UK finance salaries drop as workers ‘actively develop’ tech skills
UK finance salaries dropped by three per cent in 2025, new data has found, prompting more workers to look for new jobs and develop more tech skills to prop up their pay.
Average pay in one of the UK’s richest sectors is now around £102,300, lower than the USA but still higher than Germany and the rest of the European Union, according to finance association CFO Connect and spending platform Spendesk.
The survey of 600 financial professionals in 40 economies also found that 49 per cent of UK finance professionals were likelier to be looking for new roles in a bid to boost salaries and find new opportunities.
Nine in ten workers in finance said technology skills would be crucial for moving up job ladders and protecting pay levels
Rodolphe Ardant, founder of Spendesk, said the finance sector had reached a “crossroads” moment with regard to the use of AI technology in particular.
“Professionals are embracing technology not just as a productivity tool, but as a career differentiator,” Ardant said.
“In my experience, it reveals how the finance professionals who will thrive aren’t those simply waiting for market conditions to improve, but those actively developing the technological capabilities that will make them invaluable strategic partners to their businesses, regardless of economic climate.”
UK finance bosses to double down on AI
UK financial industry body TheCityUK recently revealed that productivity in the sector was nearly three times higher than that seen across the UK economy.
It also said tax receipts generated by the UK financial and related professional services industry totalled £110bn in 2023, highlighting the government’s dependence on the City and other financial centres to allow it to boost spending on public services.
Its recent report said more firms, particularly focused on legal services, were investing in artificial intelligence to boost efficiency.
The group itself has said the UK government should focus on how AI can harness growth and protect financial stability.
The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee noted in April that AI technology could “heighten existing vulnerabilities” as the adoption of similar tools could lead to exacerbate shocks due to crowding of investors.
It also wanted that outages could leave firms exposed and unable to make payments, which could represent a repeat of a recent incident when Bloomberg terminals suffered outages and suspended bond trading.