Professional recruitment within the financial services arena in England & Wales ended last year on a high, with over 100,000 jobs advertised across the different Banking related sectors, and IT professionals were in most demand. That’s according to new research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), the trade association for the recruitment sector.

The data, provided by business intelligence specialist Vacancysoft, revealed that IT professionals were the most sought after, with 33,542 jobs in 2022, up 15.8% year-on-year. The Banking profession ranked second, closing 2022 with 27,000 new roles constituting a 32.7% increase on 2021 levels. With huge investment in technology and digitalisation, it is perhaps unsurprising to see such demand for tech professionals. However, with widely publicised reports of mass layoffs planned in the banking remit, it remains to be seen what impact this will have on hiring levels within the financial services arena this quarter.

Elsewhere, the data reveals that out of the top firms operating within the financial services arena, Barclays topped the table last year, posting over 5,700 vacancies, a year-on-year rise of 147.8%. JPMorgan Chase was the next best performer, with more than 4,600 jobs – representing a 14.3% rise on 2021 figures.

Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo comments:

“Our latest data shows that hiring within the financial services sector was buoyant last year – and IT professionals dominated the recruitment landscape. However, with reports of banks planning layoffs to cut budgets, it remains to be seen what impact this will have on recruitment levels for the first quarter of 2023. With IT skills the most sought after in the sector, it is possible that hiring will remain somewhat buoyant despite layoffs as the need for tech experts is less likely to drop off on a significant scale in the sector. It will also be interesting to monitor how the staffing challenges of the financial services sector evolves in the coming year. As we’ve seen in previous downturns, cutting headcount too fast and too deep can have a detrimental impact on recruitment once the economy recovers.”