Banks: Contract Staff Surges 5.3% in Q2, 2019

• Banks: Contract Staff Surges 5.3% in Q2, 2019

The number of contract staff within the banking sector rose by 5.25 percent year-on-year to 46,268 in the second quarter of 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report released on Monday.

On a quarterly basis, contract staff grew by 0.06 percent from 46,235 recorded in the first quarter of 2019 to 46,263.

A critical look at the report shows while the number of contract staff continues to increase in the last five quarters, the junior permanent staff has been falling as the number declined by 1.40 percent year-on-year to 39,980, down from 40,549 recorded in the second quarter of 2018.

The total number of senior staff declined by 0.42 percent quarter-on-quarter to 17,943. Suggesting that banks are focusing more on cheap labour with minimum to zero package to cut operational costs and enhance profitability.

Accordingly, the total numer of executive staff within the banking system declined 7.77 percent quarter-on-quarter from 193 in the first quarter to 178 in the second quarter.

Year-on-year, the number dropped by 15.24 percent from 210 staff in the same quarter of 2018 to the current 178 executive staff.

Total staff in the banking sector declined by 0.62 percent from 105,017 in the first quarter to 104,364 in the second quarter. On a 12 months average, the number increased by 2.46 percent.