London saw a 33% decrease in professionals seeking jobs as well as an 11% drop in jobs available in July, when compared to the previous year, according to the latest Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor.

Hakan Enver, Operations Director, Morgan McKinley Financial Services, commented on the year-on-year figures, “The city is still haemorrhaging talent because of Brexit, and we risk losing jobs, too.”

On a month-to-month basis, the number of jobs available saw a flat growth of 1% while the number professional jobseekers increased by 12%. Enver also commented on the month-to-month figures. “Normally the city clocks out for July, but with the industry being swept from under them, people are scrambling to make the most of the time left in the EU.”

The employment monitor added that the government announcement in July of a March 2019 end to freedom of movement for EU nationals coincided with a series of major financial services institutions announcing a reduction or relocation of their London positions. Combined, the two events made for uncharacteristically high jobs activity during a month traditionally marked by summer holidays.

“EU nationals who want to stay in Britain have a shrinking window of opportunity to get a job and permanent residency, and many are seizing it,” Enver said. The monitor cited the financial services sector as a concern due to recent announcements of a number of financial services institutions that have opted to relocate a portion of their staff and European hubs that would normally have gone to London but have moved to other locations within the EU.

“The language has changed. Employers and employees used to talk about ‘if’ they had to leave London. Now they’re talking about ‘when’ they leave London,” Enver said.