We’re set to survive
MORE than six out of ten respondents to an nebusiness poll claim their employer is well equipped to survive the economic crisis.
The United Nations said it expects world economic output to shrink by as much as 0.4% in 2009 - the first year of contraction since the 1930s - and developed economies, including the UK’s, to shrink by up to 1.5%.
But North East bosses say financial prudence and the strong performance of some sectors gave them resilience.
Helen Hora, senior consultant at the Middlesbrough office of recruitment firm Pertemps, said the oil and gas and call centre industries were “quite buoyant”. But she was concerned about the volume of respondents who said they weren’t equipped to survive.
“It’s quite sad that there are almost four out of ten companies that don’t think they will survive. Just think of how many job losses that would involve.”
According to the latest insolvency data from Experian, business failures in the North-east rose 42.6% in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period in 2007.
But Dan Taylor, co-founder of Marske sales consultancy Giraffe Sales, had faith in canny Tees firms’ fiscal caution.
“Companies in the south tend to be more flamboyant with their money. Maybe companies up here have tighter hold of the purse strings.”
