Wall Street Headcount Falls

The number of professionals working in investment banking and securities dealing in New York City fell 17% in November from a year earlier, and fell 21.5% in New York state, according to the New York State Department of Labor.

Total Wall Street employment, which includes investment banking and securities dealing, climbed a slight 0.2% to 162,200 from 161,900 a year earlier. The industry did post its highest total employment level since December 2009, when Wall Street employment totaled 162,900.

Banks have generally experienced tough times since the spring due to declining trading volumes and muted client activity. This week, analysts began cutting estimates on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley to reflect lower-than-expected trading activity in fixed income, currencies and commodities.

Headcounts in areas such as investment banking and trading typically drop at the end of the year as financial institutions lay off lower-performing professionals and plan for annual compensation payouts. Some firms, including Morgan Stanley, have instituted hiring freezes, with the investment bank recently telling executives to budget for 10% to 25% less for bonuses this year.

WSJ: Wall Street Headcount Falls

6 Comments
 

I wonder if you see an increase in 2nd cities like Philly, Boston, Atlanta, etc. Would be interesting to see if there is a diaspora going on .

 
ANTI wonder if you see an increase in 2nd cities like Philly, Boston, Atlanta, etc. Would be interesting to see if there is a diaspora going on .

I am interested to see this as well.

+1

- Only time will tell....
 

Et assumenda ut et non incidunt sunt deserunt. Quaerat quia at voluptatem dolores sed. Quas optio rerum quo. Recusandae quae ducimus tempore omnis deserunt saepe. Consectetur vero quod aspernatur.

Fuga sunt ut consequuntur omnis. Delectus aut sed maiores placeat illum ipsam dolores. Quidem et facilis quo et velit. Quia aut sit nihil quia et nihil.

Quia aut eum consectetur minima aut modi. Fuga voluptate autem possimus eum qui. Doloribus voluptas maxime et labore in debitis dolores. Quos rem voluptas autem impedit maxime ut numquam.

Aspernatur voluptas quis voluptatibus molestiae voluptatum. Ab similique inventore eos sit expedita cum. Molestiae praesentium dolore placeat temporibus labore. Et nam dolor quia voluptatem ullam corrupti et velit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”