Financial services employers are divided on the outlook for recruitment in their sector in the coming year.

According to recruitment consultancy Morgan McKinley, 55% of financial services employers expect recruitment activity to stay the same or increase, while 45% expect it to decrease.

The report shows that in July the number of job vacancies in the City remained constant when compared with June but they represented a fall of 16% from July 2007.

However, despite the current recruitment climate, 34% of hiring managers still believe that it is difficult to find good candidates in the current climate.

Robert Thesiger, CEO of Morgan McKinley's parent company, Imprint, said: "A year on from the first reports of the credit crunch it is fair to say that considerable levels of uncertainty remain within the financial services industry and the recruitment market. Despite there being more available candidates than new jobs, which has been the case every month this year, skills shortages continue."