Strong jump in City jobs market as firms take on more risk staff
THE CITY jobs market improved sharply last month, according to data out today from two recruitment agencies, as the economy continued to recover from the double dip recession.
Morgan McKinley recorded an 11 per cent jump in opportunities on the month, from 2,205 in September to 2,457 in October.
And Astbury Marsden saw a 10 per cent rise in vacancies with 2,490 jobs created in September and 2,730 in October.
Much of the demand is focused in areas like risk, control and valuations, according to Morgan McKinley driving up wages in those areas.
As a result, the average new salaries offered by hiring employers came in 20 per cent higher than the existing salaries of job seekers.
That jump compares with a 13 per cent average rise in September, and is the largest gap recorded since December of last year.
But despite the recovery in the market compared with September, the number of jobs on offer remains firmly below the levels seen a year ago.
“Confidence from employers and job seekers is now marginally better than in the third quarter, but we are still in a market that has 36 per cent fewer available job vacancies than a year ago,” said Hakan Enver from Morgan McKinley.
And after holding steady through the start of this month, “job vacancy numbers may even fall back slightly from early November as employers look ahead to hiring in the New Year and professionals sit tight to either wait for their bonus payments or simply until job availability ramps up again.”