| Salaries stable in 2010 |
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| Salaries remained largely static in 2010 with some marginal pay increases of between 3-5 p.c. |
The Irish financial services sector faced severe challenges in 2009 while the market saw a slight improvement during the second half of 2009. Demand started to increase from October 2009 and has continued, picking up the pace particularly since February 2010. | | Andrea Clarkson |
As always ACA qualified professionals from the Big Four accountancy firms are in demand. With Irish banks focusing on internal controls and regulations - internal audit, compliance and regulatory accountants are much sought after, as they are in the UK.
Retail banking continues to face tough business conditions with hiring mainly focused on the need for credit and compliance professionals while corporate banking has started to see increased activity. This is due in part to some international institutions maximising opportunities from their stronger market positioning relative to domestic banks.
Salaries in 2010 remained static compared to 2009, however, some employers reported an expectation of marginal pay increases of between 3 – 5 per cent. To remain competitive most large employers are focused on managing human capital cost tightly.
In a recent telephone survey conducted by Premier in Q2 2010, senior level operational and HR managers across financial services were asked if they expected basic salary levels within their business to increase, decrease or stay the same. The majority (62.8 %) expected salary levels to stay the same over the next year, while 29.8 % of employers expected to see an increase in salaries of up to 10 %.
It seems that pressure and uncertainty on salaries is at an end with only a minority of employers surveyed now forecasting decreases in salaries. There are signs of improved market conditions with increasing demand for qualified, experienced, finance and financial services professionals. Interestingly, the greatest growth is in temporary and contract roles, although we expect demand in the permanent market to increase during Q3 2010 as market conditions continue to slowly improve. Reflecting that the current market is not salary driven, a major challenge facing companies in trying to attract candidates is to demonstrate strong future growth plans.
Generally the market continues to be challenged, however improved trading conditions and job growth is encouraging for the rest of 2010. |
Andrea Clarkson is a manager at Premier Group.
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