One in six recent US job losses has been from the finance sector, however, industry leaders are urged to stay focused, according to global recruitment firm Challenger Gray & Christmas.

Employers in financial services have announced 111,201 job losses in the nine months to the end of September 2008. This compares to a total of 763,090 job cuts across the country.

The data also highlights that chief executive turnover has reached its highest nine-month record, totalling 1,132 departures to date.

It is likely the Australian finance sector will face a sustained period of job losses, Donington Group (Australian affiliate of Challenger Gray & Christmas) chief executive Geoff Officer said.

"The Australian finance sector takes its lead from the US, so we have every reason to believe there will be significant job losses here in the local market as well," he said.

The defining challenge for leaders of Australia's financial institutions is to guide their organisations through an unparalleled global financial crisis.

"This is not like the Keating recession we had to have in the early 1990s, or the crash of 1987 or even the severe bear markets of 1973/74, so senior executives will need to create their own roadmap to deal with this crisis as it unfolds," Officer said.

He said chief executives must stay focused on the present, keep staff in the fold, show humility, abstain from criticising solutions and inspire confidence.