AI and tech skills drive 12% rise in finance job vacancies in 2025

Software roles outpace traditional banking jobs

UK financial sector job vacancies rose 12% in 2025, driven by strong demand for AI, software, regulatory and data skills, according to Morgan McKinley’s London Employment Monitor. The data highlights the growing impact of AI and automation on entry-level hiring.

In a welcome deviation from the persistent “AI spells doom for jobs” narrative, recruitment firm Morgan McKinley has said in the UK’s financial sector, demand for workers in AI, regulation, data reporting and other specialist skills increased job vacancies in Britain's financial sector by 12% in 2025,

The data comes from Morgan McKinley's London Employment Monitor, a quarterly survey of financial services vacancies.

Much has been made of the slowdown in job vacancies towards the end of last year, as a combination of volatility in global markets, the increase in employers NI contributions and wild media speculation in the run up to Novembers budget encouraged HR teams to hold back on hiring activity.

However, software and computer services now account for over 16% of vacancies in finance, slightly above traditional roles such as investment management and banking which accounted for 15% of total vacancies each last year.

It wasn’t all good news for those seeking jobs in the financial sector, particularly if those jobs happen to be clerical or administrative in function. Vacancies for administrative roles fell 16%, and broking roles fell 20% over the year. The data suggests that AI and automation have reduced demand in these areas and is consistent with the pattern of reducing entry level jobs, particularly at graduate level.

Mark Astbury, Director at Morgan McKinley said that he expected robust hiring to persist into the first quarter of 2026, particularly as unemployment in the UK remains relatively low, and inflation is low at 3.2%. Analysts expect inflation to reduce to approximately 2.5% as 2026 progresses.