Financial services jobs are set to increase in the next three months at the fastest rate since records began, suggests a survey published today.

The good news for recruiters has come from the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest Financial Services Survey, which polled bankers, fund managers and traders from 99 companies.

The survey reports that 53% of companies in March expected employment to rise over the coming quarter, while only 5% predicted a fall. This balance of 48% was the most positive since 1989.

John Hitchins, UK banking leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: “The industry is now confident of an upturn in business volumes particularly from sales of savings and investment products.

“In fact, with the industry in a more bullish mood, companies are forecasting a significant expansion in jobs over the next three months.”