While 92% of UK bosses think the recession will be with us until the end of next year, 37% think business will stagnate rather than recede, according to new research.

The research, from senior executive careers website The Ladders.co.uk, also shows that 73% say their market will suffer job losses next year but 42% think their personal career goals will still be reached.

Just over half (51%) said the job market will continue to focus on good salaries for experience, rather than pay cuts, while 61% say that they would refuse a pay cut to save their job and 42% retain plans to change jobs themselves next year.

According to respondents, 65% said the hardest hit sector next year will be retail, followed by finance (57%), sales and marketing (52%) and research and development (32%), while 23% predicted the best job opportunities lay abroad.

Derek Pilcher, managing director of TheLadders.co.uk, said: “There is no panic but a sense of realism from the senior managers we spoke to. They are bombarded with doom and gloom every day which has impacted their confidence in the market but closer to home, they have a belief in the resilience of their business and their own experience and worth within the job market.”