Job losses? What job losses?

As job losses mount in the City of London, at least one group of employees - those working in fixed income - appear to believe they lead charmed lives.

Just 5% of fixed income staff said they did not feel secure in their job, in a survey by the headhunter Jared James. A total of 59% felt very secure and 36% reasonably secure.

The headhunter commented: 'This might seem a little surprising after recent lay-offs at the likes of Bear Sterns, Bank of America and CSFB. But the general sentiment seems to be that whatever downsizing was going to happen, has happened.'

Origination staff were the most confident of five groups surveyed, the others being credit research, sales, trading and syndication.

Just 14% overall believed that now was a good time to be moving job. The figure jumped to 30% for traders.

Jared James said this reflected the traditional reluctance to move just before bonus time, together with staff feeling contented where they were. It was unclear, however, whether the result was also a reflection of the scarcity of jobs to apply for.

Confidence among fixed income staff was underlined by 66% saying that they would demand a guarantee if they moved job in the next six months. The figure was highest for those working in origination, at 80%, and lowest for those in syndication, at 50%.

A total of 69% of fixed income staff believed they would still be in the same job this time next year, the survey of 200 respondents in London found. The other 31% thought they would either resign or be sacked, or be promoted.

Just over a third of staff felt they had been underpaid over the past year, while nearly two thirds felt their pay had been about right. And in a finding that will gladden the hearts of line managers everywhere, 2% felt they had been paid too much.

Nearly 80% of staff were 'optimistic about the fixed income markets' over the next 12 months, with the figure rising to 95% in syndication.