City of London to see 10 years of job growth

The UK’s capital is set to experience a decade of jobs growth, while an increase in investment sparks hiring from tech startups.

Hiring from finance and technology companies will soar over the next decade in a post-financial crisis boom, according to new research. Meanwhile, surging venture capital investment is expected to boost hiring at British tech startups.

Decade of jobs growth

A study from the City of London Corporation predicted that 145,000 new jobs will be created in central London over the next ten years, with 39,000 of those to be made in the Square Mile. However, these roles will trend towards being high value as lower-paid jobs are either automated or relocated to other parts of the UK.

Figures from the study show that the City of London now boasts just shy of 400,000 workers, which will steadily climb to 436,000 by 2025. Over the whole of central London, the report forecasts that the number of workers will rise to two million over the next decade, up from 1.88 million this year.

“International investment banks will retain their primary European operations in London, while retail banks will keep a London hub, and the insurance market will not move out of London,” said Colin Loth from recruitment firm Robert Walters.

"The next ten years will remain very lucrative for compliance and workers with a risk or legal focus. But we do see a lot of back office jobs being lost, as finance firms move to lower cost on-shoring, whether that is on the south coast, Manchester, Leeds or Birmingham.”

Soaring VC investment boosts jobs

Investment from venture capitalists in London’s tech startups hit record levels this year, according to figures from London & Partners, which should spark a surge in hiring this year.

In the first quarter of the year, London’s tech companies saw inflows of £459 million of venture capital (VC). That’s an increase of 66 per cent from the same time last year and easily surpassed the previous record. 

The record levels of investment should boost hiring at UK tech startups by a princely figure of 20,000 in 2015, with more than half of the jobs created in London, according to research.

Adzuna, the recruitment website, surveyed one million jobs ads from more than 1,000 tech startups and found that they are currently advertising for 12,000 positions across the country. That’s 80 per cent higher than levels seen at the same time last year, and 40 per cent of growth on six months ago.

Andrew Hunter, Adzuna co-founder, commented: "Startups in the UK are raising money like never before and this is leading to significant job creation around the country and, similarly to the Silicon Valley, UK tech companies are now able to stand toe to toe with the City competing for Britain’s top talent.”