If you are looking for a new financial services job in London before Christmas then good luck. Job vacancies have fallen dramatically and the number of jobseekers is at a five-year high.
Morgan McKinley, the recruitment consultancy, estimates that job vacancies in London’s financial services sector fell 30% in the third quarter compared to the second. At the same time, she estimates that the number of people looking for new finance jobs in London is at its highest level since early 2017.
As the chart below shows, the result was that nearly 3.5 people were chasing each financial services job in the third quarter, compared to fewer than two in the first quarter. This was a more favorable ratio than the bad days of 2020, but is still well above the long-term average.
The rush of job seekers and shedding of jobs follows a sharp decline in investment banking revenues in 2022, with a sharp decline in M&A advisory revenues and equity/debt underwriting globally.
Morgan McKinley pointed to a difficult environment for banks, compounded by the chaos sparked by the new Prime Minister’s mini-budget and the halt to activity following the Queen’s death.
The cost-of-living crisis has been identified as a key motivator for the rise in job seekers, with many looking not just for a higher salary package but also for “a better work-life balance, greater job satisfaction and expanded benefits,” the recruiter said. According to Morgan McKinley, changing jobs resulted in an average salary increase of 20%.
Average salaries in London’s financial services firms are up 22% year-to-date, according to Morgan McKinley estimates, despite a 5% decline compared to the second quarter of 2022.
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