Search firms despondent about prospects for financial services hiring.

The survey, undertaken by the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), revealed that 35% of search firms think the outlook for the rest of the year remains weak in financial services. A further 45% think the financial services outlook is 'weak but improving.'

About 17% of search firms polled thought the industry was stable, with the remaining 3% judging the sector either good, or very good.

Search firms were also gloomy about prospects for improvement in telecommunications and IT. The best conditions were anticipated in the biotech and not for profit sectors.