The doom and gloom that is coming out of the crisis in the American housing market is going to reach further than a credit crunch. In the city, companies are set to shed some 6,500 jobs in 2008 as they look to cut costs. Because of the scarcity of cheap credit, it’s going to be acquisition companies, private equity, and hedge funds that will hand out the most P45s. Such companies have boomed in the last couple of years thanks to lower interest rates and subsequent cheap credit, but with market liquidity drying up job losses are inevitable.
However, it doesn’t seem quite as bad when you look at the figures with more scrutiny. A record high of some 349,100 jobs were registered in October this year, and some 11,000 new positions were created in 2007. With that in mind there’s also a 5% annual culling rate in the city anyhow, with people pursuing other careers, or sometimes not meeting the high targets set. It’s a highly competitive job market where things move very quickly indeed.
It’s also unlikely that there will be layoffs on the scale seen in previous periods of market volatility. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th 15,000 financial jobs were cut between 2001 and 2002. Subsequently in 2003 many banks and financial institutions found themselves with a shortfall of staff, both experienced skilled workers and graduate juniors. They will be trying hard to avoid such a scenario again. Additionally, the impact won’t be anywhere near as instant, with job cuts happening progressively.
Providing things don’t get any worse, and there is a chance that they will, then job market is likely to return to normal by 2009. However, of the biggest concerns is that young graduates could suffer most. Culling trainees is often a much easier option than parting with experienced employees with a specific skill set. With than in mind, the additional drop in new jobs means that the competition to get on a graduate scheme with a top company will be much fiercer than in the past few years.
For lists of jobs and a job search facility, head to Fish4Jobs.co.uk. There is plenty of recruitment opportunities in the financial sector posted daily and regularly updated. You may also be interested in registering with a website like Reed.co.uk, and being notified when jobs become available in your selected field.
