SOARING unemployment, falling house prices and businesses going bust — the headlines suggest Oxfordshire is being hit hard by the recession. But scratch the surface and the evidence suggests the county is faring better than other areas of the UK.

While many firms have been hit hard, managers and entrepreneurs are changing direction and working practices in a bid to take advantage of the upturn when it comes.

David Doughty, chief executive of the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership, said: “There has been an element of battening down the hatches, people keeping hold of their cash and not investing.

“But generally the recession has not hit as hard as it could have.”

Mr Doughty admitted that some areas such as Banbury had been badly affected, with redundancies in the car parts suppliers.

And Cowley is still reeling from the effects of more than 1,200 agency staff being axed between December last year and this February.

But while unemployment in the county has risen by more than 150 per cent in the last 12 months, just 2.4 per cent of the workforce does not have a job, compared to the national figure of 4.1 per cent.

Mr Doughty said: “We are better off because of the mix of businesses here — we are not so reliant on large employers.”

But he added there were “hidden effects” of the recession which might only be seen in the longer term. “Banks are not providing as much liquidity as businesses would want. While they might survive, they won’t get to a level they would have done normally.

“And businesses need to think about training, as it affects the whole workforce and helps with staff retention. But lack of training is something that will not have a noticeable effect for a while.”

He also fears that Oxfordshire’s reliance on the public sector — with councils, schools and hospitals such big employers — could make it vulnerable to predicted Government spending cuts.

Mr Doughty said: “Next year’s budgets will be affected and we are looking at a five per cent drop every year for the next five years, which will translate into possible job losses.” But overall Mr Doughty is “cautiously optimistic” about the future.

Barry Wheatley, chairman of the Oxfordshire Federation of Small Businesses, believes consumer confidence is key. He said: “We can change the situation ourselves by reassuring people that it is worth spending their money whether it is improving their property or buying a new car and that money will go back into the local economy.”

He added: “There are businesses that are struggling but others are doing really well.

“Those doing well have prepared during times of plenty and done something to differentiate themselves in their marketplace.

“They are going to be in a strong position when the end of the recession comes next year.”

Oxford has been hit by a string of shop closures including Woolworths, The Early Learning Centre and Land of Leather.

The Westgate Centre has had several retailers pull out since redevelopment plans were put on ice. But upmarket card and stationery shop Papeterie has just opened in the centre, the second branch of what director Tony Campbell hopes will be a chain of six by the end of the year.

Mr Campbell said: “We are doing good business, are optimistic the tide will turn and when it does we will be well placed to benefit.”

Steve Jebbett, owner of The Town Garden in North Parade, North Oxford, has remodelled his upmarket garden accessories business in response to the recession.

Now he is offering a range of lower priced items as well as plants and seedlings in a bid to tap into the growing demand for people to grow their own vegetables.

Mr Jebbett said: “The recession has made us really look hard at the business model and the movement for going back to basics has helped. Our customers have stuck by us and they are the difference between survival and closure.”

Wendy Proctor, Oxford-based regional general manager of the Four Pillars Hotel group, is upbeat about the prospects for tourism in the county this year.

Ms Proctor, who is also chairman of the Oxford Hoteliers Association, said: “The message is Oxford is not suffering at all. People are holidaying in the UK and the weakness of the pound is attracting more people from Europe and even America.

“These are difficult times but right now I would rather be in Oxford than anywhere else.”

Oxford restaurateur Clinton Pugh describes the recession as “like being caught with your trousers down and your shoelaces tied together.”

In the course of the last year Mr Pugh has closed the Lemon Tree restaurant on Woodstock Road and opened a new Cafe Coco on Park End Street.

He also opened the Oxford Organic Burger Company on Cowley Road, but was forced to relaunch it as Cafe Tarifa after the original concept was not making money.

He said: “One of the biggest problems in the business now is that overheads are going up and there is an over-saturation of the market, so everyone is chasing the same business and putting offers on.”

James Woollard, managing director of Witney-based packaging firm Polythene UK, is hopeful of matching last year’s turnover of £4m, although it will be a challenge.

Mr Woollard, 33, who has been shortlisted in the Young Entrepreneur category of the 2009 Oxfordshire Business Awards, added: “There is enough work out there — it is a question of getting out and grabbing new business.”

The housing market in Oxfordshire has been hit hard by the recession thanks to the difficulty of obtaining a mortgage and prices have dropped by more than 13 per cent in the last year, according to the Land Registry. Mark Charter, head of the Oxford office of agents Carter Jonas, said: “The residential market fell off a cliff this time last year.

“The number of properties on the market and the number of viewings collapsed.

“Then, from January, the situation started to improve and now viewings are at record levels and we are selling a couple of properties a week.”

Frank Webster, director of letting specialists Finders Keepers claims the business has benefited from the downturn thanks to more people renting rather than buying.

He said: “We are being cautious as a business, but we are still taking on staff.”

Building firm Beard, of Cumnor Hill has just announced pre-tax profits trebling to £1.05m, while turnover rose 30 per cent to £55.8m in 2008.

Mark Beard, managing director of the family firm, which specialises in larger projects such as Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre, said the potential effects of the recession had not been felt by the company.

He added: “I think there are going to be tougher times ahead.

“The challenge will be in 2010-11 because major organisations take a long time to stop their investment plans.”