UK financial services roars back after pandemic slowdown
The UK’s financial and professional services sector roared back to growth last year after a pandemic induced contraction in 2020, a new report has revealed.
The sector notched year-on-year growth of eight per cent in 2021 following a contraction of 0.6 per cent in 2020, while total industry output in 2021 reached £261bn, up by £19bn year-on-year, according to a new report by industry body the CityUK.
Collectively the sectors accounted for 12 per cent of total UK economic output, up from 10 per cent in 2020, the report found.
Chief economist at the CityUK Anjalika Bardalai said the sectors had “weathered the challenges of the pandemic period well”.
“Its relative stability reflects the essential enabling role the industry has within the wider economy, and the continuing strong demand for its products and services within the UK and beyond,” she said.
She added that resilience shown through the pandemic made it “well-placed to withstand the myriad economic and geopolitical challenges” setto rock the UK economy this year.
Industry employment also remained relatively resilient throughout the pandemic, with around one in every 14 UK jobs employed in financial and related professional services in “high-skill jobs”, the report found.