A sustained slowdown in financial services hiring activity could have long-lasting repercussions on firms’ ability to attract talent, with employers set to experience similar difficulties to those noted after the 2010 financial crisis. That’s according to the latest insights from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies.

In newly published data, provided by Veritone Hire, APSCo revealed that financial services employers have reined in hiring activity, with permanent and contract vacancies declining by 30 per cent and 13 per cent respectively between September 2023 and September 2024. This trend is reflected in data from APSCo member, Morgan McKinley, which found that vacancies have dropped by a quarter year-on-year since July 2023.

However, APSCo has warned that a continued slowdown in permanent hiring, in particular, could have a significant impact on the organisation’s ability to attract skills in the future once the market does rebound. This is already being noted, with application numbers for permanent roles 49 per cent lower last month than in September 2023.

“However, this slowdown could have significant ramifications and potentially put future growth at risk. As we saw in the global financial recession in 2010, it took firms several years to rebuild workforces, with the sector losing so many professionals as a result of redundancies and hiring freezes. Many employers may face similar recruitment challenges when economic conditions improve in the coming months,” commented Ann Swain, Global CEO at APSCo.