As a new business owner, Kate Nudds was optimistic and full of enthusiasm.

But when the recession hit five years ago Kate lost everything.

“I had to sell my house to pay my business debts and keep my business afloat,” explains Kate, owner of Colchester recruitment company Professional Choice Personnel Ltd in Colchester.

“It was an awful time and it’s a hard thing to get over. Going through something like that takes over your whole life.

“You stop eating, can’t sleep. But I was so passionate about my business that I wanted to keep it going and I’m so glad I did.

“The business is now growing and we have double the number of vacancies on offer for jobseekers than we had when we first set up seven years ago.”

The good news for Kate’s business is also reflected in the Essex jobs market, which she says is getting better.

Kate, 35, who also runs Vacancies Network Ltd for temporary posts, explains: “Employers are feeling more confident in recruiting now and whereas a few years ago they may not have replaced someone who left, they are now beginning to take more people on.

“That has encouraged people who are still in work to look for something new.

“There is a renewed confidence out there, something to be positive about finally.”

The news comes as organisation CV Library reveals it has seen Essex job vacancies increase by 64 per cent on April 2013.

It found construction continued to grow, along with the distribution and sales sectors, hospitality, engineering and IT.

Kate, whose business is based at the Colchester Business Enterprise Agency in George Williams Way, says: “The jobs market has definitely improved on the past four years.

“It kicked off in January this year and it has continued to improve.”

Kate started her career in recruitment ten years ago, working for an independent recruitment consultancy in Colchester. A few years later she left the industry for a year to take a job in sales and travelling the country.

She explains: “That job gave me the confidence to branch out on my own. I had always wanted to run my own business and I felt the time was right.

“I am quite sales driven, but I also like to help people and find it rewarding when someone is placed in a job they love.

“I also enjoy the fact I need to be able to understand and have a basic knowledge about various industries, from manufacturing to engineering.”

However, she admits that she was naive when she established her company before the recession.

She says: “I thought it would be easier than it has been and I made mistakes, such as taking on too many people too quickly and landing myself with too many costs for equipment such as laptops and phones.

“But we have come through it and the fact my business is still here and growing shows that the jobs market is improving.

“I’ve been through the recession now, so I can understand how things can go wrong.

Hopefully, the fruits of my labour, time and tears over the last few years will now come through.”