A pickup in dealmaking and initial public offerings is fueling a red-hot job market on Wall Street. Big banks, having added staff strategically over the past year, are now seeking to hire even more as deal activity jumps, slowing potential layoffs. Despite a slowing U.S. jobs market and weaker economy, bankers are confident in the future, seeing appetite in corporate boardrooms, executive suites, and a booming stock market. Morgan Stanley recently hired senior bankers in healthcare, technology, and industrial sectors, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo expand to gain market share. JPMorgan Chase added over 100 managing directors to its global banking division, a record for the group. Even typical fall layoffs have been delayed, and some banks have held off cuts meant to weed out lower performers.
Summer’s surge in mergers and acquisitions, along with momentum in equity-capital markets, has bolstered confidence. Globally, M&A and equity-capital-markets deal volumes surged 40% from last year, marking the best year since 2021. Debt-capital-markets activity and corporate lending have also picked up. This is a sharp contrast to recent years, when low deal volume led to staff reductions, and the early spring, when Trump administration tariffs created market uncertainty.
Goldman Sachs, initially planning spring layoffs, shifted to hiring, focusing on middle-market specialists. Alan Johnson of Johnson Associates noted that banks are looking to increase headcount to take advantage of the upcoming boom. Senior bankers with deal-making connections are in especially high demand, with Wall Street poaching top talent from competitors and private equity firms. Sectors seeing the most hiring include power, industrials, consumer, and financial institutions, according to Leslie Gordon of Korn Ferry.
The IPO market is also the busiest in years, with Morgan Stanley seeking equity-capital-markets bankers, and Citigroup hiring executives from JPMorgan to lead its equity-capital-markets business. The Federal Reserve’s lower interest rates are likely to further stimulate dealmaking by making debt issuance and acquisitions more attractive. Executives, including Morgan Stanley Co-President Dan Simkowitz, report dramatically improved deal volumes compared to recent years. However, the long-term employment outlook on Wall Street remains uncertain, as banks invest in artificial intelligence to boost productivity, potentially reducing the need for junior and midlevel bankers in the future.
