Some Scottish financial services workers have had a pay rise this year

As unlikely as it sounds in the current climate, there's still a skills shortage in certain areas of Scotland's financial services industry, which means pay rises for those willing to switch jobs.

Recruiters Joslin Rowe have been analysing job moves within the Scottish financial services market since March, and found that investment operations staff with corporate actions expertise are still very difficult to find.

Corporate actions analyst salaries have risen by 7% over the last six months, while team leaders in this space have seen their pay increase by an average of 5k - to 40k.

Sadly, the picture isn't quite as rosy for other areas of investment operations. Entry level hiring has ground to a halt, and firms aren't even recruiting temps at for junior roles.

And, unless you're willing to move to a new position, most financial services firms are freezing staff salaries.

Margaret Dyer, director of Joslin Rowe in Scotland, says: "Whilst there's an enormous amount of debate about remuneration in the financial services sector, moving jobs almost always carries a premium - especially if the skills required are in short supply and a prospective employee is working at a competitor."

These pay rises aren't on offer everywhere. According to the survey, those who fall into the 20-50k salary bracket been offered and average of 9.2% less when switching jobs since March 2009.