The London economy is highly centred around financial services, and with Brexit’s deadline quickly approaching, it is expected that the sector will be impacted severely.
Nevertheless, the city has been successfully pivoting to become a leading global hub for technology, and the digital sector is now the fastest growing of all industries.
Therefore, when we look at specific categories, in 2018 IT roles remained the dominant area of professional hiring, constituting 37% of all advertised positions, representing an increase of 25% compared to 2017.
– In Birmingham, within Financial Services, post HSBC’s move, activity has slowed down as one off hiring there has subsided, with volumes down by 35% compared to 2018.
– In Nottingham, by professional area, the biggest story is the increase in vacancies for Procurement / Supply Chain, where volumes grew up by 35%. Specifically the largest point of growth has been for people handling inventory, and stock levels.
– In Leicester, there was significant vacancy growth within TMT with an increase in hiring activity of 30%.
– Manchester, as the largest city in the region has seen the greatest growth over the last 12 months.
– Leeds is within the top five cities in the UK for year-on-year employment growth, where the impact of ‘Northern Powerhouse’ initiatives are seen to have been a key aspect in facilitating this.
– Hiring activity in Newcastle is muted by comparison, up only 3%. Why is this the case?
– Manchester, as the largest city in the region has seen the greatest growth over the last 12 months.
– Leeds is within the top five cities in the UK for year-on-year employment growth, where the impact of ‘Northern Powerhouse’ initiatives are seen to have been a key aspect in facilitating this.
– Hiring activity in Newcastle is muted by comparison, up only 3%. Why is this the case?
Other key trends emerging include:
– Hiring in Banking for front and middle office roles is now in decline, arguably as a result of Brexit, although fintech does have a role to play in this.
– With the Technology sector growing 2.6 times faster than the rest of the economy, it is not surprising that TMT is now the largest industry in terms of professional vacancies.
– The charity sector is also one of the fastest growing in the UK. A sign of increased professionalization within the sector or a function of a greater need due to austerity?
