The average number of qualified City candidates for each new City job vacancy halved from 5.7 in March 2009 to 2.7 in March, according to research by financial services recruiter Astbury Marsden.

Mark Cameron, chief operating officer at Astbury Marsden, says: “These figures indicate we risk returning to the pre-credit crunch City employment market, with regular bidding wars and candidates juggling multiple job offers.

“The political storm cloud hanging over the financial services sector hasn’t lifted yet. The banks face a dilemma - show extreme restraint on pay and face staff defections or pay up and risk the wraith of politicians.”