Petals

My sister in law told us that small business in NZ is suffering with the downturn, my nephew has been cut down to three days a week in his job.

lardyl

Yep service sector is going downwards fast and things are really tightening all over the place, even in my little niche. Hell I even get time to post on BE again......

Should go back to the UK and make those millions we gave up to come over so we can spend them back here later.

kiwinow

Not just small businesses. My OH has been laid off twice since Christmas. He knew the first one was coming, but the other six people who went with him didn't. Then he got laid off again two weeks ago, but managed to find something else. Are people panicking or what? You still need builders and labourers.

Fooferfish

Yep its getting harder each day.

I run my own little property maintenance business and every week, more and more builders/handymen are knocking on my clients doors for work, just hope they stay loyal ay ??

Have managed over 1 1/4 years and still ok for work, i cover a lot of trades and give people a great service, they can ask me to do 20 jobs at one house, instead of calling loads of people, so good for them and me.

Dunedin lost over 1k jobs last year and more this year, i have passed all tests for Prison Officer, but even the Prison service is stopping recruitment, but if they go ahead with the proposed double bunks to the cells in the new prisons, then they will need heaps of new staff.

I dont think this is a recession more like a depression, recon its going to last another year or more IMO.

lardyl

Yep bad news for us all.
Must go out and market the product rather than living a sad little life on BE.....

sparkie down under

in a word . shit. But then I hear it's shit back home as well.

Fooferfish

My old roofing boss in Poole got took by one bancrupt developer for 80k and even after that this guys wife still turned up to pick my old bosses missus up in a range rover sport he lsot his business and with way things are, not many roofs being done, when we went back this Christmas after 4 years here, it did look grim, people did look more down trodden than they used to be, rather be here than there, even if the worlds economy if buggered.

p__sullivan

things are tightening up..yup

but it depends on what sector your in.
Obviously the housing boom is over.. and associated trades will be feeling the heat.

My little part of the world ( agricultural primarily) is still ticking along. Volume of work is down but nothing significant.

hoping to ride out the storm with head down backside up and look up in time to see the "R" dissapear into the history books

MrCFD

Being in Wellington most of the business (either directly or indirectly) is linked to the Government. The feeling down here is definitely "more for less". Small businesses such as mine have been hit hard.

I am expecting that my turnover will be down by 50 percent this financial year. Not from lack of work (I have been fully employed over the last year) but my consulting contract rate has been changed from an hourly to a daily rate, which means that with the amount of work I charge for and the loss of a business interest in the UK (from the recession), I am down about $700 per day on last year's turnover.

I still think that NZ is fairing a lot better than the rest of the western world though - ignorance might be bliss after all!

Perry Groves

It is shit. Panic on the streets of London, panic on the streets of Birmingham.

Trenchfoot

Got mates in 4 or 5 different industries (banking, commercial property, FMCG etc.) back in the UK all saying the same thing... Costs are rising, revenues are falling, customers are getting even more careful (i.e. want more for less). I'm not sure about NZ but I think it is tempting to believe that the UK will get worse before it gets better. News of mates or acquaintances getting made redundant is now becoming an almost weekly occurrence.

And the worst of it is that there is really nothing anyone can do, everyone just has to try to wait this out... until consumer confidence (on every level) returns.

Yep, it's shit all right.

j19fmm

Good luck with the tourism bit, would bite your hand off if in NZ already

Trenchfoot

Cheers! We'll take any luck that's offered!