According to the quarterly London Employment Monitor by recruitment firm Morgan McKinley, the number of jobseekers in London's financial sector has surged by 19%

in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the previous three months. The increase is attributed to workers seeking improved job security amidst fears of heightened layoffs.

The recent collapse of US lender Silicon Valley Bank and the rescue takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS has put thousands of UK-based finance roles at risk of redundancy, compounded by ongoing global economic uncertainty driven by geopolitical risks and high inflation. Consequently, employers are exercising caution in their hiring plans.

Hakan Enver, managing director at Morgan McKinley UK, noted that the financial services sector experienced a significant boom in 2021 as economies reopened following pandemic shutdowns. However, the pace of hiring slowed considerably last year due to economic uncertainty and the threat of redundancies, a trend that has continued into 2023 with a 31% decrease in available jobs.

The survey also revealed that the uplift in salary secured by finance workers moving from one job to another in the first quarter had dropped to 18%, the lowest salary increase expectation in almost two years. Enver added that many workers have become complacent, expecting significant salary increases, but companies are being more realistic in their offers to minimize disruption among incumbent employees. Photo by Tristan Surtel, Wikimedia commons.