The world economic problems have damaged the mobile phone industry. At first sight we might think that 5 per cent is nothing to worry about. Huge companies like Nokia and LG will surely make it through without major problems.

This might be true, the companies will survive, however by cutting expenses and this often means jobs. The global economic downturn has already affected thousands involved in the mobile telecommunication industry. Many have lost their jobs and it seems that many will follow.

In Q4 2008, the worldwide mobile phone sales have totaled about 314.7 million units, which means a 4.6 per cent decline compared to Q4 2007, reports Cellular News. Additionally, the top 5 mobile vendors have encountered a decline in sales in the fourth quarter of 2008.

For example, Nokia had about 37.7% of the Market Share in Q4 2008, yet in the same period a year prior, the company had 40.4%. Similar facts apply to vendors like LG, Samsung and Motorola. The last had 6.9% market share in the fourth quarter of 2008; however, in Q4 2007 it had 11.9%.

The figures point out that the global economic downturn is, or will, seriously affect the mobile phone industry.