Hiring patterns across the banking and financial services industry show some sectors are booming while others, such as financial advice, reveal a decrease in hiring activity in the second quarter of 2010, according to the latest Hiring Trends report from Profusion Group.
Job numbers in financial advice dropped around 25 per cent in the second quarter, although this may have been due to a natural correction after a spike in adviser recruitment in the previous quarter, according to Profusion Group director Ashton Bilbie.
“Employer confidence in the advice sector is still strong,” he said.
Insurance performed strongly – particularly life insurance, which was up 27 per cent on the back of aggressive distribution growth strategies of the major retail insurers, according to Bilbie.
New job numbers within asset management for the first six months of 2010 were down 16 per cent compared to the same period in 2009 as employer confidence dropped due to market volatility and an investor preference towards cash.
While high profile positions such as a managing director will need to be replaced following a resignation, if an analyst or product manager resigns businesses may decide to absorb the work among the rest of the team.
Investment banking was one of the areas most heavily affected by market instability in quarter two, with a fall of approximately 30 per cent in new roles compared to quarter one levels, the report found.
“It is part of the cyclical nature of the recruitment market to see a slight drop in recruitment numbers in quarter two against quarter one, but this significant fall of 30 per cent shows that the investment banks are beginning to tighten their belts again after a brief period of optimism post-[global financial crisis],” Bilbie said.
The business, corporate and institutional sectors performed strongly, with a 12.5 per cent increase in new roles on the first quarter of the year as domestic banks renewed their focus on growing their deposit bases and increasing service levels to customers, Bilbie said.
