Of the entire financial catastrophe that the collapse of Lehman Brothers inflicted on international markets, perhaps the most significant was that it came close to destroying confidence, and one reason the lethargic economy persists is that investors and employers alike still haven’t got it back.

Much of the continued strain, as measured in rates, fewer loans issued and in turn, less jobs, comes down to a lingering fear that another bank (or for that matter, a country) could collapse.

The main regulatory changes to safeguard against a repeat of Lehman’s collapse have been the Vickers Report and introduction of Basel 3.

In turn, the impact of all the aforementioned is cost cutting. Contraction in the market means that the financial services market is operating at a much smaller level. The general feeling is that this can’t continue and that we are nearing a point where the market has contracted as much as possible and so will begin to pick up again.

It goes without saying this is all linked with the wider global economic situation. The impact of the Eurozone crisis along with sluggish growth in both China and the US means that growth has been slow translating into banks

There has been a move away from complex ‘risky’ products to standard banking products generating less risk, therefore there is no need for large scale back office operations. However, support is required to comply with new regulatory requirements.

In terms of the impact of the current climate on job volumes, these have been undoubtedly reduced. However, from a finance perspective, this is not necessarily bad news for top ACA professionals with first time passes. Finance professionals who have positioned themselves well should be able to take advantage. I would encourage those who have been smart, haven’t fallen out of the profession or hopped around to keep an open mind and stay engaged. This will place these finance professionals in the strongest position when the current market situation uplifts.

banking operations, Basel 3, city jobs, economic crisis, economy, financial services jobs, investment banks, investors, Lehman Brothers, regulation, Vickers Report

Morgan McKinley has just released its latest Employment Monitor together with the results of its yearly Bonus Satisfaction Survey.

Whilst city hiring is steadily on the increase with 17% more available jobs on the market since the last reported statistics from April 12, the Euro debt crisis coupled with the current state of the UK economy means that the total number of job seekers is still down 58% on last year’s figures.

So why has the number of job seekers dropped 58% since last year?

Well, there are several contributors but the main ones are:

• The number of available jobs is still down by 25 % year-on-year, so there is significantly fewer roles on the market for candidates to interview for.
• The poor economic background naturally leads to a lesser inclination for professionals to start looking for new jobs; also the high numbers of job seekers in May 11 was prior to the London FS market redundancies. This suggests that there was more confidence in the market in May 11 compared to now (May 12) where the uncertainty could deter professionals from leaving their current roles.
• The bonus satisfaction survey released also lends support to the lack of job seekers to an extent. Of those surveyed the satisfaction toward remuneration is leveling out with 42% saying they were satisfied with their bonus. In the past, a high level of dissatisfaction with compensation could have correlated with an increase in job seeking numbers around May-June following the bonus payout.

To view the full results of Bonus Satisfaction Survey and the May London Employment Monitor please the main website.

Also don’t forget to watch the video below where Andy Evans comments on this month’s results.

city jobs, Financial Services, Financial services hiring, London Employment monitor, Morgan McKinley London employment Monitor

Financial services jobs decline by 8% in March 12 but rise overall from Q4 to Q1 12.

Key highlights from the March 2012 monitor include:

• Job vacancies across London’s financial services sector fell by 8% from February 12 to March 12
• Compared to the same month last year, this was a decline of 57%
• Job availability from Q4 11 to Q112 rose by 4%
• The number of professionals entering the job market in March 12 was 18% lower than February 12
• Continuing the pattern of decline in job seeker numbers, this was also 62% lower than March 11
• The time taken to place professionals into new jobs rose by 6 days in March 12 to 67 days
• The average salary for those securing new roles in March 12 was £50,330

Download the March 12 London Employment Monitor

city jobs, financial services london, finincial services UK, job numbers, London Employment monitor

London financial services job availability rises in February 12

Key highlights from the February 2012 employment monitor include:

• Morgan McKinley’s London Employment Monitor registered an 8% month-on-month increase in the number of available financial services roles new to the market in February 12

• Compared to February 11 however, this was a 47% drop in vacancies

• The number of professionals entering the financial services jobs market fell by 11% in February 12

• This represents a drop of 45% compared to the number of job seekers in the market in the same month last year

• The time taken to place professionals in new jobs was 61 days

• The average salary for those securing new jobs in February 12 was 13% higher month-on-month at £55,768

Click here to view the London Employment Monitor – Feb 12

city jobs, financial services jobs, London Jobs

Our latest London Employment Monitor & Bonus Expectations Survey – November 11 is now available with video commentary. Click below to watch COO Andrew Evans talk though the highlights.

Bonus Expectations Survey highlights:

• Morgan McKinley’s annual Bonus Expectations Survey in November 11 found that 67% expect to receive a bonus in the 2011/12 round (compared to 88% in last year’s survey)
• However, only 14% think their bonus will be higher than last year, while 32% expect it to be lower and 45% predict it will remain the same (compared to last year 48% expecting higher; 41% expecting the same and 7.5% lower )
• Overall 85% of respondents anticipate that bonus payments will be up to 30% of base salaries including 45% who predict their bonus will be no more than 10% of their base salary (compared to 73% last year who expected up to 30% of base salary as bonus).

London Employment Monitor highlights:

• Morgan McKinley’s London Employment Monitor in November 11 registered a 29% month-on-month drop in the number of available job opportunities for financial services professionals
• Compared to the same month last year, November 11 also recorded a drop of 42% in available roles across the sector
• The number of professionals entering the jobs market rose modestly by 3% month-on-month from October 11
• This figure was also an increase of 3% on the number of professionals interested in new roles in November 10
• The average salary for those starting new positions in November 11 dropped by 1%.

Accountancy jobs, banking bonuses, bonus expectations, city bonuses, city jobs, employment monitor, financial services jobs, hiring activity, London Jobs, Salaries