Finance jobs grow faster in the North as firms try to cut costs

Leeds, York, Liverpool and Manchester have all seen big rises, while vacancies in the capital have fallen by four per cent over the past two years, said recruitment firm BrightPool.

Recruitment in financial services has stalled in Scotland, with jobs falling in Edinburgh.

BrightPool said the rise was due to the lower costs to business of operating in the North of England as financial services companies seek further reductions in their cost base.

Angela Hickmore, managing director at BrightPool, said: “Moving more back and middle-office jobs out of London to the regions is a key part of efforts to improve cost-to-income ratios.

“There are big savings to be made in both property and staff costs. Financial services employment growth in the regions is rapidly outpacing that of London - that is a clear reversal of the trend before the credit crunch, when higher returns on capital meant staff costs were not such a concern.”

BrightPool, which has offices in Harrogate and London, said that some regions can still be hard to recruit in as there is a smaller local pool of experienced financial services staff than places like London. Ms Hickmore added: “Talent may be cheaper in some cities in the North, but it is also harder to find in sufficient numbers. That can cause recruitment headaches.”