LONDON, April 14 — London’s financial job market continued its post-pandemic growth spurt in the first quarter of 2022, showing resilience despite rising geopolitical tensions and soaring inflation.

Jobs available in the first quarter of the year increased 73 per cent compared with the same period of 2021, according to recruitment consultancy Morgan McKinley.

Its latest findings are in line with the rest of the UK, where unemployment has fallen to its joint lowest in almost 50 years.

"Once again, the City’s recruitment has shown stubborn resilience in the face of adversity,” said Hakan Enver, managing director at Morgan McKinley UK, pointing to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, strong financial markets, high job volumes and confidence coming from global firms.

Workers who moved positions in London’s financial industry enjoyed a 22 per cent salary change on average, indicative of the short supply of candidates available within the sector, according to Morgan McKinley.

But question marks remain around the supply of professionals to fill the rising number of vacancies in the City, Enver said, with competition still high after Brexit and Covid-19 restrictions stemmed the flow of European talent into London.

"Despite London’s ‘bubble’ continuing along its own path, the escalating global issues could still have an impact on hiring for the remainder of the year,” said Enver.

The data was in the agency’s Spring London Employment Monitor, which tracks hiring trends across the capital’s financial industry. — Reuters