Hiring freeze? The City is still recruiting

A survey released this week suggests 30% more City financial services employers plan to hire staff in the last quarter of this year than plan to make cuts.

Manpower says the results of their survey indicate hiring is at its strongest for nine years. In the last quarter, only 17% more City employers planned to hire than those planning to make cuts, so what happened?

"The improved outlook in the finance and business sector has a lot to do with confidence in the City, after a dip in the equities market and the spike in oil prices," says Mark Cahill, Manpower's UK managing director, quoted in the Guardian. "Alongside increased merger and acquisitions activity, we're also seeing an upturn in bonuses. There are signs of wage inflation as firms fight to attract and hold on to quality staff."

However, recruiters may struggle to meet the demand for people for IT roles, as recent figures from employer's organisation the CBI showed a dramatic drop in the number of graduates with science or technology degrees.