Insurance industry tightens its belt as desirable neighbourhoods lose 11,000 workers

Data reflects wider changes in working patterns and labour demand

Insurance industry tightens its belt as desirable neighbourhoods lose 11,000 workers

Insurance News

By Josh Recamara

Some of London’s most sought-after boroughs, including Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, have seen a sharp drop in employed residents, with around 11,000 fewer workers on payrolls over the past two years, in part due to changes in the insurance industry, Bloomberg reported, citing official data.

Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster each recorded a 4% decline in payrolled employees, or over 6,000 people combined. When including Hammersmith & Fulham, Camden, the City of London, Islington and Richmond, the overall decrease reaches approximately 11,000. This contrasts with trends in most of London’s other boroughs and across the UK, where employee numbers have risen, the report said.

The data reflects wider changes in working patterns and labour demand. Remote work has allowed higher earners to relocate, while cost pressures and limited job growth in sectors like financial services and insurance are also contributing.

“In terms of the jobs market, there’s no doubt that the market has shrunk,” said Elliot Jackson, director at recruitment consultancy Robert Walters in London.

Seemanti Ghosh, principal research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies, said firms are cutting back on hiring, moving jobs out of London, and increasing automation in response to broader economic conditions.

At the same time, overseas employers, particularly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, are attracting UK-based workers. Tarun Tawakley, employment partner at law firm Lewis Silkin, has seen a “strong increase” in financial services staff accepting roles in the Gulf.

“They feel the balance of having lower, or no, taxes, and paying for these sorts of benefits” such as health care and schools “gives them a better quality of life,” he said.

Housing costs remain a factor. In Kensington and Chelsea, the median house price is £1.2 million, or 27 times the borough’s median full-time income. Rents have also risen sharply. Some workers have moved to areas such as the Cotswolds while keeping a smaller London base, according to Bloomberg.

These shifts are being reflected in the housing market. According to Hometrack, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster recorded the largest asking price discounts in the UK in 2023 and 2024. Properties in Kensington & Chelsea also took the longest to sell.

Jeremy Gee, of Beauchamp Estates, said international buyers are increasingly replacing domestic ones, contributing to what he described as a “globally influenced bubble” in central London housing.

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