Job vacancies in London’s financial services sector fell 39 per cent in the last year, according to data from professional services recruiter Morgan McKinley.
Businesses are stalling on committing to major projects due to uncertainty created by Brexit, the firm found in its London Employment Monitor for November 2018. Job supply in the financial sector was also down as the number of professionals seeking jobs fell by over a quarter compared to November 2017.
“Brexit has taken a considerable bite out of banking jobs,” said Hakan Enver, managing director at Morgan McKinley. It was “stunning” that the financial services industry, which contributed £119 billion (€132bn) a year to the UK economy, “barely gets a mention” in the 585-page UK-EU withdrawal agreement.
A number of London’s financial institutions have moved part of their operations and staff to cities such as Dublin, Paris and Frankfurt to preserve passporting rights and access to the single market following the UK’s scheduled departure from the EU.
Meanwhile, London professionals who changed jobs in November received an average salary increase of 21 per cent, the Employment Monitor showed.
“What is apparent is that the lower flow of individuals searching for new employment isn’t deterring institutions from offering a premium to secure their services,” said Mr Enver.
Separately, almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of 6,500 British professionals polled told Morgan McKinley that they favoured a second referendum on Brexit.
Asked how they would vote in such a referendum, 75 per cent said they would choose for the UK to remain in the EU. Just 3 per cent said they favoured the existing deal negotiated by prime minister Theresa May, while 22 per cent would opt to leave the EU.
