When you think of London’s notorious financial districts you think of seas of suits and ties rushing to get where they’re going, darting from boardroom to boardroom, calculating their next big break on the latest high-tech gadget. Well things could be set to get a whole lot busier in the Big Smoke as new statistics reveal that the city’s financial companies have hired more than 15,500 new employees already this year.
Job cuts for big banks are no hinderance
While smaller companies on the outskirts of the industry have been busy enlisting new recruits, bigger banks at the epicentre of the sector have been axing jobs left, right and centre. Standard
Chartered could be set to wave goodbye to around 1,000 senior managers, while tens of thousands of Barclays employees around the world are expecting to face the backlash of drastic cost cutting.
However even in large banks where headcount appears to have dropped by 0.3% to 143,600, the need for skilled compliance and regulation employees remains high. This sky-rocketing demand for compliance experts and consultants is being cited as the main reason behind the current surge in employment.
Research carried out by TheCityUK rev lead that overall employment across the financial industry rose by 2.2% in the first six months of 2015 to 729,600 people. Before the infamous 2008 financial crisis, the industry reached its peak when the financial workforce hit 691,700 bodies but today this number is nearly at 730,000 and is expected to climb by a further 7,300 new jobs by the end of the year.
Accountants are amongst the biggest employers
Data published by TheCityUK showed that accountants and management consultants are leading the pack and have contributed a 4.7% increase in jobs, elevating employment in these sectors to 260,500 people. The Big Four auditors, which include PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG have all hired thousands of new employees as they prepare to take on the worlds of cybersecurity and regulatory consulting. Fund management firms also demonstrated a substantial 4.3% to 31,2000 new jobs.
Chief executive of TheCityUK, Chris Cummings said: “London is the leading international financial centre and the industry is a major contributor to the national economy – attracting more foreign direct investment and contributing more tax (£66bn in 2013/2014) than any other industry in the UK.”
Cummings added: “A strong financial and related professional services industry and a strong economy go hand-in-hand and we urge policymakers to create a supportive environment to ensure London and the UK remains a competitive and attractive place from which and within which to do business.”
There is still work to be done
Despite this impressive job growth and outstanding optimism in financial employment, there are still areas for concern that were brought to light through TheCityUK’s research. For example, 40% of those businesses involved expressed worries about an impending market weakness, while a third felt uneasy on account of the current Eurozone uncertainty. One in four admitted that the potential rise in interest rates is influencing their recruitment process, while 16% said that the existing EU flux was impacting their employment decisions.