The professional services recruiter said slugglish hiring activity in the City is likely to be accompanied by a slowdown of the M&A merry-go-round.

In July, London's financial services job market recorded a 12 per cent month-on-month decline in available roles to 7,980, while the number of job seekers fell 14 per cent to 13,738, according to Morgan McKinley data.

The recruiter described the month-on-month drop in available jobs as “modest”, considering the gravity of June's referendum. 

“Hiring slowed as institutions found themselves in a post-Brexit limbo, but the impact of the referendum was not as aggressive as we expected,” said Hakan Enver, operations director at Morgan McKinley Financial Services.

The fall in job seekers was attributed to the environment of uncertainty, as well as the seasonal lull of the summer holidays. The firm signalled a possible dip in mergers and acquisitions activity as a result of the UK's decision to leave the European Union.

“M&A is an excellent barometer of confidence in markets and hiring trends in supporting areas”, said Enver. “When deals are placed on hold, in many instances, so is hiring,” said Enver.

Meanwhile, demand for in-house lawyers and regulatory professionals is expected to rise as banks need help navigating a shifting and murky regulatory landscape, according to Morgan McKinley.

Leo Bellometti, compliance consultant at Morgan McKinley, said: “Despite the economic and political landscape, we have seen an increase of hiring in specific areas within compliance: front office advisory, compliance monitoring and guideline/investment monitoring.”

In wealth and asset management, a London-based compliance professional at senior manager level earns on average a £101,000 ($131,000) salary, with a £26,000 bonus, according to the data. This compares to a £124,000 salary and a £35,000 bonus for their counterparts in investment banking.

Worth noting, candidates moving within compliance advisory can secure an average pay rise of between 15 per cent to 20 per cent, with some looking for increases of at least 30 per cent to move. 

Morgan McKinley drew the data from its own weekly records of new job vacancies and new candidates registering with the firm for employment.

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