Yesterday’s announcement that some 30 more jobs will be lost at investment companies shows that the recession is far from over.And the loss of three jobs at the Bermuda Zoological Society shows how the recession is hurting the non-profit sector, even those parts of it that have traditionally been highly successful.These job losses are real. But what is not known is how many more jobs are being lost, either through attrition or one or two at a time without being brought to the public’s attention.These job losses are affecting Bermudians and non-Bermudians. In the case of the non-Bermudians, most will presumably have to leave, and they will take their incomes and spending power with them, thus weakening the economy further.For Bermudians, finding a new job is increasingly difficult. They may place more burden on an already straining welfare system if they cannot find work once their redundancy payments have run out. Even being unemployed for a short period of time will make a person more conservative in their spending and risk taking, thus dampening the economy further.The reasons for the closures vary. In the case of Jupiter, the investment company, drops in the company’s group activity has reduced the Bermuda office’s workload and made it uneconomic.Bank of New York Mellon is following a well trodden path. After a merger, it is consolidating its operations in Florida, although it is not closing its Bermuda office.It is fair to say, as the Government undoubtedly will, that these decisions are being made as a result of the global recession and factors out of Bermuda’s control.But it is not difficult to discern that when companies look at their staffing and costs, they close or reduce operations in Bermuda because it is too expensive. Top hotelier Michael Winfield makes similar points about tourism in his column on today’s page. That lengthy statement is a cry for help from one of the most level-headed and respected people in the business.Bermuda’s cost structure is among the highest in the world. And as a result, Bermuda must charge more for its services just to break even.But if the service is the same or worse than it is in a lower cost jurisdiction, then the customer will leave. And that is exactly what is happening in Bermuda.Until Bermuda either raises its levels of service or reduces its costs, it will remain mired in recession, or worse, in a spiral, where each job loss sparks another.Mr Winfield has some good ideas for tourism. Former Premier Sir John Swan and Larry Burchall held a meeting yesterday where they also detailed some of their proposals for turning the economy around.But too many people, including far too many people in Government who should know better, retain a mindset where they believe the world and international business owe Bermuda a living, that if a job is held by a non-Bermudian it means that a Bermudian is being deprived of one, and where declining house prices are invariably a good thing.But the world does not owe Bermuda a living, and is increasingly unwilling to pay the price when the advantages of being in Bermuda are eroding. Bermuda should be falling over itself to welcome non-Bermudian job creators to the Island, but instead the message is decidedly mixed. And declining house prices and rents are not good if they lead to mortgage defaults and bankruptcies.Even though Government has made some movements towards cutting bureaucracy and being more amenable to international business, the party political machinery is now in such a high election mode that the message is being lost.Business hates instability and Bermuda looks very unstable right now.