Volatile activity in Financial Services recruitment, reports London pre-screening company Powerchex

Aug. 18, 2010 - PRLog -- There has been a solid increase in recruitment activity within the Financial Services Sector, a recent survey has found. The research was commissioned by city pre-employment screening firm, Powerchex, and showed improvements across a number of industry sectors.

Powerchex, which specialises in the Financial Services Sector, found that the total number of job offers jumped by 15% last month, demonstrating the confidence of Financial Services firms amid renewed concerns of a double-dip recession.

Job offers increased in a number of industry sectors, with Stockbrokerage Firms showing the biggest recruiters, up a massive 76% on the previous month, with Insurance Firms and Investment Managers also demonstrating solid gains, up 21% and 17% respectively.

On a less positive note, Hedge Funds made 25% fewer offers, with IT contractors working in the Financial Services finding 29% fewer opportunities compared to the previous month.

Powerchex Director Alexandra Kelly is an expert in recruitment trends, and gives her take on these July figures:

“Summer tends to be a quieter time of year, so with this in mind the recent 15% increase in recruitment activity is undoubtedly a good indication of the confidence levels of Financial Services companies. Certainly, if we compare the number of job offers in July to the corresponding month last year, we see that overall recruitment levels have improved considerably.”

“However, we are seeing considerable volatility in month-on-month recruitment activity, which indicates that the job market is still some way from settling down,” Kelly continues. “For example, recruitment figures for June showed a substantial increase in opportunities for IT contractors in the financial services, but slipped again in July. Similarly, Stockbrokerage firms made 12% fewer offers in June compared to May, but 76% more last month.”

“What is critically important is that recruitment professionals and compliance officers do not lose sight of the risks involved in bringing new people into an organisation. As the FSA tightens up its processes and firm supervision, pre-employment screening programmes need to be regularly reviewed and updated.”

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Powerchex is the UK’s premier pre-employment screening firm for financial institutions. Based in the City of London, Powerchex checks the background, employment history, criminal records and professional qualifications of applicants on behalf of financial institutions. It sets the industry benchmark of 5 days for a background check.

Powerchex is a HireRight Company.