Morgan McKinley’s Quarterly London Employment Monitor reveals that financial services in the city remained resilient despite a “triple threat” from Covid-19, Brexit, and the US presidential election. The report reveals the fourth quarter ended with jobs in financial service seeing a small decrease of 2 per cent. It comes in stark contrast to the beginning of 2020 when overall numbers for the year plunged by 49 per cent compared to 2019.
The survey also showed a one per cent quarter-on-quarter increase in job seekers, while year-on-year figures decreased by 31 per cent, due to Covid-19. The average change in salary of those moving from one job to another increased by 14 per cent during Q4 2020. Managing Director at Morgan McKinley UK, Hakan Enver said, “Brexit on its own would have been hard enough”. However, London had to “deal with the disruption of the global pandemic and the potential upheaval of the change of leadership in the US.”
He added, “Q4 ended with jobs seeing a small decrease of 2% which continued to counter the massive drop of 60% in Q2. This shows real resilience and steadiness in stark contrast to the beginning of the year when overall numbers for 2020 fell dramatically compared to 2019.” Enver said that banks and financial service firms fared well by “adapting quickly” and responding to the needs of their staff and setting up remote working, which “ensured firms to maintain business as usual. Many employers are focusing on hiring when needed and feasible. We've seen growth in IT, marketing, and digital roles, whilst auditors outside the big 4 have also been in demand.”
However, there is a long way to go on the EU deal for financial services, he noted. “UK chancellor Rishi Sunak has granted the EU access to UK markets, despite a lack of reciprocation on Brussels' part. It is too soon to tell if any future agreement will help financial services but it does provide certainty and an opportunity to catch up on lost ground.”
