Hiring activity increases in finance sector

Online recruitment activity in the finance industry increased over the course of the last month, according to a new poll.

The Monster Employment Index has revealed that for the third consecutive month, there was a rise in the number of online vacancies in banking, finance and insurance.

However, the finance sector bucked the general trend of a fall in online job availability.

Hugo Sellert, the head of economic research at Monster Worldwide, stated that the overall drop in hiring activity is down to seasonality.

It is encouraging for potential jobseekers to see that demand in the financial sector remains relatively robust, despite continued turmoil in global credit markets and highly-publicised layoffs in banking, he remarked.

Despite these positive figures, predictions earlier in the year from the Centre for Economic and Business Research indicated that as many as 11,000 jobs could be shed from the City of London in 2008.

Though a downturn is likely, finance professionals have no need for alarm, according to ClickAJob chief executive Yngve Traberg.

The finance sector itself might be shedding jobs, but there continues to be an increasing skills shortage elsewhere, he points out.

Disciplined with figures and dextrous in numeracy, most finance professionals will find that their skills are highly transferable, he says. They fulfil a major management need, even into sectors far removed business transactions.

It's not just finance professionals either, he continues. Qualified career people in all sectors should be looking to their capabilities, updating themselves to be as marketable as possible.

An online assessment through ClickATest.co.uk is a good way to do this - and a useful parachute to have if the worst ever happens, he concludes.

The skills shortage is biting across all sectors - and even with recession looming, it's not going to go away.