City continues to be jobs magnet, despite Brexit uncertainty

The City continues to be a jobs magnet despite some financial services jobs being shifted to Europe, a report suggests.

The Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor registered a double-digit jump in financial sector vacancies last month.

The number of financial jobs in London grew by 17% in March, compared to February; and 13% year-on-year for a total of 8,145 new openings.

Vacancies in regulatory finance, financial technology and risk management are fuelling the growth, the report said.

Hakan Enver, operations director for Morgan McKinley Financial Services, said: "Businesses are done trying to read the tea leaves to see what lies ahead, and they're getting back to the business of hiring talent."

Many firms have already announced plans to move their offices out of the UK in preparation for its departure from the European Union.

But those plans do not appear to have caused higher unemployment in the City.

"As London continues to attract investors from across the globe, institutions are grappling with the need to maintain access to the common European market, as well as the wealth of investors and economic productivity in and around London," the report said.

"Instead of relocating to Europe, therefore, financial services are increasingly looking for the best of both worlds by keeping their foothold in London, and expanding operations in or to other European financial hubs."

But the number of jobseekers in the sector fell 9% month-on-month and by 25% compared to the same period last year to 9,695.

Mr Enver said March tends to be a quiet month for jobseekers, with the first quarter bonus season still wrapping up.

He predicted better figures in April.