Finance job vacancies in London fall 54% year-on-year

Bloomberg

Job vacancies in London’s finance industry slumped 54% in the third quarter compared to 2019 as uncertainty around coronavirus, Brexit and bank profits discouraged hiring.
City firms were advertising 3,810 roles in the three months through September, according to data from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley. While this is a fraction of the opportunities available in previous years, the total has risen from 2,490 three months earlier, when the UK was under stricter lockdown measures.
“Businesses and job seekers are struggling with the impact of the pandemic and worried about what a second wave will mean,” said Hakan Enver, managing director at Morgan McKinley UK “But we also can’t forget about Brexit. There are concerns for the long-term recovery and the free flow of capital and equivalence for UK financial services that need to be clarified.”
The fall in vacancies comes amid growing job losses across the UK and a backdrop of global cuts in the banking industry, which is grappling with ultra-low interest rates and rapid technological change.
Companies are adapting to working through the pandemic and gaining an understanding of their recruitment needs compared to the start of lockdown, according to Enver, whose firm recruits across banking and finance, commerce, industry and professional services.
“Businesses have no plans to roll back remote working, with many firms even suggesting it on a permanent basis,” he said, with some making it “part of their compensation packages.”
Meawnhile, asking prices for UK homes climbed to a record in October as agents saw the highest number of sales ever agreed in a month amid a tax-cut fueled boom.
Advertised prices climbed 5.5% from a year earlier, the most in over four years, property website Rightmove said. Average values rise 1.1% from September to $420,000.
A reduction in a levy on home purchases designed to spur activity, as well as pent-up demand after Britain’s national lockdown earlier this year, have left agents with more sold properties than available ones for the first time ever, according to the report.
Sales are up 70% from same month a year ago, Rightmove said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson signaled even more support for the market, with a promise of more generous home loans for millions of first-time buyers.
Even so, concerns about the strength of the economic recovery, anticipated job losses and the end of the tax break in March are all weighing on the outlook. Rightmove expects annual price growth rate to peak at around 7% by December.
“Whilst activity levels continue to amaze there are some signs of momentum easing off from these unprecedented levels,” said Tim Bannister, the website’s director of property data.
Most businesses do not expect demand to return to pre-pandemic levels until at least next summer, according to a separate report published Monday. Deloitte’s quarterly survey of chief financial officers found 62% said it won’t happen until after the second quarter of 2021.
Employers plan to keep, on average, 82% of their furloughed staff after the wage support program winds down at the end of this month, the poll of 102 CFOs found.
Brexit could add to economic troubles, though, with participants reporting that they will decrease hiring and capital expenditure more prominently over the next year if no trade deal is reached.