Wednesday, July 09, 2008

"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs..."

ITV News in their typically scaremongering Daily Mail type-fashion declared this evening that before this recession is out "up to a million people are predicted to loose their jobs".

Two thoughts popped into my head:

  1. Where the hell did they pluck that figure from?
  2. As a colleague of mine mentioned earlier today “It’s quite a good time to be working for the government when you think about it.”

It’s a good time to be working in a politically sensitive job where, although there’s always someone who’s going to disagree with what you do, suggest that that they get rid of you altogether, or slim down your numbers, and they recoil in horror at the thought.

See I hate to gloat here, but as long as I get signed-off okay (still some 3-5 months away, paperwork permitting); my job security will be second-to-none. Once I get signed-off then I become harder to fire, which is useful also in a job where every second choice can result in criticism or disciplining if it all goes south. Once I get signed off, I shed my ‘probationer’ status and get an annual pay-rise of some £2500. Bloody useful indeed in this climate.

I think I must be one of a select band of ‘professionals’ living alone in rented accommodation – for which the housing market went way out of his reach several years ago. Sure I could have saddled myself with stratospheric mortgage a few years back, but without the financial security of a live-in partner, I would have been terribly vulnerable to interest rates and the like right about now.

“HOUSE PRICE SHOCK! - Rates plummeting at their fastest rates since... Last Tuesday!” scream the headlines...

That’s brilliant news if you ask me!

Houses should be about living in, not making profit on.

So with some fiscal prudence then, I’m actually poised to ride out any recession in a pretty damn good position.

It’s nice when things go your way for a change.

Apparently thousands of market traders are set to lose their jobs as the recession hits. My sympathy there is minimal; after all they helped get us into this mess in the first place.

1 comment:

Colin said...

As a professional living alone in rented accomodation, I agree ;)

Although I do think the John Lewis list should be available for all ;)

You know what they say though... 87% of statistics are made up on the spot ;)

Does your job title change when you shed your 'probationer' status?

What is it at the moment, actually? Are you, like, a PC? I've a vague recollection I asked this before... can't remember the answer though, sorry.

Memory like a... erm... thingy... sometimes ;)

I too lap up any news of a drop in house prices. It would still take a good several percentage decrease before my monthly mortgage payments would ever match my rental payments, but I don't think that's gonna happen any time soon.

In the mean time, I just sit in the sidelines and watch carefully...