Global crisis wipes out 325,000 financial sector jobs: ILO

24 February 2009

With an estimated over 20 million working in the financial sector worldwide, the industry has shed more than 325,000 jobs since the beginning of the global economic crisis, which started from August 2007 said the International Labour Organisation.

More than 100 senior representatives of governments, workers' and employers' organisations will meet in Geneva on 24-25 February to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on the more than 20 million people employed in the financial sector worldwide.

A new ILO report prepared for the meeting says jobs in financial services around the world have been strongly affected, with announced layoffs exceeding 325,000 between August 2007 and 12 February 2009.

With close to 40 per cent of the above losses, or 130,000 lost jobs, announced from October 2008 to 12 February 2009, the report also sees a rapid acceleration in financial services job cuts over recent months.

''These figures almost certainly understate the real situation in a sector which has been at the epicentre of the financial and economic crisis'', said Elizabeth Tinoco, Chief of the ILO's Sectoral Activities Branch. ''As the global economy sinks further into recession, and financial institutions' assets experience even greater impairment, the industry's job losses can be expected to rise even faster.''

The report defines the financial sector as comprising employees in the banking industry (retail banking and wholesale banking acting on national, regional or global financial markets); the insurance industry and re-insurance; and other financial intermediaries (e.g. hedge funds, mutual funds, wealth management firms, insurance agents and financial advisors, etc.).