City jobs 'hit by downturn'

19/09/2008

Getting a job in the City is getting tougher - as lay-offs at banks continue.

According to Premier Group, the number of vacancies in the financial services sector fell by 34 per cent last month, compared with August 2007.

Average salaries also fell two per cent - with six in ten City workers also expecting their 2008 bonuses to be cut due to the credit crunch and general economic downturn.

The situation will have been made worse by the closures of HBOS, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch - which between them employed thousands of UK workers - over the past week.

Other large financial employers, including investment bank Morgan Stanley and insurer AIG, also remain in grave danger of going under.

Meanwhile, the recent City layoffs appear to have already had an effect on the upscale London rental sector.

Speaking to the Financial Times, estate agents Cluttons indicated that many tenants in areas popular with highly-paid bankers are ready to move out.

Richard Cotton, divisional head of residential agency at the firm, said: "I would expect to see more of this over the coming weeks, which is likely to result in a dip in rents in areas which are popular with city workers such as Docklands, Wapping and Belgravia.

"It is probable that forced sales will also increase in these key areas, as City workers are forced to sell up, whatever the cost."

Tags; Job loss, Recent Graduate Debt,

Regional Debt Advice; Debt Help London, Debt Advice Docklands, Debt Advice Stanley,

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