Job opportunities for experienced planners down
The latest Advantage Job Index has supported reports of a downward trend in the number of available financial services jobs, although there are more opportunities for graduates.
The Manpower Employment Outlook survey, released yesterday, revealed that while optimism among employers in the finance sector remained positive, hiring confidence was expected to drop by 8 per cent in the first quarter of 2011. The Advantage Index revealed a similar dampening of expectation for the new year, since consumer and business confidence was hit by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate rise in November and the subsequent bank rate increases in the weeks that followed. The rate rises compounded negative sentiment following the disappointing gross domestic product figures in September. The Advantage report noted that the first quarter of 2011 “may not be as strong as previously anticipated”.
The Advantage Index revealed that the banking and financial services was the only sector to record a fall in job opportunities in November. Job opportunities were down 2.3 per cent, which the report stated reflected a tightening in hiring as funding difficulties were cutting into profit margins. The sector, however, was up 21 per cent on November last year.
The outlook for graduates is rosier, with the report stating that while interest rate hikes may have tempered the demand for experienced staff, job opportunities for graduates in the banking and financial services sector jumped 38.8 per cent in November.
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