Year in Review – UK Finance Labour Market Trends | January 2026
Finance Hiring Climbs 13% as Technology and Fintech Spur Growth
Key findings include:
- Finance vacancies rose 13% year-on-year in 2025, led by tech and compliance.
- Fintech hiring surged 29%, with standout gains in software and product roles.
- Accountancy vacancies climbed 15%, with executive management roles doubling.
- Greater London grew 17%, reinforcing its dominance in UK financial hiring.
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Resilience Returns to Financial Hiring Amid Economic Uncertainty
The UK’s finance sector outpaced expectations in 2025, posting a 13% rise in professional vacancies despite inflationary pressures and lingering macroeconomic volatility. Growth was underpinned by sustained investment in digital infrastructure, regulatory compliance, and risk management. Banking accounted for 61% of all financial vacancies, up 8% year-on-year, while fintech expanded 29%, consolidating its position as the sector’s most dynamic segment. Accountancy recorded a 15% gain. Greater London drove national growth, with a 17% increase lifting its share to 53%. Though parts of the country saw contraction, regional centres such as Scotland and Northern Ireland recorded double-digit gains, showing selective momentum.
Accountancy Hiring Reflects Strategic and Structural Shifts
Hiring in accountancy showed renewed strength, with overall vacancies up 15% year-on-year. Demand for core accountant roles rose 14%, while executive management more than doubled, reflecting a shift toward senior oversight in a volatile market. IT hiring accelerated 40%, now representing 15% of accountancy vacancies, driven by digitisation and automation initiatives. Conversely, consultancy and HR roles declined, as firms prioritised operational hires. Deloitte and KPMG led in volume growth, posting increases of 80% and 37% respectively. By contrast, PwC and BDO saw vacancies fall by over a third, highlighting divergent recruitment strategies across the top-tier firms.
Banking Grows, But Expansion Is Uneven Across Divisions
The banking sector continued to restructure in 2025, with hiring focused on digital delivery and core operational capacity. IT Management roles surged 42%, while Banking Operations grew 30%, reflecting continued emphasis on resilience and transformation. Development & Engineering climbed 24%, reinforcing the sector’s tech-first focus. Risk & Compliance dipped slightly, though it remained foundational. Commercial Banking declined 10%, indicating ongoing cost control in client-facing areas. Firm-level trends were mixed: JPMorgan, Barclays and Citi all recorded strong growth, while HSBC cut vacancies by 24%. The overall picture is one of selective investment shaped by digital strategy and organisational rebalancing.
Fintech Cemented as Growth Engine of Financial Services
Fintech hiring surged again in 2025, rising 29% year-on-year. Software engineering and product management roles rose by over 70%, while business development expanded 47%, highlighting a market still in aggressive scale-up mode. Firms like Radius, Ebury Partners and Monzo led the charge, with vacancy growth between 50% and 90%. Even established players such as Sage and Revolut added headcount, albeit at a more measured pace. Starling Bank was the outlier, recording a 24% decline. The broader pattern suggests a maturing ecosystem: fintech firms are evolving from disruption to infrastructure, building out operational capacity across payments, credit, compliance, and SME services.
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