According to the latest Morgan McKinley London August Employment Monitor, there was a 20% decrease in available jobs and 6% decrease in professionals seeking jobs when compared to the same period last year.

The year-on-year decrease in available jobs and jobseekers mirrors the trend of decline during the first half of 2016 (H1).

“There’s no question that 2016 has been a tougher employment climate than 2015”, Hakan Enver, Operations Director, Morgan McKinley Financial Services, said. “And the ongoing uncertainty as we wait to see the terms of the UK’s negotiations with the EU is clearly casting a shadow over H2”.

 On a month-to-month basis, there was a 4% increase in available jobs with a 4% increase in the number of professionals seeking jobs.

“The generally sleepy month of August surprised everyone with its 4% month-on-month rise in both jobs available and job seekers,” Enver said. “Factoring in Brexit, summer breaks and the bank holiday, a 4% increase across the board (month to month) is remarkable.”

According to Morgan McKinley, two key negotiation items remain foremost on everyone’s minds. The first is the right of EU citizens to work in London. The second issue of concern is the retention of passporting rights.

“Failure to protect passporting and to secure the right of EU citizens to live and work in London would certainly have ripple effects on City employment,” Enver said. “Which is why we’ll continue to see industry and political leaders make both issues central parts of negotiations. And the stronger our economy, the stronger our negotiating position”.

Morgan McKinley also states that there is a Fintech “revolution” developing in Britain.

“This has been a tumultuous year so far for the technology market, in particular within Financial Services,” Cem Baris, Technology, Sales and Analytics Director at Morgan McKinley, said. “With so many factors coming into play there’s pressure on the Financial Services industry to revolutionise its outlook on how it interacts with its customers, keep up with the competition whilst dealing with intense strains to cut costs.”

The report also showed that during the month of August, the average salary increase for professionals moving from one position to another stayed at 16%, the same as the previous month.