London to make up ‘more than half’ of new UK banking jobs
London will make up more than half of all new banking jobs in the UK, new data has indicated, as the likes of JP Morgan and Barclays are set to bring a recovery in hiring levels.
Data compiled by the recruitment firm Morgan McKinley has suggested that UK banking vacancies are set to rise by nine per cent in 2026.
Broken down by regions, postings in London are growing more than 18 times the rate seen across the UK as the capital is set to make up 53 per cent of all vacancies.
Vacancies in Manchester are also expected to rise 69 per cent relative to previous levels.
Fresh data, collected via career pages, provides another boost to the financial series sector, with banks already posting bumper profits this year.
Barclays, which saw its profit surge to £6.1bn, increased its vacancies by 24 per cent year-on-year while JP Morgan Chase and Citi have also boosted the number of postings. Lloyds Bank reduced its number of availabilities, according to data.
Chris Lawton, UK senior managing director at Morgan McKinley, said demand was shifting towards commercial and technological roles while accountant vacancies weakened.
Job boost for the City
The boost in the City could lift confidence across the banking sector ahead of what many executives believe could be a difficult Budget.
Speculation in Westminster has suggested that Chancellor John Healey could increase a levy on banking profits in order to ease pressures on public finances. Economists at the Resolution Foundation have estimated his headroom to have dropped to as low as £5bn, which could add to fears among bond traders over the high level of public sector debt.
Healey could also face headwinds from an expected slowdown in growth over the rest of the year.
Confederation of British Industry data has suggested that activity is expected to fall in the three months to December.
Alpesh Paleja, deputy chief economist at the major industry group, said the outlook remained “subdued” as cost pressures “remain strong”.
“Uncertainty ahead of next month’s Budget is also holding back activity in some sectors,” Paleja said.
“Against the backdrop of renewed fiscal pressures, the Budget must draw a clear red line under any more rises in the cost of hiring, investing and doing business.”