Rise in job opportunities in Finance Sector

New data has shown that the number of financial sector vacancies rose at the start of this year.

The growth of the UK economy in the last two years has come as a huge relief to many people, even if the lack of pay increases, low returns on savings and the use of food banks are all indications not all is as it should be yet.

Nonetheless, improvements are occurring and the most obvious of these is in the labour market.

This week's employment data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown the proportion of those aged 16-64 in work has jumped from 72 per cent to 73.7 per cent in the year to the end of December, while the unemployment rate had plunged from 7.2 per cent to 5.7 per cent.

Such numbers represent a continuation of an improving labour market picture that has been getting better for a couple of years. The best news of all for those seeking jobs is that the number of vacancies has soared.

These vacancies numbered 718,000 in the three months from November 2014 to January 2015, up 22,000 from the previous quarter and 136,000 higher than the previous quarter. It was the highest tally since comparable records began in 2001.

People seeking roles in the financial and insurance sector are among those with reason for cheer. The latest ONS data shows that between November and January there were 35,000 vacancies in the sector, up on 34,000 a month ago and representing a continued high level of recruitment that has lasted since the March to May 2014 quarter. Since then, the quarterly vacancy tally has been 34,000 or 35,000 every month, significantly better than the 29-31,000 seen in the quarterly figures in late 2013 and early 2014.

These figures have rung true in the Accounting and Finance sector with new vacancies in January 2015 more than double that of January 2014. The sheer number of opportunities available should give plenty of reason to use a specialist recruitment consultancy to help advise on the right role for your career.