However, it seems that UK jobseekers are still feeling optimistic about their future job prospects and are even looking to improve their salaries. At Jobsite we’re consistently seeing at least 45,000 new jobs posted each week, proving that recruitment is still high – especially in our key sectors such as sales, IT and engineering. With so many opportunities out there it’s good that the majority of workers are still confident about jobhunting. For those that are staying put in a job where they’re unhappy the high quantity of new jobs available should help to provide the reassurance they need to find a job where they can be happier.”

And with such great online resources at your disposal, from help with CVs to interview techniques, it doesn’t matter whether you’re jobseeking in the city, town or country – the message is the same: get your designer glad rags on because the party ain’t over yet!

For help and advice in finding a job wherever you live, visit www.jobsite.co.uk

A Tale of Two Cities

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