Nearly half of financial services professionals in the UK are prepared to move abroad to work as a result of increased global competition, says a survey by Experis, a recently launched recruitment and consultancy brand and a part of Manpower Group.

The survey, which included just fewer than 200 respondents from the financial sector, found that a small majority believe that the country is facing fierce competition from abroad, and that a third believe that their sector is in danger of losing jobs to emerging economies such as China and India. London is the world's leading financial centre in many sectors.

“The awareness of job opportunities in other countries has increased in the past years because of social media,” Geoff Smith, managing director of Experis in the UK, told this publication. He said that he was surprised at the high proportion of city workers who are prepared to move overseas.

Smith was also surprised that the study found that the first priority of employees is to have a balance between work and life even at a time of severe economic difficulties. He thinks that UK companies can gain an edge by appreciating this and providing flexible working hours to their staff members.

Improvements in the city jobs market

The respondents in the survey were also fairly optimistic about the UK jobs market over the next six months, with more than half expecting the number of job opportunities to stay the same and one fifth thinking that it will increase.

Astbury Marsden, the UK-based recruitment firm, has said that the total number of new jobs in London's financial district fell by 8 per cent to roughly 54,000 during 2011. The deterioration of the jobs market was especially marked towards the end of the year. Despite continued difficulties so far in 2012, the firm has pointed to signs of improvements in jobs creation.