2009 was a tough time for many people in the UK and especially in London which was hit especially hard. The recession put at risk some of the biggest names in the financial world and tens of thousands of people lost their jobs. This also had a knock on effect to all sorts of industries which relied on these workers to spend their money.
Transport for London saw passenger numbers and revenues fall which in turn started to cause problems with their own budgets. Plenty of smaller businesses were also effected; pubs, cafes, sandwich shops.
The signs had been there for a while. A taxi driver friend had mentioned a while before the recession hit the headlines that people were catching taxis from the railway stations in the numbers they had been. Those city workers who still had jobs noticed emptier trains which in a selfish way, could be considered a good thing as any commuter knows how over crowded rush hour trains get.
Thankfully, 2010 has seen an upturn in the job market with workers once again heading back to the big financial centres in London and as these high paid staff start to earn again, their money will also flow into the various services industries that rely on them to survive.
However, its also important to remember that people are still out of work and need help and encouragement to get back to work. The jobs are out there, the real trick is being in the right place at the right time. Personally, I would advise treating finding a job as your job. Each day, you should have a plan of action. You need to read through the jobs sections of newspapers or search online for websites offering jobs in greater London. There are plenty of them out there but no-one is going to find you, you have to be pro-active and find them.
