Market correction

First, the bad news: State employment figures for New York show that securities industry employment is 20,000 jobs lighter than in September 2008. Even worse, an organization called the Independent Budget Office predicted (in a document published in May) that more than 32,000 more financial sector positions will disappear in the next two years. With less money to be made (for now), and with increased scrutiny and industry compliance controls on the horizon, it's probably safe to say that a significant number of those jobs won't be coming back when the recession recedes.

But, says CNNMoney.com, that doesn't mean that no one is hiring. While firms are understandably skittish about the future, they also don't want to find themselves unprepared when, suddenly, large deals need to be vetted and constructed in a year or two. Divisions other than the usual ones (investment banking, asset management, bond trading) are seeing some activity, and the article quotes one source who says some Wall Street names are "(hiring) freshly-minted MBAs in droves." If you've been separated from "the market," and can't bear the thought of leaving it for some other field, it's probably time to explore other sides of the business.

--Posted by Todd Obolsky, Vault Staff Writer