Job prospects in 2009 'alarming' UK companies are shedding jobs at an ever-growing rate, says the Chartered Institute of Personnel (CIPD).
Its research suggests more than one in three UK employers are planning to cut jobs in the first three months of 2009.
This is twice as many as planned to make cuts during the final three months of 2008.
"These latest... figures suggest that job prospects are deteriorating at an alarming rate," said CIPD's chief economist John Philpott.
CutbacksA total of 36% of employers surveyed plan to cut staff in the first quarter of 2009, compared with the 27% that plan to take on additional staff.
This is the first time that a higher proportion of employers plan to cut staff than hire them since the survey began in 2004.
"The labour market outlook is clearly even worse than expected at the turn of the year," added Mr Pilpott.
Source & full article -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7878206.stmThe outlook is becoming bleak for a great many people, including myself.
Last week I tramped round a large industrial estate dropping cv's and asking if anyone had any openings. A large number of the companies were closed - gone, others told me were laying staff off. One or two said they might let me know if something comes up....could be a long wait.