Dublin surges ahead, Edinburgh falls behind

A new survey by recruitment firm Joslin Rowe suggests that financial services hiring activity in Ireland is soaring, while growth in Scotland is more modest.

Recruitment in Dublin soared between April and May, with permanent hiring activity increasing by a massive 53% month on month.

"The financial services sector in Ireland is booming. One of the biggest areas is the funds area, and the fund administration area," says Helen O'Reilly, head of financial services at Dublin-based recruitment firm Sigmar Recruitment.

However growth in the Scottish market maybe slackening off. In Scotland, permanent hiring increased by a comparatively low 8% in May. But Scottish recruiters say hiring in the country is more active that ever.

"There's a lot of opportunity in Scotland, no doubt about it," says Debbie Halley of Scottish-based recruitment firm Darwin Rhodes. "There are lots of roles for fund managers, investment operations, fund administrators and a big growth in risk management. Traditionally we saw a lot of roles regarding operation risk, credit risk, and market risk is now becoming a bigger one. We see reputational risk management as the big growth area in the near future."

In April, eFinancialCareers reported that Morgan Stanley Fund Services, the fund administration arm of the US bank, was creating an additional 300 jobs in Glasgow, as well as opening a new office in Dublin.

The accounting industry in Scotland looks set for a boost, as The Scotsman reports that accountancy firm Henderson Loggie is preparing to expanding its business in the Capital by setting up a financial services division.

However, firms may have a struggle on their hands, as Halley says that in Edinburgh's candidate driven market it can be difficult to find accounting talent.

"Younger people who are recently qualified are more likely to want to move to the City of London."