According to TheCityUK’s London employment survey report, there was an estimated net increase of 3,400 professional services jobs in London in 2012, with the legal sector accounting for the biggest increase in headcount during the year with 2.5 per cent.

Financial services fall

The figures were released a day after US statistics showed the wider employment market in that country was growing at twice the rate of the legal sector.
In the UK, management consulting and accountancy saw combined growth of 0.3 per cent, while figures revealed total employment in professional services in London rose to 309,100 for the year.
The survey also revealed a drop in London’s financial services sector – a decline of 1,300 jobs in 2012 – leading to TheCityUK to forecast a marginal decline in London employment during 2013.

Law of choice

Chris Cummings, chief cxecutive of TheCityUK, commented: ‘It’s encouraging to see that employment in the professional services sector, and particularly legal services, has continued to increase in 2012. English law is becoming the law of choice for international business and companies come to London and the UK because they know they will find world class lawyers, mediators and arbitrators.