With all of the hype in the media over the last couple of weeks about the country coming out of the recession a little slower than anticipated, one must ask, are we actually out?

Reports this week of huge numbers of people turning up to job application interviews are surely a sign that things are still not healthy.

After the read more see the article from Xtra about 2700 people that were motivated enough to turn up for just 150 jobs as a new supermarket opened in Auckland.
In the Nelson Mail last week there was a similar article about changes to KFC's Tahunanui outlet resulting in the creation of 15-20 new jobs, with 115 people showing up to queue in the "first wave" of applications.

In these tough economic times it is invaluable to really nail your marketing and be proactive in getting your customers (and potential customers) to invest with you rather than with your competitors.

There is always the panicked temptation to reduce your marketing budget in tough times, but the reality is (as research shows) that this is actually the best time to invest in marketing.
Not only does this show your customers that you are still out there, but it also sends the message that you are not only out there, but doing well in the tough times. 
Stability and positivity are two key assets to have in these times, and if the indicators are anything to go by, things are going to get a little worse before they get any better.

Perhaps all of the media hype about the recesion being over is a bit of a gloss over to get the population into a positive state of mind to begin opening their wallets again, and soften us up for another round of hidden taxes. With the GST rise looming, one must consider that our economy is not doing as well as promoted. The rise in GST is being touted as a positive as it will pay for the tax cuts that we are all receiving, but take a moment to consider this. A tax taken to pay for a tax break given? Robbing Peter to pay Paul? Is this wise?
The fact that the government is also talking about a compulsory superannuation fund is perhaps a sign of an economy struggling for funds. The easiest way by far to raise funds is to take it from the population, by hook or by crook, and hey presto, less need for the centralist system to have to rely on offshore funds as the global banking industry enters another phase of difficulty.

Just an opinion, and something else to think about.

From the Xtra website yesterday.
< http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/7775347/supermarket-flooded-with-job-applicants/ >

When a new supermarket opened today in Auckland it created 150 new jobs, but that was a small comfort for the 2550 people who applied for jobs there and missed out, Labour leader Phil Goff said today.

Mr Goff today opened a New World supermarket in his Mt Roskill electorate, where the owner operator had told him 2700 people had applied for the 150 positions created in the new store.

"I had to ask the question -- where is John Key's recovery for the ordinary people in my electorate."

Mr Goff said supermarket owners had told him this was the worst period they could remember in retailing and they were concerned about further impacts from the rise in GST, which will increase from 12.5 to 15 percent on October 1.

"People are finding it hard to make ends meet now, that extra ... on top of all their groceries is just going to make life harder for them."

A spokesman for Foodstuffs, which owns the New World chain, said they were not surprised by the number of people who applied because a lot of people had applied for positions in other stores.

The selection of the 150 staff members was well managed through internal systems, he said.
Asked about the matter in Parliament today, Finance Minister Bill English said the high number of applicants was reflective of the sharp recession the economy had been through.