Incidence of vacancies is low relative to total employment partly because the sector has a relatively small percentage of part-time and temporary workers, but also because productivity gains enable employers to increase output without corresponding increases in headcount.

Almost one fifth of all job openings across the UK are proving hard-to-fill.  Moreover, 12% of all vacancies cannot be filled due to skills shortages.

Demand for financial services workers is cyclical and the labour market cannot always keep up, but there is also a widespread perception that the talent pool is not growing nearly fast enough. This shortage increases competition among employers, many of whom prefer to poach staff rather than develop their own. The result is steep increases in earnings and incentive pay.

Sources: FSSC The Skills Bill: Analysis of Skills Needs in UK Financial Services 2007, Jobcentre Plus statistics 2007 and FSSC Employer Skills Survey 2006

For number of vacancies in the sector see:

Number and percentage of sector vacancies by month, 2007

Recruitment difficulties