As the employment market flirts with recovery, look for entry-level positions in the financial services industry to show plenty of potential. This summer, new hires for these junior positions are expected to surge between 20 percent and 50 percent relative to the same period last year. Even if this is based on the depressed employment levels of 2009, it is nonetheless an impressive growth rate – and one that will put a considerable strain on corporate recruiters in the financial business.
This summer, look for the convergence of two powerful forces in the financial services industry. One, of course, is the need to hire aggressively. On the other side of the equation, though, is a market still bearing the weight of a 9.7 percent unemployment rate. Even though 162,000 jobs were created in March, it wasn’t enough to offset the effects of the financial crisis that struck in September 2008 … particularly the 400,000 positions shed in the financial services industry (including insurance) alone.
