Strong trend in new jobs in London despite election jitters

Nick Elvin

The capital’s job market experienced a strong April, with the number of vacancies and job seekers on the rise, the latest Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor shows.

According to the report, professionals seeking new roles increased by 59%, year-on-year, while job opportunities saw an increase of 17%. Month-on-month figures showed an increase in both professional opportunities (up 14%) and in professionals seeking to move (up 28%). The average salary change for those securing new positions went up to 19%.

“We’ve seen increases from every angle; month-on-month, year-on-year for both job opportunities and those seeking new roles,” said Hakan Enver, operations director for Morgan McKinley Financial Services.

“This is in line with what we predicted last month. With bonus rounds coming to a conclusion at the end of the first quarter, April is typically a month where we see people actively looking for new roles.”

The report also shows that despite jitters within the financial sector about the possible negative effects of a hung parliament, the actual impact on hiring was negligible.

“The data shows that in the lead up to the elections hiring was not affected as many had predicted. In actual fact, the data clearly shows the opposite,” said Enver, adding that a key theme during the elections – and particularly pertinent to the financial sector – is the UK’s future relationship with the European Union.

“As mentioned last month, most City professionals are against a UK exit from the European Union, whilst remaining supportive of Conservative policies. Now that the Conservatives have regained full control, they are committed to a referendum on the Brexit in 2017. As a result, the debate about the UK remaining as part of the EU will become a major subject of interest for the financial sector.”

As the number of jobs on offer continues to grow, there has been an increased focus on graduate hiring. Morgan McKinley also conducted a study of 157 hiring managers across the financial services, commerce and industry, and professional services sectors to discuss the effects that the financial crisis had on hiring and their views on the current challenges they face.

The study found that 53% of companies felt no impact on their graduate hiring as a result of the financial crisis, with 9% even increasing hiring. In the current market 50% of respondents said the financial crisis no longer had any impact on their graduate hiring.

“There has been much discussion around the negative impact of the financial crisis on graduate hiring, but our data doesn’t support this,” said Enver. “Exactly half said that it impacted their graduate hiring. If anything, it shows the UK finance sector as being resilient, even in the midst of a historical crisis.”