CHALLENGING CLIMATE CONTINUES WITHIN THE CITY JOBS MARKET

London’s financial services hiring market continues to experience a slower rate of new job growth than a year ago, registering a 17% decrease in the number of new vacancies compared with May 07 levels. There was also an eight per cent drop in new job opportunities versus April 08 figures. A proportion of the month on month fall can be attributed to seasonal factors, given the two bank holidays in the month and the Easter break falling into March this year, so not impacting on April 08 figures.  

For the fifth consecutive month this year, the number of individuals looking for new roles outweighed the number of new jobs in the City. Candidate flow increased nine per cent during May 08 compared with the previous year (May 07). Month on month however, the number of individuals looking for a new role followed a similar trend to new job numbers, falling 19% from April to May 08.

Candidates who did secure a new position during May 08 took 57.8 days to do so – an additional 11.2 days compared to their counterparts in May 07. The increased availability of talent afforded employers more time when making hiring decisions. This figure remained relatively stable versus April 08, adding just 0.9 days to the selection process.

Robert Thesiger, CEO of Morgan McKinley’s parent company, Imprint, commented: “The decline in new job numbers during May 08 indicates a level of caution still remains amongst some employers within the City and likewise, the increase in available talent means it is a more challenging market for many jobseekers compared with a year ago. Whilst not at 2007 levels, there are still encouraging volumes of recruitment activity occurring within the financial services industry and quality candidates are still being offered excellent opportunities.

The next key indicator as to the health of the City and in turn the outlook for the financial services jobs market will be the larger investment banks’ Q2 trading updates. These results will play a major role in determining confidence levels within the industry, providing a good barometer at the half year point as to where we currently are in the economic cycle and, therefore, how far we have yet to go.”

The average City salary was down five per cent during May 08, compared with the same month the previous year, to £48,347. This was a decrease one per cent versus April 08.