The European Hiring Trends Report from Euro London examines recruitment activity across the UK, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland and aims to give regular updates on the state of employment across the continent. The main findings of this report seem to echo the recent conclusions of the EU commission which has reported that while the euro zone economy is still fragile, it's recovering at a faster pace than originally envisaged.

Against this backdrop, Euro London has seen increased hiring activity - both on a permanent and temporary basis - in all of the sectors within our recruitment practices, most notably within the banking and finance arena where hiring levels in some areas are back up to pre credit crunch levels. While candidates are more confident about job security, the recent austerity measures across Europe are leading to a degree of caution among jobseekers and consequently a disconnect between the availability of talent and the increasing level of hiring activity. However, lengthy hiring processes are still an issue and organisations that have not shortened their lead times post recession will find that they struggle to recruit their first choice candidate.

The report found a 30% upturn in banking and financial services vacancies requiring languages since the onset of the recession. There has been a strong demand in particular for equity sales, relationship management, compliance risk and regulatory reporting and M&A, with the main languages in demand being French and German but also Japanese, Russian, Dutch as well as Scandinavian languages, each required for different niche areas of banking. Social media was found to be driving an increase in roles within sales and marketing and as a result of increased business activity across a range of sectors, the number of office support vacancies has also risen.

The North-West has been experiencing a particular shortage of language talent, with jobseekers being more discerning and the Euro/Sterling exchange rate no longer attracting foreign nationals to seek employment in the UK. Additionally, employers are being very over specific about the skills and attributes that they require and have not significantly increased salaries since the downturn. The best candidates are able to secure multiple interviews very quickly and the last year has seen more job offers turned down than in the previous four years. Manufacturing and shared services are both boasting high levels of language recruitment in this area. It's not uncommon to recruit for bi- or trilingual positions and although Western European languages are most sought after, there has been an increase in demand for Eastern European, Scandinavian and Asian languages.

Recovery is slower in France although demand for linguists in iGaming is continuing to grow following recent relaxation of gambling laws there. Many organisations are now relocating to France to set up operations, which is having a positive impact on hiring trends.

The banking and finance sector is seeing some increase in hiring but not at the levels seen in other European financial services sectors - HR business partner and middle management positions are experiencing the most activity.

The report pointed to a general increase in hiring across all markets but a particular increase in banking and finance roles in financial centres such as Frankfurt. Germany is also seeing particular demand in the private equity and corporate finance sectors as the appetite for mergers and acquisitions activity returns. There is a need for more risk and compliance professionals and a high number of front office trading positions - especially ones focused in emerging markets. With bonuses being capped, base salaries are now increasing and some companies are even paying sign on bonuses.

The report also highlighted a noticeable upturn in temporary roles and a lot of inward investment activity within the SME sector, particularly in Düsseldorf and Munich where service sector businesses such as new media and e-commerce are being established. Increased hiring and demand for certain skill sets was also found in IT, with a need for ERP professionals with consultancy experience as well as SaaS specialists and Java developers who are willing to travel. Sales and marketing has seen more vacancies in business development, digital marketing and also in the luxury goods sector, which has been performing well despite the downturn.

The report highlighted an increase in business development and sales roles as interest in doing business in Switzerland rises due to the country’s strong economy and exemption from EU legislation. With the country’s high standard of living, there has also been continued demand for managerial professionals in retail and FMCG. As the greenest country in Europe, keen to attract energy specialists with international experience, there has been rapid growth in the energy sector, particularly around renewables.

Its quality of life and high labour specialisation has also led to Switzerland becoming a destination of choice for EU citizens with international experience to work. However it is not just big cities like Zurich which are attracting talent, but also less known cities like Schaffhausen, Zug and Winterthur where many multinational businesses are based.

With its high dependence on foreign and cross border workers, Luxembourg is facing a shortage of good quality people to work in financial services after a large number of temporary workers returned home during the economic crisis. There has been an increase in demand for regulatory reporting, compliance and risk professionals, driven by evolving EU legislation around liquidity levels. An increased demand for fund accounting specialists is also predicted, again due to EU Directives coming into force.

For a full copy of the report please visit http://www.eurolondon.com/content_static/aboutuspress.asp