Kate Ross: Evidence in black and white

It would be fair to say that I am an endlessly positive person - it is in my nature to be this way and to be honest, when running a business and motivating staff and clients, there is no other way to be.

If I don't believe that things will be successful or work out the way I plan, there is no reason why they should.

In the face of economic crisis, therefore, rather than focusing on the negative impact it has had on our workforce in general, I choose to look for signs of improvement, the first signs of Spring so to speak.

I refuse to dwell on the 'why', the 'why me' and the 'why now' and instead I focus on getting out into the market, talking to people and rejoicing in the fact that there does in fact seem to be light at the end of the tunnel and the light is not a train coming towards me!

I have, on occasion been known to be misguided or incorrect on some issues in the past. This does not occur very often - but just in case, I decide to conduct a survey of employers and businesses who, at the end of the day, are the ones in the market experiencing the effects of the recession and so are in the best position to relay what the genuine repercussion of global economic downturn actually has been in the New Zealand market.

I hate to say I told you so. But.

The response from our clients re-affirmed everything I have felt and seen since things turned upside down last year.

The interesting thing was the differences between Auckland and Wellington, the timing of the impact and the feelings of staff within companies in general.

A solid three quarters of businesses in both cities agreed that they have been negatively affected in the past year by the economic downturn. No surprise there.

Interestingly, there was a very distinct difference between when that impact was felt. Auckland was hit first with a staggering decline in business levels in the last quarter of last year and Wellington was hit later, not fully feeling change until 2009 got underway.

As a result, Wellington businesses seem to be feeling more positive, perhaps because they have not been feeling unstable or insecure for as long as Aucklanders.

Whatever the reason, one third of Wellington businesses surveyed feel they will increase their permanent staffing levels in the next six months and almost half of Auckland businesses surveyed predict there will be a need for more temporary or contract staff during the same time period. This is positive feedback for frustrated candidates out there looking for work and feeling hopeless.

When talking to people about the market and what is happening, you would be forgiven for thinking that people are being made redundant in droves, turning up to work in their hundreds to find offices shut and factories quiet - we meet people every day who have been in this situation and by no means do we underestimate the impact redundancy has on individuals and their lives.

However, it was very interesting to see that in the feedback we received from our clients, almost 82 per cent of them, in both Auckland and Wellington had made less than 10 people redundant in the last twelve months.

Even I was surprised by this. When you don't see the statistics, you imagine things to be a lot worse than they are.

In New Zealand unemployment is still sitting at around 5 per cent which is pretty good by global standards.

There is talk of things getting worse before the end of the year and that we will get to 8 per cent unemployment which is a figure that has been bandied about a lot in the media.

I cannot see the future, I am not an economist and do always look for positivity.

But now I have seen the evidence for myself in black and white - I have heard it "from the horses mouth" from the employers and businesses I deal with every day and I will continue to be optimistic and to look forward to a time when business is booming again.

For me and the large number of companies we deal with, we have to look up.