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Financial services hiring holds firm

Friday, 14 March 2008

London’s financial services are still hiring, albeit at a slower pace than this time last year.

Despite an increase in middle and back office new job vacancies in February, institutions continue to take a more cautious approach.

New job numbers stayed relatively static on January 2008 levels (+2.3 per cent) but registered a drop of 9.6 per cent compared with February 2007.

Skilled professionals still in short supply

The number of individuals looking for new job opportunities in the City fell by 7.3 per cent compared to January 2008 figures.

Whilst candidate movement on the previous year showed a slight rise of +3.3 per cent and new candidate numbers overtook new job numbers for the third consecutive month, the war for talent continues.

Skilled middle and back office financial services professionals are still in short supply in London as well as globally.

Robert Thesiger, CEO of Morgan McKinley’s parent company Imprint Plc, said that no one would disagree that the climate within London’s financial services industry was tougher than it has been for several years.

He added that the hiring market was nevertheless holding firm with replacement as well as some expansion recruitment continuing to take place.

Thesiger explained that it was likely many banks would remain cautious until the end of Q1, by which time there should be further clarity globally as to how the financial services industry is likely to shape up for the rest of the year.

“As bonus expectations were generally well managed this year, financial services professionals - like their employers - are taking a more circumspect approach to the job market. The flow of candidates lost some pace in February and this is keeping up the pressure on a skills short sector,” Thesiger said.

Salaries to level out

The average basic salary for support and mid-market financial services professionals in February 2008 saw a rise of 8.3 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively compared to January 2008 figures.

At the senior level, however, a drop of 16.6 per cent was recorded, a readjustment following the hikes of the last two months.

This resulted in the average City salary falling 5.9 per cent to £50,119 in February 2008 compared to January 2008.

“There have been some interesting rises in basic salaries over the last couple of months as employers have continued to encourage key talent to move roles. If current market conditions persist, however, it is likely that basic salaries within the middle and back office will start to level out,” Thesiger concluded.

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