According to the Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor, almost three quarters (73%) of financial professionals working in the City of London received a bonus in 2008 but, of this, 53% said it was lower than last year's amount although 16% received larger bonuses than the previous year.
Job vacancies in the City are also increasing, with a 10% rise recorded in March this year, from February but there were still 57% fewer jobs advertised than in March 2008. And the number of financial professionals reported to be looking for a new job rose 9% between February and March this year but was still 26% lower than March 2008.
Andrew Evans, managing director of Morgan McKinley, said: "During the first quarter of 2009 there has been a slight improvement in City confidence in comparison to the end of last year. Similarly, many of the cost saving and efficiency initiatives being implemented by fiancial institutions over the past three months are nearing completion. Therefore employers are more accurately able to identify where there are skills gaps in their workforce and are starting to hire again to fulfill these requirements, albeit at reduced volumes compared with 12 months ago."
