Jobs in the City of London rose nearly a fifth in 2014

The City of London employed 18 per cent more people in 2014 when compared with the previous year.

It appears that London’s job market is making a comeback as 33,063 new jobs were created in the City in 2014, as highlighted by a recent report from recruitment firm Astbury Marsden. The creation of over 33,000 jobs in 2014 was an 18 per cent increase when compared with the 27,915 new roles of 2013.

2014 saw positive hiring trend

The UK economic recovery has been gathering pace and the upbeat sentiment translates into firms and businesses looking to expand, creating the need for more jobs. London’s financial hub, the City, has seen healthier market conditions in the last year and has led to a positive hiring trend throughout the whole of 2014.

Indeed, in the final quarter of 2014, new job creation sharply rose by 22 per cent when compared with the same period in 2013, that’s 7,534 new roles this year versus 6,165 in last year. This came despite a seasonal drop off in the month of December, which saw a monthly decrease of 71 per cent in the number of new jobs created, however was not enough to break the trend.

“The City jobs market gathered strong momentum in 2014, with recruitment activity finally catching up with the recovery seen over the last few years in the wider UK jobs market,” said Adam Jackson, managing director at Astbury Marsden.

Firms able to plan future growth rather than simply survive

He also outlined how the improved market environment during 2014 helped firms in London’s City sector focus on the future, rather than simply surviving: “Better conditions in the City over the last year have enabled firms to spend more time thinking about modest growth.”

However, it’s still a far cry from the “aggressive hiring seen before the financial crisis”, he added.

The lull in hiring over the festive period is a usual seasonal occurrence, as City staff delay a job move until they have received their bonus for their work during 2014. But, despite the more upbeat performance, the payouts may not quite meet expectations and workers should temper their disappointment as “it’s not clear that the hiring market is buoyant enough to support a mass surge of people changing jobs as a result”.