City jobs dearth hits Harvey Nash

Strong demand for developers of software for smartphones and tablets could not stop the recruiter Harvey Nash posting a 7 per cent decline in pre-tax profit to £7.9m for the year to February. Revenues in the UK and Ireland rose 21 per cent to £210.4m, helped by London's buoyant tech industry, but not by the financial services and banking sector, which the company said remains "weak".

Albert Ellis, the chief executive, said that focusing on new digital and mobile areas had helped the firm because "there is an acute skills shortage". He added: "We have also continued to benefit from making market share gains."