According to a survey conducted by recruitment firm Morgan McKinley, job openings in London’s financial services industry rose by 18% in August 2009 from the prior month’s figure. Although job openings were down 29% as compared to the year-ago period, this marked the biggest gain in finance job openings in 2009.
Meanwhile, a Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey (JOLTS) conducted by the US Labor Department indicated that job openings declined to their lowest level in nine years in July 2009. Memories of the global meltdown continued to haunt US businesses, which were reluctant to hire, despite signs of an improving economy. According to the JOLTS report, businesses and the government had advertised 2.4 million open positions on the last day in July, down from 2.5 million in June 2009.
Finance Job Openings: When do they arise?
The economic environment plays a key role in finance job openings. An economic slowdown adversely impacts spending, borrowing and investments, which curtails the finance sector. Finance candidates are in demand across all industries. Thus, a cyclical uptrend in an industry may boost finance jobs in that sector.
Company-related factors that impact finance job openings are:
- Geographical expansion
- Expansion (new markets, new products, diversification)
- Resignations
Finance Job Openings: Where to look for them?
For finance job openings, you can check the following places, irrespective of the industry where you want the job:
- Online job portals. Apart from general job sites, there are websites that specialize in finance jobs.
- Sites of business schools.
- Finance newspapers, like Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Financial Standard.
- Finance magazines, like The Economist, Entrepreneur and Forbes.
Finance Job Openings: What are the prospects?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), financial analysts are expected to enjoy 37% job growth through 2016. Meanwhile, financial managers and economists can expect job growth of 13% and 7%, respectively, over the same period.
According to Indeed.com, average annual earnings in finance jobs are:
- Financial Analysts: about $69,000
- Financial Managers: approximately $89,000
- Economists: around $84,000