This seems to be the big question on people’s minds these days. While on the one hand some commentators seem to be delighted to be able to tell us how bad everything is, other’s just seem to be trotting out the mantra that there simply is no economic problem at all and the whole world might just be talking itself into a depression.
The real story is more likely to be somewhere in between. No matter who you believe on this subject, if you simply look for yourself at the amount of trafic in the main streets of some of our local towns, there is clearly still a lot of economic activity still going on. Which of course there has to be in the normal day-to-day run of things. The world can’t stop turning just because of a down-turn, it never has done. There was also some more good news recently on the labour productivity figures with Ireland in the lead amongst it’s European neighbours. Many people seem to be just working through the credit scare which is the right approach.
Not even the most committed “blue sky” optimist however can talk away the fact that unemployment is on the rise in the Midlands. Despite this, there does remain large numbers of job vacancies. Many of which continue to be stubbornly difficult to fill. Which leads to the question about what sort of unemployment do we have here now? Also how long is it likely to last? If you have recently become unemployed, these questions might be worth considering carefully.
It has been well flagged for a good number of years now that one of the problems with the construction boom was that it channelled too many people (men) into that lucrative sector and away from careers in other more sustainable sectors. In other words it’s likely that the region is by now suffering from a temporary skills mis-match. Consider where is there likely to be growth in the near to mid-term future and then think about whether it would be worth your while re-training or going back to college. In particular keep an eye on the IT area. You might be better making a <well thought-out> decision on this sooner rather than later. If in doubt perhaps you could start by asking for some advice on the subject. Most people do at some stage in their lives.