City jobs fall on election uncertainty
CITY vacancies dipped last month in the run up to the general election, according to recent data by Morgan McKinley, as the number of candidates increased by over 10,000.
The number of newly available jobs in the financial services sector fell by 12 per cent during the month of April to 5,569 marking a u-turn on the previous three months when the recruitment market was reporting comfortable increases.
Andy Evans, managing director of Morgan McKinley’s financial services division, said the recruiter is not worried about the fall in vacancies and attributed the likelihood of a hung parliament, problems in the Eurozone and the Easter break as major contributors to the fall.
But the number of available professionals climbed for the fourth consecutive month in a row, as 33 per cent more candidates entered into the job market. This means that 11,910 City professionals were looking for work last month up from March’s figure of 8,950.
“We have already seen some being able to pick and choose from multiple job offers. Last year, it was much more a case of ‘sit tight’ or ‘take what you can get’,” said Evans.
Despite a fall in vacancies and a rise in professionals searching for new jobs, Evans said the recruitment market is on track for growth.
Meanwhile, Morgan McKinley said that the average City salary fell by nine per cent last month to £50,734 while the time taken to fill a vacancy fell to 53 days.
FAST FACTS | APRIL EMPLOYMENT
● Available City jobs fell by 12 per cent.
● City professionals entering the market rose by 33 per cent.
● The average City salary fell by nine per cent.
● Professionals changing roles up 69 per cent.