London Set to Account for More Than Half of UK Banking Jobs as Hiring Recovery Concentrates
- UK banking vacancies are forecast to rise 9% in 2026, but London is growing more than 18 times as fast as the rest of the UK.
- London is expected to account for 53% of all banking vacancies, up from 49% last year.
- Manchester is the standout regional growth hub, with banking vacancies forecast to rise 69%, while Glasgow and Belfast are set to decline.
- Hiring is becoming more concentrated among major banks, with JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Citi together accounting for 23% of UK banking vacancies.
London Takes a Bigger Share of Banking Jobs
Britain’s banking jobs recovery is becoming increasingly concentrated in London. Vacancies across the sector are forecast to rise 9% in 2026, but vacancies in the capital are forecast to rise 18%, compared with 1% across the rest of the UK, according to the latest Banking Market Trends Report from Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft.
Between January and August, London vacancies were already 17% higher than a year earlier, while the rest of the country was broadly flat. London is now forecast to account for 53% of all banking vacancies, up from 49% in 2025, showing how quickly hiring is becoming concentrated in the capital following last year’s broader recovery in banking recruitment.
Commercial Banking Seen As the Fastest-Growing Major Function
The mix of banking jobs is changing and so is the geography of hiring. Commercial banking is forecast to be the fastest-growing major function in 2026, with vacancies rising 31% after falling 9% last year.
Technology hiring remains positive, but the pace is easing: IT management vacancies are expected to rise 14%, while IT development and engineering will increase by 8%.
By contrast, banking operations are forecast to fall 1%, while risk and compliance is forecast to grow just 2%. Accountant vacancies are also weakening, down 6% overall, pointing to a sharper focus on revenue-generating, technology-led and commercially-oriented roles across the sector's hiring plans this year.
Manchester Surges While Former Regional Leaders Fall
Manchester is emerging as the clearest winner outside London. Banking vacancies in the city are forecast to jump 69% in 2026, lifting its share of UK hiring from 3% to 5%. The wider North-West is expected to grow by 32%.
That marks a striking reversal from last year, when Glasgow and Belfast were among the strongest regional performers. In 2026, Glasgow is forecast to fall by 8%, Belfast by 10% and Edinburgh by 2%.
The result is a more concentrated regional map, with London strengthening its dominance and Manchester emerging as the clearest secondary banking growth hub. Together, London and Manchester are forecast to account for 58% of UK banking vacancies in 2026.
Chris Lawton, UK Senior Managing Director at Morgan McKinley, commented: “The UK banking jobs market continues to show resilience, but the recovery is becoming more selective. The real story is not simply that vacancies are growing, but where that growth is happening and the skills employers are prioritising. London is strengthening its position at the centre of UK banking, while Manchester is emerging as a significant growth hub outside the capital. At the same time, demand is shifting towards commercial and technology-led roles, highlighting how employers are becoming more deliberate about where they invest.
“For employers, a growing market does not necessarily mean an easier hiring market. As demand becomes more concentrated around particular locations and capabilities, competition for the right talent is likely to remain strong. Understanding where demand is moving, investing ahead of it and staying close to the talent market will be increasingly important as banking enters its next phase of growth.”
Biggest Banks Take More of the Market
The employer rankings show the same concentration. JPMorgan Chase remains the largest recruiter, with vacancies forecast to rise 13%, while Barclays increases 24% and Citi 45%. Together, the three are expected to account for 23% of UK banking vacancies, up from 20% last year. BNY records the strongest proportional increase at 102%, with State Street up 40% and Santander up 36%.
Others are retreating: Lloyds Banking Group is down 16%, Visa is down by 31% and Nationwide has reduced by 39%.
The widening gap between expanding and contracting employers highlights how banking's 2026 growth is being driven by strategic reallocation rather than broad-based expansion across the sector.
Top Companies: Banking Sector, UK, 2024–2026 Est
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026* (Est) | YoY% 26*/25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase | 2,556 | 3,170 | 3,573 | 13% |
| Barclays | 1,717 | 2,443 | 3,017 | 24% |
| Citi | 740 | 1,168 | 1,697 | 45% |
| Lloyds Banking Group | 1,612 | 1,942 | 1,631 | -16% |
| BNY Mellon | 478 | 536 | 1,083 | 102% |
For more information, contact Sharmee Mavadia on smavadia@morganmckinley.co.uk or Anastasiia Bohush on anastasiia.bohush@vacancysoft.com.
The full report, produced by Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft, is available to download [here].
NOTES TO EDITORS
To download this report by Morgan Mckinley and Vacancysoft please click here.
- The data contained within the report is gathered solely and specifically from the career pages of company websites, not job boards.
- Before publication, job postings are deduplicated and verified as unique. Every vacancy is assigned up to 20 data points through Vacancysoft’s proprietary algorithm, which is double-checked for validity by a data quality control team.
About Morgan McKinley
Morgan McKinley is a global talent services expert, offering the full spectrum of solutions to meet employers’ and jobseekers’ needs. With 19 offices in 10 countries and nearly 1000 employees, it provides three distinct solutions for customers:
Morgan McKinley Recruitment Solutions, encompassing deep expertise across 10 professional disciplines offering temporary, contract and permanent recruitment; Morgan McKinley Executive Search for targeted C-Suite talent searches; and Morgan McKinley Talent Solutions including RPO, MSP, Project Recruitment and more.
Morgan McKinley is part of Org Group, a professional services firm focused on how work gets done through technology and talent.
About Vacancysoft
Vacancysoft is the UK's leading provider of labour market data and analytics. WeThey provide high-grade lead generation, client intelligence and market analysis solutions for Britain's top recruitment industry firms and others.
For more information, visit vacancysoft.com.
