Jobs boost in August as employers shrug off Brexit jitters

Job vacancies in London's powerhouse financial sector brushed aside Brexit uncertainty to grow last month, a report has revealed.

Despite concerns surrounding the EU referendum result and a traditionally quiet period for hiring, the number of available jobs expanded 4% month on month in August, according to a study by Morgan McKinley.

The number of professionals looking for new positions also stepped up 4% month on month in August.

However, on an annual basis, the number of job vacancies tumbled by a fifth as the overall impact of the uncertainty following the Brexit vote took its toll on hiring.

The recruiter's London Employment Monitor - which focuses on banking, financial services and inner-city jobs - said the jump in August was partly caused by more people having time to look for jobs as they opted to holiday at home.

The move towards staycations was triggered by a spate of overseas terrorist attacks and the plunge in the value of the pound against the US dollar and the euro following Britain's vote to leave the EU.

Hakan Enver, operations director at Morgan McKinley Financial Services, said: "Factoring in Brexit, summer breaks and the bank holiday, a 4% increase across the board is remarkable."

"But the outlook isn't all rosy," he added.

"There's no question that 2016 has been a tougher employment climate than 2015 and the ongoing uncertainty as we wait to see the terms of the UK's negotiations with the EU is clearly casting a shadow over the second-half of 2016."