CAREERS NEWS | IN BRIEF
FINANCIAL SERVICES JOBS GETTING SCARCER…
Financial services job opportunities in London rose 6 per cent month-on-month in June 2011, according to Morgan McKinley’s London Employment Monitor, released this week. But that increase looks less rosy when set against long-term trends. Compared to the same time last year, there was a 2 per cent decrease in job opportunities in the City this June. And comparing the second quarter of this year to the first quarter shows a 5 per cent decrease in new job opportunities. The second quarter normally offers an increase in opportunities from the first quarter and this is the first time in four years that there has been a decrease from first to second quarters. Chief Operations Officer at Morgan McKinley Andrew Evans commented: “More positively, there were reports of heightened business confidence and hiring activity in pockets of the financial services sector in the second quarter of 2011, particularly in areas of finance, asset management, risk/compliance and front office.”
… BUT INWARD INVESTMENT BOOSTS CITY CAREERS
Despite all the current difficulties of the job market, the City can be grateful for the impact of inward investment, according to the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) inward investment report for 2010/2011. The report, which covers the 12 months up to March 2011, shows that jobs created or safeguarded in the financial services industry associated with inward investment increased by 212 per cent over the previous year, despite fewer projects than in previous years. Some 17,000 jobs were created or safeguarded in this way. With 70 per cent of European hedge fund assets managed from London, and the decision in September 2010 by Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank, to move its international corporate headquarters from Milan to London that trend looks set to continue.