Tough times for regulators as slump hits job market

Even the City cops are suffering from the recession.

Fresh research from headhunters shows that regulators and compliance experts - two professions thought likely to benefit in the wake of the banking crisis - are facing lower salaries and fewer job offers.

Corporate governance recruitment specialist Barclay Simpson says the employment prospects for internal audit, risk management, regulatory compliance and information security experts are getting worse.

The survey confounds expectations that regulation is one of the few growth industries in the face of the downturn. The government and the Financial Services Authority are promising tougher City rules to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis.

But Barclay Simpson says corporate governance vacancies have fallen by 65% in the last 12 months. At the same time there has been a 50% increase in the number of people seeking a new position either because they have been made redundant or fear the possibility.

Percentage salary increases via the recruitment market have declined to single figures as employers take advantage of the weakened bargaining position of job seekers.