Financial service job vacancies across the North of England are growing far faster than in London and the South East as financial institutions shift more jobs to lower cost areas, according to BrightPool, the specialist financial services recruiter.

BrightPool says cities in the North have seen the biggest increase in financial service job vacancies over the last two years with Liverpool seeing a 49 percent rise from 730 vacancies in 2012  to 1,088 in Q3 2014 followed by York  with a 43 percent rise from 980 to 1,406, Manchester (41 percent) and Leeds (28 percent). Meanwhile financial services vacancies in London fell by 4 percent over the two years from 19,888 in 2012 to 19,011 in 2014. However, Scotland saw the biggest fall as uncertainties over devolution stalled recruitment in Q3 2014 – financial services jobs created in Edinburgh fell 20 percent in the two years to 1,595 in in Q4 2014 from 1,995 two years earlier. BrightPool explains the rise is due to the lower costs to business of operating in the North of England as financial services companies seek further reductions in their cost base.

Angela Hickmore, Managing Director, BrightPool, comments: “Moving more back and middle office jobs out of London to the regions is a key part of efforts to improve cost-to-income ratios.”

“There are big savings to be made in both property and staff costs. Financial services employment growth in the regions is rapidly outpacing that of London – that is a clear reversal of the trend before the credit crunch when higher returns on capital meant staff costs were not such a concern.” Brightpool, which has offices in both London and Harrogate, explains that some regions can still be hard to recruit in as there is a smaller local pool of experienced financial services staff compared with more established financial services centres such as London. Hickmore adds: “Talent may be cheaper in some cities in the North, but it is also harder to find in sufficient numbers. That can cause recruitment headaches for those businesses locating operations there.”

UK cities with biggest rises and falls in financial service vacancies

Glasgow and Edinburgh suffer sharp fall in financial service job vacancies in wake of referendum uncertainty

Edinburgh and Glasgow saw some the biggest falls in financial services recruitment, as financial services companies put expansion in Scotland on hold due to the referendum.

Angela Hickmore continues: “Concerns over the impact of Scottish independence was widely voiced amongst the financial services sector. This led to a slowdown in recruitment North of the border – despite the cost advantages of Glasgow over other UK cities. The financial services industry is traditionally very strong in Scotland. Now the referendum is over, business confidence is returning and recruitment trends in the financial services sector should start to closely match those of the other regions.”

*End of Q3

www.brightpool.co.uk