This is why recruiters are very excited about 2010
Arguably, recruiters are an excitable profession anyway, but right now they're more excited than usual.
Signs of this excitement are everywhere. Morgan McKinley said there were 3,780 more jobs in the City last October than there were in October 2008. Manpower says the finance sector will lead the recovery in hiring. And SThree, having sliced off 30% of its employees in the year to November, is now hiring again.
To cap it all off, Robert Walters said this week that it won't be making a loss after all; it now expects to breakeven, or maybe make a small profit for 2009.
Ken Brotherston, chief executive of the GRS Group, shares the enthusiasm: "Banks are starting to properly rebuild areas which were cut and to push into new areas. Barring any major external shocks, 2010 is looking very exciting," he told us.
The head of another search firm says 2010 is looking stonking: "Our pipeline for 2010 is stronger than it's been for two years," he enthuses.
No one seems unduly concerned about the prospect that the bonus tax will deter any senior people from moving until at least June. In fact, there's a possibility that The Tax could make 2010 even more exciting than it would otherwise have been.
This is because it has the potential to further increase salaries. And as The Times pointed out yesterday, volume recruiters like Robert Walters tend to base their fees on fixed pay.
However, a director at one financial services recruiter says he's not very excited. Nor does he think higher salaries will drive up fees: "I wouldn't put it past banks to negotiate lower rates based on salary increases," he says quietly.
