The pressure is still on for planning jobs

IT APPEARS that employees within the Australian financial services industry can breathe easier after the release of the latest quarterly TMP Worldwide Job Index, though this assurance does not extend to the financial planning industry.

A result of a survey of more than 5800 employers nationally, the index shows that the overall finance industry reported an optimistic outlook, with almost 90 per cent of finance companies planning to hire or keep their workforce steady over the quarter.

With 11.2 per cent of expected job opportunities and only 3.5 per cent of job losses expected to occur within accounting and finance roles, the sector reports a positive net effect of 7.7 per cent, making it the most popular in the country.

According to TMP Australia chief executive, Anne Hatton, while the financial services industry came out on top, the financial planning industry may not be in the same boat.

Hatton says over the past three years financial planners have been in strong demand, with job vacancies hard to fill.

However, she says that situation has now changed, with the industry undergoing a period of consolidation and a reduction in the number of positions available.

“For quite a number of years there weren’t enough financial planning people around, but we don’t see the same demand levels right now,” Hatton says.

She believes the spate of mergers and the fact that banks and insurance companies are now marketing themselves as financial services providers is applying pressure to job numbers.

Hatton suggests that part of the drop in demand in financial planning jobs is a result of growing realisation that financial planning is no longer something that anyone can do.

This perception, according to Hatton, is both a result of the educational requirements set out by the Financial Services Reform Legislation (FSRA) and growing consumer awareness of a financial planner’s responsibilities.

According to Hatton, the pressure on jobs is also a result of businesses struggling to improve their bottom line in a reasonably flat economy.

Hatton says that, on the whole, the financial services industry will see some growth in the next quarter.

According to the TMP Job Index, only 10.1 per cent of employers in the financial services sector have plans to downsize, with 58.7 per cent intending to keep staff number sizes the same and 29.7 per cent expecting to hire over the quarter.

The resulting net effect of 19.5 per cent is 3.4 per cent down on the previous quarter, but is 7.8 per cent above the figure for the same period last year.