New jobs in finance sector at five-year low

Just 1,790 new London finance jobs were created last month, according to financial services recruitment firm Astbury Marsden, down from 2,670 in November last year and 13,000 in November 2007, before the onset of the financial crisis. Separately, recruitment consultancy Morgan McKinley found there were 2,079 new financial services jobs in November, a 24 per cent drop on the same month last year.

The number of job-seeking professionals in the City, as London’s financial sector is known, is now at its lowest level since January 2004, Morgan McKinley said.

“This is by far the most dramatic slump we have seen over the last few years and should be a real wake-up call,” said Mark Cameron, chief operating officer at Astbury Marsden.

“If London is to remain a leading global city and a pre-eminent international capital of finance, the magnet of a thriving investment banking sector is vital,” Mr Cameron said.

Expectations of bonus payments have also fallen, with only 60 per cent of the more than 500 people surveyed by Morgan MicKinley anticipating they would receive a bonus in 2012/2013, compared with 67 per cent in November last year.

Of those who did not expect to receive a bonus, a third believed their employer would not be in a position to pay a bonus, Morgan McKinley said, with many citing their company’s underperformance as the reason.

“The reality of reduced bonus payments as a result of subdued business activity and global market uncertainty is hitting home amongst financial services professionals,” said Hakan Enver, operations director at Morgan McKinley Financial Ser- vices.