Lay-off plans dampen optimism in FS jobs market
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According to the Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor, October saw an across the board increase in both new job opportunities and new job seekers. New jobs increased by 7% month-on-month to 9,480 and by 28% year-on-year. Those seeking new jobs increased by 7% month-on-month to 14,405 and by 61% year-on-year.
According to the British Bankers’ Association, banking and financial services jobs are growing at a faster rate outside London in several regional centres.
“The general feeling in the jobs market was a mixed bag in October,” said Hakan Enver, Operations Director, Morgan McKinley Financial Services. “We saw some departments showing urgency in their hiring whilst others were somewhat lethargic. Those organisations announcing layoffs will obviously slow down hiring, which will also coincide with the natural slowdown towards year end. However, the redundancy announcements will also have a knock-on effect on other companies, particularly those whose businesses are not flourishing. They will be wary of taking on new talent, until they have more certainty about their business prospects in the near future,” says Enver.
Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered both announced restructuring plans that will see 30,000 or more jobs go, many in back office functions and IT.
The growth in new job seekers can be attributed to the news of layoffs. “The news from Deutsche Bank and other institutions, will have activated employees in those organisations in which they feel their jobs could be at threat. They will be dusting off their resumes and taking an active role in testing the market and seeing if there is demand for their skills,” says Enver. “The good news is that there are still plenty of businesses doing well and who are keen to hire.”
October showed an average salary change of 17%. Whilst the markets appeared to be less committed to onboarding fresh talent, those that secured new positions were able to demand strong increases in their basic salaries.
