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9 December 2011 | Angeline Albert

Performance-related bonuses are bumping up the earnings of buyers working in financial services, which pays purchasers more than other sectors.

The pay packets of procurement staff in the financial sector has risen by 5 per cent in the last year, while the wages of buyers in other industries has seen little change, according to figures from the job candidates database of supply chain recruitment firm Langley Search & Selection.

The number of vacancies in the financial services sector for procurement staff has leapt by 12 per cent in the past year. The company said a lack of qualified staff has pushed up basic salaries and led to bonuses returning for the first time since the credit crisis began.

The recruiter said annual payments of up to 40 per cent of basic salaries for mid-level staff are now common, and performance bonuses have also returned. It said mid-level vice-president procurement staff in financial services now command an average basic salary of £80,000 per year, up from more than £76,000 this time last year.

For the equivalent seniority purchasing staff across all sectors, the average wage in 2011 was £63,000. The annual salaries for procurement directors in financial services often exceeds £150,000 and department heads can sometimes receive bonuses of as much as 100 per cent of their basic pay.

Performance-related bonuses are offered not just to get the employees to hit targets such as cost-reduction, but also to retain their staff members, according to the recruiter.

Managing director Christina Langley, said in a statement: “The past six months of eurozone turbulence has added a fresh urgency to efforts to reduce costs and this is leading to a noticeable increase in new procurement jobs in this sector which is pushing up wages.”