LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Demand for workers in AI, regulation, data reporting and other specialist skills drove vacancies in Britain’s financial sector up 12% in 2025, recruiting firm Morgan McKinley said on Monday, as companies sought to keep up in a technology arms race.<\/p>\n
The year-on-year increase happened despite a slowdown in the fourth quarter, as volatility in global markets and uncertainty about the government’s November budget prompted caution in hiring managers, Morgan McKinley’s London Employment Monitor, a quarterly survey of financial services vacancies, showed.<\/p>\n
Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n Software and computer services now account for over 16% of vacancies, above traditional roles such as investment management and banking which accounted for 15% of total vacancies each last year, Mark Astbury, director at Morgan McKinley, said.<\/p>\n Clerical and administrative positions fell 16%, and broking roles fell 20% over the year, as AI and automation of services reduced the demand for staff in these functions, the data showed.<\/p>\n The robust hiring should continue into the first quarter of this year, Astbury said, as unemployment remained relatively low at 5% and inflation stable at 3.2%.<\/p>\n Reporting by Lawrence White, Editing by William Maclean<\/p>\n Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n