City hiring levels increased year-on-year for the first time since 2007, but the number of City jobs dipped marginally in November, according to the latest Morgan McKinley Employment Monitor.

The monitor reveals that financial services hiring levels decreased by 1% in the month, but compared to the same month last year the number of new job vacancies in the month rose by 15%.

It is the first time in two years that there has been an increase in job volumes compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

Jobseeker numbers rose by 7% on October, while the time taken to secure a new role rose by four days to 59 on the previous month.

The average salary also rose by 3% to £51,512 in November.

Andrew Evans, managing director of Morgan McKinley’s financial services division, says: “New vacancies were at their second highest level recorded this year, showing confidence in the financial services sector is filtering through to the jobs market.  

“This confidence is also impacting the flow of candidates, with four months of rises recorded. Those financial services professionals in employment may now be more prepared to make the move to develop their careers after sitting tight to ride out the storm. Having said that, we are unlikely to see a great deal of movement before bonuses are confirmed in Q1 2010.”