Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror said yesterday that conditions in the advertising market remained volatile, as it announced a ten per cent dip in first-half profits - and a round of job cuts.
The media sector has been hit by a slowdown in advertising, as customers tighten their belts amid fears of a recession.
Trinity Mirror, owner of The Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People, said that although advertising across its national and regional newspapers was ahead this month, visibility was limited.
It added that there were signs of a drop-off in the recruitment market, particularly in the south, where the number of job adverts by high-tech firms had fallen significantly.
The group's comments came as it outlined a shake-up of its national and regional newspapers, in a bid to wipe about £33m from annual costs.
A total of 800 jobs are to be cut across the group by the end of 2003 - 6.5 per cent of the workforce.
Chief executive Philip Graf said 200 jobs had already gone, including more than 80 at its digital media operation.
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