The number of jobs for financial planners advertised across Australia suffered a 21 per cent fall in October, according to the latest eJobs Recruitment Specialists salary survey.
Advertised jobs for the industry dropped by 29.7 per cent nationally over the past 12 months. When comparing the September quarters of 2007 and 2008, job advertisements in financial planning decreased by 17.7 per cent.
The reduction in industry jobs advertised was less dramatic in NSW and the ACT for the 12 months ending October 31, 2008, with an 8.3 per cent fall.
For the three-month period to the end of October 2008, financial planning job ads were reduced by only 3 per cent.
However, eJobs said the figures presented are artificially high due to the nature of employment advertising agreements. These are usually negotiated for a one-year period and difficult to adjust, meaning advertisers now re-post the same jobs several times.
The ANZ job vacancies statistics recently reported job advertisements in the print media went from 20,000 per month, to 15,000 per month in the year to September 2008, and eJobs said the financial planning sector has been no different.
Jobs for financial planners were still the most plentiful even though they have declined. Junior roles, offering a salary of between $40,000 and $45,000 were the scarcest, although there were also fewer senior positions paying a salary of $120,000 and above.
However, in the higher range salary bracket there were still many jobs on offer, according to eJobs.
Quality is still a characteristic being sought, with eJobs suggesting that good advisers will always find a home.
