London finance and professional services jobs are topping pre-crisis high
THE TOTAL number of jobs in finance and related professional services in London finally broke through pre-crisis levels last year, as the sector is lifted by the British economy’s upswing.
According to figures from by TheCityUK seen exclusively by City A.M, employment in the sector swelled by two per cent in 2013, pushing above the previous highest number on record – 688,000 in 2007 – and growing for the third year in a row.
The group now expects a further boost this year, with the number of jobs expected to rise by another 2.7 per cent.
“If our forecast is borne out in 2014, that’s going to take us well beyond 700,000 jobs in London,” said James Nixon at TheCityUK.
Employment in fund management rose at a particularly rapid pace last year, up 3.6 per cent from 2012 to 23,100. And there are now 147,100 jobs in banking, above the 144,900 recorded in the capital during 2008.
But both accountancy and legal jobs remain slightly below previous highs, despite a recent uptick. Legal services job rose 2.8 per cent last year to 106,000 – below 2007-8 levels, while accounting jobs edged closer to their 2007 peak at 215,500.
Since the sector’s lowest ebb in 2010, the total number of workers has risen by 50,000 across London. Job markets in the City of London and Canary Wharf have been particularly resilient. The two financial hubs are now 7.7 per cent larger by workforce than at their previous peak, and 18.6 per cent bigger than in the trough of 2009.