Plans to bring a jobs fair to recession-hit Strabane have had to be shelved because there are not enough vacancies in the area to hold the event.
We’re sorry. This video is unavailable from your location.
Strabane is the Northern Ireland town with the highest unemployment rate.
A total of 800 people applied for 400 posts at the same event in 2009.
According to Niall Allen, Manager of Job Directions, the situation has worsened in the past 12 months.
"We're getting smaller scale redundancies which don't make the headlines and don't make the main news.
"It's maybe a construction firm laying off 10 men. Or it's one of the retailers in town closing down with the loss of 10, 15, 20, 30 jobs. It doesn't make big headlines but it still has a big impact on those people that it is happening to", he told UTV.
The recession is having a major impact on the Co Tyrone town, with severe job losses stemming from the demise of the textile industry.
Sinn Féin councillor Jarlath McNulty says intense efforts are being made to reverse years of economic deprivation.
"We are at the bottom of the ladder trying to fight our way up. There is a lot of good work being done by Strabane District Council, local politicians and Strabane 2000", she said.
"We are all trying to move forward but, with the economic downturn, we are finding it harder than anyone else. I have been speaking to employers and they are finding it hard to hold on to staff, never mind creating new jobs."
The town's Economic Development Manager, Geraldine Stafford, agrees that Strabane has made some strides forward in recent years.
"Strabane has been suffering more than most because of its border location, under-investment over the years and the loss of manufacturing, which was its core business, but we are facing that adversity head on," she told UTV.
© UTV News