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As if the economic crisis has not caused enough hardship, close to its heels comes the dreaded retrenchment. Lay-offs have occured in virtually all industries, affecting nearly everyone. It is not uncommon to hear of friends or relatives losing their jobs while many others have had to face salary cuts and frozen bonuses. The latest figures on retrenchment released by the ministry yesterday shows that between January and March 1998, a total of 17,020 workers were retrenched by 698 employers. Manufacturing sector leads the other sectors in laying-off workers followed by construction, commercial, and financial sectors. Table 1. Retrenchment (January - mid March 1998) Sectors Employers Workers Agricultural 12 420 Mining 9 110 Manufacturing 169 10,000 Construction 144 2,486 Commerce 141 2,021 Transportation 22 223 Finance 146 1,206 Others 55 554 Total 698 17,020 Source: Human Resources Ministry You could be the next victim - faced with the prospect of losing your job and a sudden loss of regular income. With tough times ahead, take steps to protect yourself. Lay-offs are normally preceded by a steady series of bad developments. Signals such as freeze on bonuses, cancellation of projects, reduction in sales volume, debt collection problems, bosses gathered behind closed-door, unscheduled board meetings, etc normally serve as early warning signs that it could happen. Generally, your chances of being retrenched are lesser if you have a good track record or have been working for a long period with the company. But that is not enough to guarantee that you will not lose your rice bowl. If you see those signals at your door step, act promptly. Be realistic! You know you have to do something right away. Do not wait until the axe falls on you. If losing your job looks like a real possibility, start looking out for job opportunities. Take out your long forgotten resume and update it. Those interviewing you will generally react favorably to the fact that you are indeed employed - and will be less likely to "squeeze" you during the interview. You will also have more confidence when going for interviews. Update your skills. Learn new skills and equip yourself with necessary cutting edge knowledge. Are you well-versed with the latest computer software? Those who left behind in the race for information technology for the future will eventually sink. There are various seminars or short-term courses that you can select to broaden your horizon. Take advantage of them now. If possible, broaden your networking. It will boost your chances of landing a new job. More people land good jobs through contacts than any other medium. Make full use of your existing networking to find out about possible job prospects.