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Small but expanding technology companies are among the likeliest employers in Britain to have spent last month sheltered from the financial storm. A survey of more than 400 employers found that the majority in IT services and supplies were no worse off from the crisis, and a third said it actually helped their operation. Only a fifth of the quizzed IT employers, each with workforces 150-strong, reported that their business had felt a “big negative impact” because of the slowing economy. The figure means that during October, IT services and supplier outfits were less financially perturbed than same-size manufacturers, retailers and non-professional service firms. Only professional service firms, such as legal advisors, outperformed their IT counterparts, given more of them cited gains thanks to the downturn and fewer of them suffered as a result. Alongside IT, professional services was the only sector to suffer adverse fallout from the financial crisis less than the average business, show the figures by LaunchLab.co.uk. Founder Dan Matthews said that, in line with the IT sector, more than half of all small firms felt no pain from the declining economy, and had adapted to the gloom to enable faster growth. “The figures show that while the economy as a whole is slipping into negative growth, there are pockets of success everywhere,” he said. “It's inspiring to find that in amongst all the frightening headlines a good proportion of entrepreneurs are thriving.” Continuing yesterday on the back of bleak forecasts from two employers’ groups, these gloomy headlines have grounded the hopes of IT and project management freelancers. A third of all contractors surveyed by the PCG said new work would be scarcer in 2009; an equal number said their earnings would fall, and most predicted the economy to deteriorate. Hinting contractors felt the first financial woes in August last year, the group said earnings in 2007 for its members, mostly IT and project contractors, fell far short of their estimates. The availability of new contracts also nosedived worse than contractors feared, and, for 2008, the amount of new jobs expected has fallen to its lowest level since records began more than four years ago. Reflecting on the figures, the PCG said it seems likely that when data is gathered for its annual survey of 2009, it will show freelancers “encountering difficult conditions.” Some of the incoming challenges were highlighted yesterday by figures showing City vacancies have fallen well below the number of candidates seeking work, for the first time in three years. Researchers at International Financial Services London, which promotes British financial services aboard, added that 11 out of 12 indicators it tracks declined in the third quarter this year. Seeming to illustrate the knock-on effects, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development yesterday said that net job creation is at a virtual standstill in the UK, as employers rein in their costs by cutting headcount. Its survey of more than 700 employers found that the balance between those planning to hire new staff and those cutting jobs in the next three months has fallen from 41% a year ago, to 2% today. The figure is the lowest recorded by the institute since it launched its labour market outlook survey more than four years ago. Meanwhile, 30% of the 500 firms responding to the CBI had cut their workforces, compared with 17% which had expanded them, representing the largest quarterly fall in employment for five years. Nov 11, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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