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CEE job sites and the global crisis
2010-05-18
The popularity of job websites in Central and Eastern Europe did not escape the negative effects of the global financial crisis. Comparing fluctuations in the reach of these type of sites brings surprising results, especially in the case of the Czech Republic, where the values describing these sites experienced a marked fall. Similarly, the related effects of the 2008/2009 credit crunch will be discussed at the Internet CEE conference between 25 and 26 May, 2010 in Warsaw.
The crisis that began in spring 2008 had a profound impact on the worldwide economies and everyday lives of many. It also strongly marked its presence on the popular medium of the internet. Of particular interest is the following question: is the recent recession reflected in the popularity ratings of job ad sites taking into account the fact that many crisis-stricken organisations opted for group redundancies in view of cost cutting?
An analysis of data on the reach fluctuations for the largest job sites of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Russia taking part in the research from April 2008 to December 2009 was conducted based on gemiusAudience results. Reach data for January 2009 and January 2010 was also compared. The analysis results concerning Poland, Russia and Slovakia confirmed the suppositions. The key job sites in these countries, apart from some minor variations, extended their reach.
The noted increase of interest in job ads, being the implicit root of the presented changes, became visible in Poland also, though this country was the only one of all EU states to note a positive GDP for 2009. However, what comes as a surprise is the situation of Czech job ad websites. Not only was there no increase in the reach over the researched period, but the popularity of such sites actually dropped. The paradox is even more pronounced in light of the fact that, according to European Commission data, the growth of the unemployment rate in the Czech Republic was most significant among the four studied states. The comparison of the results for 01.2009 with those for 01.2010 returns a similar result, that is a notable fall in the reach in the Czech Republic.
The reasons behind this paradox are difficult to pin down and we may only speculate about the direct factors that led to the current state of affairs. Perhaps the job market situation was in fact less dramatic than the one depicted by the European Commission; it is also quite probable that the persons who were forced by the crisis to look for a job did not use the internet for this purpose. Another plausible reason might be that over the researched period, very few new online job offers appeared, leading many to opt for other methods of looking for employment. Most probably, the cause for the discussed situation lies in a combination of all three factors.
The issue of the global crisis as a catalyst for change and its influence on the internet will be discussed as part of one of the subject areas of this year's Internet CEE conference, which will be held between 25-26 May 2010 at Fabryka Trzciny in Warsaw. On the second day of the event, participants will raise such issues as: the influence of the recession on the internet in the CEE and Southern Europe regions, and the ways to make a profit at a time of crisis. These problems will be discussed by speakers including: Andrey Sebrant, Product Marketing Director of Yandex, Russia and Tomas Lauko, CEE Head of Digital in ZenithOptimedia in the Czech Republic. For more information about the conference, go to www.internetcee.com. The organiser of the event is Gemius. The Main Sponsor of the conference is NetSprint, along with the Allegro Group as Sponsor. The Partner of Internet CEE 2010 is WebMedia. The Chief Patron of the conference is IAB Europe, together with SMB as the Patron. AIM and SPIR are the Local Patrons of the event. The General Internet Patron is Mail.ru. The Media Patrons of the conference are: Gazeta.pl, Onet.pl, Wp.pl, Interia.pl, M&MP, Puls Biznesu, Stat24, Money.pl, Delfi, Money.ro and Mediainfo.hu.
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Press contact:
Grażyna Jakubowska- grazyna.jakubowska@gemius.com