Securities Firms Open Second Half Hiring, but Scale Significantly Reduced...

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Although the securities industry has entered the second half public recruitment season, the hiring opportunities have become even more limited. This is due to the reduction of face-to-face branches and the ongoing struggles in the stock market caused by global interest rate hikes and economic downturn concerns this year. Some securities firms are switching to rolling recruitment, which is expected to further intensify employment difficulties for university graduates.

According to the securities industry on the 20th, half of the top 10 securities firms by equity capital (Korea Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset, Samsung, NH, Kiwoom, Meritz, Daishin, KB, Hana, Shinhan) are conducting or planning new graduate recruitment in the second half of the year. The largest-scale public recruitment for new graduates in the second half is being conducted by Korea Investment & Securities. Korea Investment & Securities is accepting applications from the 1st to the 29th of this month and plans to select about 70 candidates after job competency evaluations and interviews. Kiwoom Securities, Kyobo Securities, and Samsung Securities are also conducting public recruitment for new graduates this month. These securities firms have announced recruitment numbers around 00, but the industry expects the scale to be around 20 to 30 people. Additionally, NH Investment & Securities and Shinhan Financial Investment are also known to be planning public recruitment for new graduates in the second half.

Meanwhile, Mirae Asset Securities, Meritz Securities, and Daishin Securities have switched to rolling recruitment. Instead of large-scale public recruitment, they plan to hire as needed by job function. A securities firm official stated, "The market situation is unstable, and since job changes are frequent, large-scale public recruitment does not help place talent in the right positions."

The narrowing hiring opportunities in the securities industry are closely related to the reduction of face-to-face branches and the unstable stock market situation. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the number of branches of the top 10 domestic securities firms by equity capital decreased from 575 in December 2019 to 518 in June 2022, a reduction of 57 branches, about 10%. In two and a half years, one out of every ten branches has closed. Furthermore, this year, the worsening stock market situation due to global interest rate hikes and economic downturn concerns has also affected the poor performance of securities firms, impacting recruitment.

A securities industry insider said, "Whether banks or securities firms, the trend is to gradually reduce the number of branches," adding, "Even the positions being hired are mostly IT personnel, and with the real estate PF sector, which used to generate profits when the stock market was bad, also facing difficulties, the scale of recruitment is not what it used to be."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.