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Brexit uncertainty makes London's financial jobs drop to seven year low

Photo: Reuters
Photo: Reuters

The uncertainty over how Brexit will play out is continuing to hurt London’s financial sector jobs.

According to Morgan McKinley’s Employment Monitor, looking at data from December, jobs in the City dropped to a seven year low. Month-on-month, there was a 52% decrease in jobs available as well as a 29% decline in professionals seeking jobs.

“London is still the main place in Europe to transact”, said Hakan Enver, managing director, Morgan McKinley UK. “But March of 2019 will define our economy for the next two generations, and there isn’t a person alive who can tell us what that’s going to look like.”

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Enver pointed out that in 2018 “we saw job numbers fall off a cliff.” Year-on-year, there was a 39% decrease in jobs available and a 29% decrease in professionals seeking jobs.

Source: Morgan McKinley
Source: Morgan McKinley

“We haven’t seen this few applicants to market in December since 2012. We’ve seen January get off to a sluggish start on this front, also. After over two years of navigating the impossible task of preparing for an unknown Brexit scenario, people are fatigued,” said Enver.

“There was a sense over the summer that the tables might be turning, as candidates demonstrated increased confidence in the jobs market. But the weight of Brexit proved too much to just shake off, given its immense implications for individual livelihoods and business viability,” he added.

The only upside for financial professionals is that there was a 15% uptick in salaries from November to December due to the constraint on supply and demand for roles.

“Whilst you could argue, a 15% increase in moving organisations is a modest increase, it is still short of the heights of the 27% we saw back in May of the same year. I suspect this will increase as we press ahead into 2019,” said Enver.

“With Brexit on the horizon, and candidates less eager to jump ship, fixed pay may creep back up in order for companies to attract and commit talented individuals into their businesses.”

Photo: Morgan McKinley
Photo: Morgan McKinley

READ MORE: The five main possible outcomes if the Brexit deal is rejected