Recruitment activity in the financial services sector fell by around 10% in August, according to data from Powerchex.

The research indicates the first month-on-month decrease so far this year.

Powerchex managing director Alexandra Kelly says: “What we’ve seen over the last six to eight months is a strong, steady and consistently optimistic approach to recruitment from insurance and stockbrokerage firms. For example, insurers have increased their recruitment intake by an average of roughly 14% each month this year, and this has continued into August, even as overall recruitment activity fell by 10%.”