The City job market is always a ghost town in the summer, but Brexit has ensured that fewer people are on the hunt for a new role and that the UK is “haemorrhaging” talent from its financial sector.

There were over 4,000 fewer people chasing a new job in the City last month compared to 2016, according to recruiters Morgan McKinley, even if the job market is holding up during the summer. It says that there were 7,080 jobs available last month, which is flat on June but 900 fewer than the same point in 2016. Just 9,187 people applied for them – a 33% drop on last year.

“Normally the City clocks out for July, but with the industry being swept from under them, people are scrambling to make the most of the time left in the EU,” said Hakan Enver, operations director at Morgan McKinley Financial Services.

Enver believes that a large proportion of those seeking jobs during the summer are EU nationals trying to secure employment before the UK potentially ends the freedom of movement in March 2019. “EU nationals who want to stay in Britain have a shrinking window of opportunity to get a job and permanent residency, and many are seizing it,” he said.

Not all of them, by any means. “The City is still haemorrhaging talent because of Brexit, and we risk losing jobs, too,” said Enver. “Employers and employees used to talk about ‘if’ they had to leave London. Now they’re talking about ‘when’ they leave London.”