Economy progress dwindles now, even non-profit organisations hit hard !

The economy is really in deep shit with even non-profit and charity organisation taking a big cut in manpower. Xmas 2008 will never be the same . More unemployed on the jobmarket :

Mission Australia says services will suffer

8th December 2008, 13:15 WST

Vital community services for the nation's most disadvantaged people will suffer as a result of job cuts in the welfare sector.   

Mission Australia has announced 73 positions, mainly in its job network services, will be cut, while the Salvation Army says between 100 and 120 jobs will go.   

The major job placement providers say the cuts are due to dwindling job vacancies as a result of the global financial crisis.   

Mission Australia said job placements were down 25 per cent in October compared to the previous year and 31 per cent for November.   

Agency employment spokesperson Leisa Hart said other services are likely to suffer as a result.   

?If our employment services are doing it tough that has a direct impact on our ability to provide crucial community services,? she said.   

However, the agency insists its front-line support to job seekers and long-term unemployed people will not be affected.   

The federal opposition says there will be more welfare sector job cuts when the new employment services model is introduced in July next year.   

?The redundancies by the Salvation Army and Mission Australia are really a warning sign that this problem will get much worse on the first of July,? opposition employment participation spokesman Andrew Southcott said.    AAP - source: http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=28&ContentID=112101

ICT recruitment sector one of the worst hit !
The IT Recruitment industry is set to be on a downtrend unless it can explore and reinvent itself with new technology using web 2.0 See news here

What a sight - Swimming pool above
Shot this photo from above a sydney residential realestate office entrance:

Separated by only a glass from the rooftop to the passerbys walking below the building through Bathhurst Street in Sydney.

Sydney comes alive with Christmas parade last Sunday morning but people hardly were very much concerned about the event as Xmas is almost a month away:

Hurrah for Sydney CBD !
The new Premier, Mr Rees, in a bid to win public support from his fledgling popularity has proposed a Free city circle bus scheme that will run in Sydney CBD starting at noon today. This will help to alleviate the congestion from people using trains in the city circle route and also trains taken down for trackwork maintenance especially over the weekends. While this doesn't necessarily offer much advantage to city workers and dwellers since its starting time is at 09:30 am, it will serve as an advantage for tourists, backpackers and retired pensioners. Now of course if they can offer the bus service all the way to the beaches as well esp over the weekends ,  that will be a tremendous boost !

Mixed reactions on airline merger
One can't help feeling uneasy about this recent news. To-date, Qantas has been having crappy service and mishaps leading up to this announcement. With a merger, heads will definitely be rolling due to consolidation of operations for economic viability and good people could be laid off as a result although more flights could be centralized with a single ticketing system from one company as a result and airline fees might be on par with low-fare airlines with a reduction of administration costs once the two completed consolidation. Will this however, spell the demise of good service legacy in the airline industry for BA ?

Qantas could merge with British Airways, creating one of the world's biggest airlines.

British Airways has confirmed it?s exploring a potential merger with the flying kangaroo.

BA once owned 25 per cent of Qantas, but sold its stake four years ago.

The move would create one of the world's biggest carriers, worth $8 billion, and help both companies weather record oil prices and the global recession.

The merger talks follow the release of the federal government's aviation green paper, which suggested Qantas's foreign ownership cap could be removed. [source: http://www.livenews.com.au/articles/2008/12/03/Qantas_and_British_Airlines_moot_merger]