Job Security Dips in Financial IT Sector

Highlights

47% are IT workers in investment banking, asset management, and securities worried about their jobs

1 in 2 looking to move
Minimal pay rises seen in last salary review and bonus rounds

Research from eFinancialCareers.com ñ the online financial job marketplace ñ shows IT specialists in finance are increasingly worried about their jobs. This comes at a vulnerable time with global markets jittering and consumer confidence at its lowest point this year.

According to the findings, 47% of employees are worried about their job security: 30% fear that employers are pushing for more outsourcing and 17% believe their employers are considering cutbacks in IT spending.

Ian Brown, editor-in-chief of eFinancialCareers.com, says:

ìIT specialists in finance are right to be concerned as the court is still out whether the financial sector can build on the strong figures reported in the first half of the year. If the sector does need to pull in its horns in the second half, it is a safe bet that costs will be trimmed on the IT side before the trading floor. Outsourcing IT provides the most viable way for businesses to reduce IT overheads on the balance sheet. In addition, banks, hedge funds and asset managers have increased their graduate intakes, which could also be putting pressure on more senior employees.î

With many apparently worried about their jobs, it is not surprising that 1 in 2 - according to the poll - are keen to move jobs.

As for bonuses, according to the poll:

- 49% of IT specialists saw no increase in their last bonus
- 16% received 50% less than 2005
- 35% saw a 5% or more increase in their bonus.

Likewise, with regards to pay:

- 43% experienced a 0-5% increase, far lagging the minimum 20% basic pay increase generally seen in the financial services sectors at the last review.

Below is a salary chart of average earnings per technical sector:

Technical Sector
Average

Visual Basic
37,500

Java
42,692

C#
46,250

NET
48,000

C
48,889

J2EE
49,545

VBA
52,500

SQL
52,758

Oracle
54,583

SAP
76,667

Sybase
88,750

The eFinancialCareers.com poll was conducted via the internet over a 5 week period from May 1st 2006 to 2nd June 2006.

Of the 176 respondents - to the poll:
- 32.4% were Project Managers
- 26.1% were Developers
- 23.3% were Business Analysts
- 12.5% were System administrators