The Government's budget projection that it will need to issue about $300bn in bonds over the next four years promises rich rewards for the Big Four. But will this fixed-market frenzy filter through to the employment market?

There hasn’t been much commonwealth debt to trade in recent times. Sales by Canberra were worth only $5bn between 2003 and 2008, but are set to balloon to $79bn by June, with years of borrowing to follow as federal budget deficits replace the surpluses of previous years.

All this activity should create recruitment opportunities for traders and salespeople, according to Ian Gaston, managing director, Tardis Group.

“We have already seen one of the local Big Four banks hire a bond trader. And with this amount of issuance by the Government, a lot of banks will seriously look at the increased volumes and subsequently need to hire,” says Gaston.

Patrick Everest, a partner at Jon Michel Executive Search, adds: “With more government bonds being issued in this market, it is inevitable that this will lead to more bonds being traded and sold, so in theory banks could seek to increase their sales and trading teams.”

In anticipation of an increase, Everest says some banks have been discussing their fixed-income hiring requirements with recruiters. “It’s early days, but this is likely to have a positive impact on employment. To this end, initial conversations are taking place with both local and foreign firms.”

The overall extent of any headcount expansion is, however, uncertain. Some banks might try to juggle their existing employees, while others will need to grow their teams, says Everest.

He adds that the choice for banks that do hire externally is to either pay up for experienced fixed-income professionals, or recruit and develop others with related skills sets.