The first month of the year has seen a 10-15% increase in the number of vacancies in Russia’s finance sector from December 2008, according to specialist recruitment company Antal Russia.

Principal consultant Irina Kalkina says that her firm is now re-filling the same mid-level positions that were cut at the end of the year when companies realised they had overexpanded during high growth periods.

 “In some cases, it became apparent that those remaining in the company were overloaded with duties and hence the need to find more people once more. Moreover, good credit controllers are in demand because companies need to hire good managers to deal with bad debts,” Kalkina said.

In terms of finance salaries, the highest salaries are being commanded by finance specialists in the pharmaceutical sector, Antal Russia reports.