City job vacancies highest in a year as confidence returns to financial services
JOB vacancies in the City rose to their highest level in a year last month indicating that confidence is slowly returning to the financial services sector.
City workers are also beginning to dip their toes in the jobs market to find out what opportunities are available, figures from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley reveal.
The number of professionals looking for a new role was up six per cent last month compared to September although it remained down 23 per cent year on year.
Job vacancies rose by 15 per cent in October compared to the previous month – from 3,843 to 4,410.
Over the year, the number of new jobs fell 19 per cent, but this drop was the smallest in 16 months.
Those lucky enough to secure a new role in October did so in an average of 56 days – the same amount of time it took a year ago.
But average salaries have dipped slightly to £51,350 compared to £52,142 in September. The average salary has grown seven per cent over the year from £48,021 last October.
Andrew Evans, managing director of Morgan McKinley’s financial services division, said: “London’s financial services recruitment market is in a very different place compared to 12 months ago when City hiring was in the midst of a downward trend which saw job volumes contract from month to month.”
Evans said progress had been “slow and somewhat unsteady” over the course of the year but confidence is returning “slowly but surely” so that more employers are hiring and employees are testing the job market.