London finance job vacancies climbed 14% amid election jitters

[LONDON] Job vacancies in London's financial-services industry jumped 14 per cent in April, pushing up pay, as firms continued to hire despite uncertainty surrounding the UK elections, a survey showed.

Vacancies in the capital's financial district rose to 10,458 in April from 9,135 a month earlier, recruitment firm Morgan McKinley said in a statement on Monday. Those securing new jobs increased their salaries by 19 per cent on average, the survey found.

"Despite jitters within the financial sector about the possible negative effects of a hung parliament, the actual impact on hiring was negligible," Hakan Enver, operations director at Morgan McKinley Financial Services, said in the statement. "In the lead up to the elections, hiring was not affected as many had predicted," said Mr Enver.

The Conservative Party's unexpected parliamentary majority in the May 7 election allowed the City, as London's financial district is known, to evade tougher policies promised by the Labour Party opposition.

In the run up to the vote, HSBC Holdings Plc threatened to abandon the UK over increases to a levy on their balance sheets and stricter rules.

BLOOMBERG