Media / Talk of the Trade: Jobs scramble

THE ITV franchise shake-up is having a profound effect on the workforce, says a report in the current issue of Broadcast magazine. It says an average of 40 people are chasing every new job, turning the search for work in the ITV network into a desperate scramble. In October 1991, the month of the franchise awards, the four losing ITV companies employed 2,892 people. By January 1993 the new-style publisher contractors taking over will employ 984 people directly. There will be expansion in some parts of the independent sector, and perhaps 200 jobs left at Thames, but the general outlook is grim.