Demand for financial services executives falls fastest in US
Demand for senior executives in financial services in North America has weakened sharply in the past year, while in Europe the decline is less marked, a survey by the search firm Korn/Ferry suggests.
In the first quarter of 2002, financial services accounted for just 10% of demand in all sectors in North America, down from 17% a year earlier, the Korn/Ferry International executive demand index shows. In Europe demand slipped from 23% to 21% for the same period.
The index is based on a quarterly survey of over 4,900 of the firm's clients. Demand for advanced technology executives also fell sharply in North America, while demand for executives in the not-for-profit and education sectors rose significantly.
James Boone, president of the Americas at Korn/Ferry, said: "In the private sector, while executive demand has steadily ebbed in the advanced technology and financial services categories, there are initial signals that the technology arena is retooling and that executive demand could increase by the third or fourth quarter."
