Despite the Fed recently lowering the US economic and employment forecasts, employment in the financial services industry is growing.  Over the past 60 days, financial organizations posted more than 100,000 new online job ads – a 24% increase from the same 60-day period in 2010.  In fact, job ads within this industry have been booming since the beginning of the year, now up 19% from January.

Hiring Demand in the Financial Services Industry over the Past 4 Years

Source: WANTED Analytics

 

The top employer in the financial services industry was Wells Fargo, placing more than 6,600 new online job ads, 370% more than the same time period last year. Other top employers include UnitedHealth Group, Citigroup, PNC, Chase, Fidelity Investments and Morgan Stanley – all of which placed more jobs this year than last.

The most demanded field in this sector was for Business and Financial Operations occupations such as Loan Officers, Management Analysts and Financial Analysts. The second most in-demand field, with 17,000 online job ads, were Management occupations like Financial Managers, Marketing Managers and Operations Managers.  This field saw a 20% increase from last year.  However, the greatest year over year growth came from Computer Programming-related jobs with a combined 54% increase.  Computer Programmers are some of the most demanded by employers and recruiting agencies across all industries in the US, so it isn’t surprising that financial services organizations are also sourcing for these skills.

Top 3 Occupations within the Financial Services Industry

Source: WANTED Analytics

 

Also not surprising is that the overwhelming majority of these jobs are located in the financial capital, New York City.  However, other metro areas seeing double-digit increases in online job ads are Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis,Atlanta and San Francisco.  Washington, DC and Philadelphia are the only metro areas in the top 10 list seeing decreases in volume.

Top Metropolitan Areas Hiring within the Financial  Services Industry

Source: WANTED Analytics

 

Depending on the position and location being recruited for, employers and recruiting agencies will see varying degrees of ease in sourcing candidates and filling these jobs. For example, Market Research Analysts will be moderately difficult to recruit for since they are highly in demand by employers and recruiting agencies in all industries.  According to the Hiring Scale™, New York has seen more demand for candidates with these skill sets and has just 4 potential candidates for every online job ad over this time period.  In comparison, the talent supply in Los Angeles is larger and recruiters are likely to fill these positions easier and faster than the national average.

Hiring Scales for Market Research Analysts in New York and Los Angeles

Source: WANTED Analytics

 

However, those organizations in New York looking to hire Financial Analysts, will have an easier time recruiting than the national average.  Although this position is in high demand currently, there is a very large talent pool in the NY metro area to source from.  In comparison, Boston will likely see a much more difficult time in recruiting since their pool of candidates is smaller.  Boston should look to New York to see if it is possible to recruit candidates from this area to fill any talent shortages they may be experiencing.

Hiring Scales for Financial Analysts in New York and Boston

Source: WANTED Analytics