Microsoft has rolled out its new Xbox 360 contract package, subsidising the cost of its console by offering customers a monthly subscription. Very much similar to the smartphone model, the company will provide customers with access to the popular Xbox Live Gold service, enabling them to further stream additional content from their respective cable providers. So with Microsoft aggregating computer power, users will be more likely to embrace utilities such as cloud services to store games and data. One need only glance at a typical jobs board to appreciate that positions such as ‘cloud architect’ and ‘security specialist’ could boom if this is a success...

Recruitment agencies – like all businesses – are at the mercy of economic and market factors that are beyond their control. No company can predict the future, but by diversifying and innovating, it’s possible to survive – and even thrive – in times of economic uncertainty.

Up until earlier this month, Britain's unemployment rate remained at 8.4%, its highest level since 1995 – as the struggling economy has taken its toll on the labour market. This has led to a growing body of research exploring the impact of joblessness on both individuals and their families – and the findings are worrying. So as recruiters what are we doing to help?

In recent months, there’s been a lot of talk about HTML5 and its potential applications on the web. Two years ago, this structuring language was largely unknown outside the web’s programming community. Then came Steve Jobs’ well-documented denunciation of Flash in a 1,500-word treatise. The iPad, he announced, would not be shipping with Flash support enabled. In its place, he advocated a new web standard – HTML5. So what impact will this impending technology have on the web development jobs market?

Employers are not obliged to go through any third-party in order to source new talent. This is hardly a recent development, made possible by pioneering web-based technology, either. For decades, small businesses have contented themselves with placing an ad in the local paper before sifting through the flotsam and jetsam that has been submitted by eager job-seekers. If you’re looking to hire a cleaner or an office junior, with all respect to these professions, you probably have no need for a recruitment agency. For businesses who are dependant upon top talent with specialist skills however, recruitment agencies are more essential than ever. How so?