Private Equity Hiring Trends


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Private Equity Hiring Trends – Q4 2018

For 3 straight quarters, the 2018 JSD employment index has declined, down 2.58 percent in Q4. However, for the year, the index averaged quarterly gains of 0.35 percent, thanks to strong gains experienced in Q1.

According to PitchBook’s US PE Breakdown, “Robust deal making propelled US PE to the highest deal count and second-highest deal value on record. The industry closed more than 5,000 deals for the first time. The 5,050 deals worth a combined $803.5 billion represent lifts of 32.1% and 11.0% compared to 2017, respectively.”

On a positive note, job seekers in the private equity and venture capital arenas have little to fear from automation. Of all financial pursuits, these are the least likely to see inroads made by artificial intelligence (AI).

Instead, the challenge to the growth of private equity, is one of outpacing the gains of the public equity markets in order to retain the investments made by institutional investors.

Sixty percent of the job categories tracked by JSD saw index declines in Q4, 2018, led by Investment, whose index declined 8.52 percent. This is followed by declines in Accounting and Control and “Other”, whose indices declined by 2.63 and 1.96 percent, respectively.

Job categories enjoying a Q4 rise are Legal Compliance followed by Marketing and Investor Relations, whose indices gained 22.13 and 3.17 percent, respectively.

Q4 saw sharp JSD index declines in 3 of 5 groups, with Fund Operations taking the biggest hit, declining 20 percent from the previous quarter. This was followed by the Accountant / Jr./Sr. Accountant / Financial Reporting group whose index fell 17.68 percent. The Associate / Sr. Associate / PE Associate / VC Associate group took the smallest hit, with an index decline of 13.39 percent. Index gainers were led by the Jr/Sr Analyst /Analyst / Investment Analyst group and the Attorney/Counselor/Solicitor group whose indices rose 14.34 and 9.8 percent, respectively.

2018 Q4 was marked by job opportunity declines in 4 of 6 geographies. Closing 2018 on a positive note were New York and Asia, with index increases of 15.32 and 14.19 percent, respectively. California and U.S. Other suffered Q4 declines of 0.88 and 14.56 percent, respectively, essentially making North American gains in Q4 a zero sum game. Opportunities in Europe fell 3.32 percent in Q4 and 6.25

North America suffered a 1.84 percent index decline in Q4 and closed 2018 with an average quarterly index decline of 2.56 percent.

Hiring Trends World Map Placeholder
Hiring Trends World Map

Asia and “Other” geographic areas saw index gains of 16.97 and 0.54 percent, respectively. This was welcome news as both had suffered index losses in Q3. Australia/New Zealand marked its third consecutive quarter of index losses, down 21.69 percent in Q4, resulting in average quarterly declines of 5.52 percent through 2018. Europe, although suffering a 0.99 percent decline in Q4, managed an average quarterly gain of 4.35 percent for the year. Also in positive territory for the year, the United Kingdom managed an average index gain of 1.86 percent, despite the 3.93 percent index decline in Q4.

Hiring Trends US Map Placeholder
Hiring Trends US Map

California job opportunities declined 0.88 percent in Q4, ending 2018 on a sour note. For the year, California suffered an average quarterly decline of 6.45 percent. However, New York closed 2018 with a robust 15.32 percent increase in its JSD index, which placed New York ahead of California, although New York also experienced a modest average quarterly index decline of 0.18 percent.

 

 

PE Hiring Trends Archive:

Private Equity Hiring Trends 2018 Q3

Private Equity Hiring Trends 2017

Private Equity Hiring Trends 2016

Private Equity Hiring Trends 2015 Q4

Private Equity Hiring Trends 2015 Q3

Private Equity Hiring Trends 2015 Q1-Q2

Private Equity Hiring Trends 2011-2014