While the world appears to be crumbling under the weight of the crunch, the UK is receiving a certain degree of rest bite with the certainty of work from the Olympics.

With the 2012 deadline approaching ever nearer the Olympics Delivery Authority have announced that their workforce has reached 3000. Adding to the recently accepted rule that infrastructure is the way forward after the crunch, the figures make positive reading.

London 2012 will deliver the HOK designed Olympic Stadium and Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre together with several other arenas, an Olympic Village which will be transformed into affordable housing and connecting infrastructure.

The ‘big build’, one of the biggest and most complex construction projects in Europe, aims to provide a lasting legacy for some of the most deprived areas of east London by providing local and previously unemployed people access to training and jobs on the Olympic Park.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “If the rate of Londoners employed on building the Games continues at this level it will make a significant contribution towards sustaining the capital's economy through the downturn and help us build our skilled workforce for when the upturn comes."