The number of confirmed job offers in financial services declined in May by more than 10%, according to city pre-employment screening company Powerchex.

The index shows overall offers in May have fallen by 3% compared to the same period in 2010. Following a drop last month, investment banking recovered, while both hedge funds and insurance firms saw offer numbers fall back by more than 10%.

Alexandra Kelly, managing director of HireRight EMEA and founder of Powerchex, says: “Last month we thought that offers may have been held back because of the holidays; these latest numbers mean we have to ask more searching questions.

“It could be that the impact of the action the government has taken to reduce the national debt is rolling through to financial institutions.