Recession begins to bite as one in three get the employment jitters

Internal communications professionals in the UK have mixed feelings about their job security, according to a new poll from The British Association of Communicators in Business (CiB).

Almost one in five respondents (18%) to the industry body’s survey admitted to feeling “very insecure”, while 21% said they were “quite insecure” in their current roles. Just 4% felt secure in their jobs.

The survey also revealed a dip in confidence from this time last year, with only 24% of respondents saying they felt as secure now as they did 12 months ago. Meanwhile in a clear signal that the economic downturn has begun to hit the industry, 13% of respondents said they had been made redundant since the 2007 study was carried out.

The CiB however, remains upbeat about the employment prospects for the industry, with only a slight tail off in new internal communications roles being reported. “The message I get from advertisers is that there are roles out there, and they are sometimes hard to fill, so it is important that communicators do everything they can to keep their skills levels up to date,” said CiB spokesperson Steve Nichols.