Coronavirus: London finance jobseekers surge by 43 per cent
The number of London finance professionals seeking employment has surged over 40 per cent in the first three months of 2020 even as coronavirus hit salaries and vacancies, new data showed today.
Jobseekers in the UK finance industry rocketed 43 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2019, according to Morgan McKinley’s Spring London Employment Monitor.
But the UK’s financial services sector also experienced a rapid slowdown in hiring in March, as the coronavirus lockdown looked set to crash the economy.
The coronavirus crisis has forced London’s financial employers to pause hiring and cut salary offers by 37 per cent. And the number of available jobs plunged by 38 per cent in March, and 43 per cent over the quarter.
“Out of the frying pan and into the fire: we barely got to take a breath between Brexit and this new global crisis,” Hakan Enver, managing director of Morgan McKinley, said.
“London came back in the new year, with a renewed optimism, which was reflective in the general mood of employees and employers alike. Soon enough, business confidence fell once again which has in turn impacted trading prospects and overall economic optimism.”
Meanwhile, the average salary change for those moving jobs fell to a 12 per cent rise, down from 19 per cent, the lowest since July 2019.
However, Morgan McKinley believes London’s finance sector is well positioned to weather coronavirus thanks to the government’s job retention scheme.
Under the scheme, the government will cover 80 per cent of workers’ wages, up to £2,500 a month, if they are not made redundant.
And despite confusion at Lloyds, banks have largely pledged not to make job cuts in 2020.
“However, projects are being paused which is inevitably slowing hiring,” Enver added. “Once the initial shock wears off we will see jobs begin to trickle back through.”
He added that business critical hires are still seeing “robust” demand, particularly for roles in IT and fintech.
Software engineers, cyber security pros and analytics experts will continue to see demand, Morgan McKinley predicted.