City wages up as UK recovery boosts hiring
Salaries in the finance sector are rising at more than seven times the national average, according to a survey of recruiters published today.
Engineers and IT professionals are also in high demand, the study from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCO) shows.
Overall, recruiters have 20 per cent more jobs on their books than they did a year ago.
Finance vacancies are up 22 per cent, while 35 per cent more engineering positions are available, and 18 per cent more IT jobs are on offer.
In line with that demand, finance salaries are up 5.5 per cent, engineering up 11.1 per cent and IT up 1.4 per cent.
By comparison, official figures reveal that average weekly wages rose 0.7 per cent in the 12 months to May.
“The latest GDP predictions, coupled with the recent reports that Britain’s recovery has pushed the economy past its pre-crisis peak, sets the stage for a fruitful few months,” said APSCO’s chief executive Ann Swain.
“This month is the first time that APSCO’s sector groups have all posted fantastic growth figures – the only hurdle in site would be a candidate shortage which could scupper this.”
Recruiter Astbury Marsden today said most of this growth in City hiring was coming from small- and medium-sized firms.
It said 2,000 finance jobs were created in July, down from 2,190 in June. And the firm blamed big investment banks, which are cutting back as tough new regulations force them to rethink parts of their businesses such as bond trading units.
Meanwhile, recruiter Morgan McKinley today said 74 per cent of finance staff worked longer than their contracted hours, in another sign that demand for staff was rising sharply.