Vacancies within UK financial services fell by 2.1% in May compared to the previous year, according to the latest Sector Trends report from APSCo, produced in conjunction with Vacancysoft.

The data also showed that during the three months to May 2017 vacancies within financial services were up 29.4%. Commercial banking was the lead area, accounting for more than insurance, investment and consumer finance combined.

Meanwhile, in the insurance sector, there was an increase of 10.9% in May compared to the same time last year. Vacancies for insurance professionals increased by 10% while Bankers saw demand decrease by 3.4% over this period.

London continues to be the financial capital of the UK with over half (54.9%) of all vacancies located here. The best growth was experienced by the West Midlands with a 29.7% increase due to increased hiring activity by HSBC.

“Despite a slight dip in demand for financial services vacancies over the year, in recent months, the sector experienced significant growth,” Ann Swain, chief executive, APSCo, said. “While there are isolated cases of financial institutions such as the Nationwide Building Society announcing fewer vacancies, impacting on the South West of England in particular, we are, on the whole, seeing a sustained and measurable increase in opportunities in the sector which is very encouraging news for the economy as a whole.”

Figures from the Office of National Statistics released yesterday showed that In the period from April to June 2017, there were 774,000 job vacancies, 29,000 more than for a year earlier.