Job vacancies are continuing to disappear as figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show. There were a total of over 430,000 job vacancies in all sectors leading up to August 2009. This was down from 174,000 in 2008. The reduction in vacancies could have a domino effect, leading people to look at other ways to work.

Elaine Levy, chair of the Independent Public Relations Consultants (PRI) says: “I would imagine because of the companies suffering the recession, lots of PRs have gone on their own now.”

Levy founded Birkett PR in the 1980s. The independent PR tells vox-pop: “Obviously large agencies are suffering. They may cut back or they may only take on freelancers.” According to the ONS, redundancies have gone up from by over 100,000 since 2008 across all sectors of employment.

In a £6.5 billion industry, being independent could be your alternative to the traditional route of making it in PR.

As the blogger of Private Frazer’s Doomed Magazines commentates on the shrinking print industry in the UK, it is no surprise that PRs have taken notice too.

Emma Russell, 26, is a media relations officer at the Arts Council. Emma tells vox-pop: “A lot of journalists are being laid off. They are getting rid of what they can and buying it in from news agencies.” thelondonpaper printed its’ final edition on the 18 September 2009, with over 60 positions put at risk. What does this mean for PRs?

“They lean on us even more”, Emma explains. Lou Thomas, 29, head of press at Trailer Media says: “A lot of print magazines are folding. You have to think of new ways to position what you are working on.”

Aspiring PRs should look to these avenues when applying for jobs.