City workers set for £7.5bn bonus

2005 was a good year for the City of London

Financial workers in the City of London are set to earn £7.5bn in bonuses this winter, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

The record figure is 16% up on the £6.4bn it estimated was paid last year.

The centre said that the average worker would receive £23,000, while some reports estimate that 3,000 people will get a windfall of £1m or more.

It said a 10% rise in stock market activity and 20% increase in mergers and acquisitions were responsible.

Plastic surgery

Previous research from the group found that around half of City bonuses end up in the higher end of the property market.

It said bonuses were also spent on cars, shopping and plastic surgery.

Liposuction is a popular treatment for male City workers

The CEBR said rising activity in the City meant that 9,500 new jobs were created, taking the total to 325,500.

This surpasses the previous employment record reached just before the dot.com crash in 2000.

It expects a further 6,300 City jobs to be created in 2006 as activity continues to increase, with a resultant boost to bonuses again next winter.