The number of finance jobs in the UK rose by 16 per cent during March 2011, new figures show.

According to a new report from Powerchex, hiring rates improved over the month in stockbroker and investment management companies.

Meanwhile, the figures reveal an 82 per cent jump in the number of confirmed investment banking job offers made in March, compared with the previous month.

Commenting on the study, managing director and founder of the screening specialist Alexandra Kelly stated: "This is especially good news for jobseekers, not least because they have not had a huge amount to smile about over the past few months."

Individuals seeking IT jobs in the UK financial services sector may be interested to learn recruitment in the field was up by 23 per cent month-on-month in March.

The data follows the latest Office for National Statistics report for the total UK labor market, which showed that the overall employment rate increased to 70.7 per cent during the quarter to February 2011, rising by 143,000 during the three months.

Posted by Alex Donnell