Job vacancies in the City of London are almost a quarter lower than at the same stage last year and it is taking much longer to fill posts as the banking crisis has sapped employers’ confidence. Financial Times

The average time taken by job applicants to secure a City post has increased to just more than 60 days, almost 11 days longer than a year ago, according to Morgan McKinley, the financial recruitment specialists.

City vacancies last month were 2% lower than in February and 23% down on March last year, it said.