Wall Street Rebuilds Work Force

Jobs may not be returning to Main Street just yet, but employment numbers are rising on Wall Street. Since Washington recued banks and brokerage firms with its 2008 bailout—and following the steady rise in profits for members of the New York Stock Exchange since—financial companies have become one of the very first white-collar industries to amp up hiring. New York securities firms alone have added nearly 2,000 jobs since February 2010, a trend being seen at firms nationwide, too. Though still a relatively small number, headhunters are predicting an even further upturn in financial-sector job growth. “I think we’re seeing some hiring in anticipation of better times,” Rae Rosen, a regional economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, told The New York Times. “Wall Street typically hires in anticipation of the recovery, and there is a sense that the economy has bottomed out and is slowly improving.” What’s more, generous salary packages are on the rise as well. One executive said he has seen $1 million offers extended to a dozen candidates in recent weeks. May other fields of work be so lucky.