French banks recorded a record number of hires last year for a nearly stable total workforce, synonymous with a “strong dynamic” of employment by profession but also a significant number of departures.
“We are recruiting massively at the bank, of all ages, for different types of positions, throughout France and at different levels of qualification (…) and experience”, summarized the general director of the French Banking Federation (FBF) Maya Atig.
Some 48,900 people (+21% in one year) were hired in 2022 by French banking establishments with indefinite and fixed-term contracts, according to data shared on Tuesday by the French Banking Association (AFB). These hirings, which represent one in seven employees in the banking sector, offset at least as many departures, since the total workforce in the profession continues to decline slowly, standing below the bar of 350,000 employees (-0.4% in one year to 349,100 employees, -8% in ten years).
Resignations on the rise
At the same time, the sector has continued its feminization with a globally stable number of women since 2012 but considerable feminization among managers. The AFB also registered a large number of resignations last year, 8,400, almost 60% more than the average of the previous eight years.
Banks are forced to change their contracting model. They increasingly resort to work-study (18,400 work-study students at the end of last December), create their own training courses (BNP Paribas has created its own school, the B-School) or hire without experience (“we won ‘ I’m not asking you to be a banker before you become a banker,” Société Générale sings on social media).
However, the profession has several advantages to highlight: the salary in the first place, “significantly higher than the rest of the economy and even the rest of the services” according to Ms. Atig, career opportunities everywhere in France, possible mobility through internal training… But the sector suffers from “two stubborn preconceived ideas”, pointed out in April the Banking Professions Observatory: boring professions and a declining sector.
Source: BFM TV
