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Wall St. workers face the worst job market in 25 years

Just a month ago, Sarah Gill barely had a moment to spare as an investment banker at SoundView Technology Group. Now she spends most mornings at Riverstone Farms, in Garrison, New York, practicing jumps on her five-year-old dark bay Hanoverian horse, Blink of an Eye.

The change in scenery couldn't be more dramatic for Gill, 29, who bought the horse in March 2001, flush with a bonus and upbeat about her future. That was a year before she lost her job. Now she's glad to have time to ride, though worried about her career prospects and the US$600 per month her prized possession -- nicknamed Joe -- costs to board and feed.

"I certainly wouldn't have bought something with four legs that eats if I knew what was going to happen," said Gill, who always dreamed of owning a horse. "If I don't find work by the end of the summer, I'm going to have to sell him. I'm passionate about him, but I'm not going to bleed myself dry."

Securities firms have cut 40,000 jobs in the past year, forcing many traders, bankers and analysts into unemployment in the worst Wall Street job market in 25 years. With few job prospects, some are struggling to stir up fresh leads, while others, lucky to have severance pay or low living expenses, are pursuing long-ignored dreams and passions.

"The music has completely stopped in some parts of the industry," said Larry Post, founder and CEO of Streetjobs.com, a Web site for trading, banking and other security firm positions. "Wall Street over-hires and over-fires. Right now, we're in over-fire mode."

Of the 40,000 lost jobs -- the most since Richard Nixon was president, according to the US Department of Labor -- 20,400 were in New York City.

Wall Street salaries range from US$80,000 for junior level bankers to US$8 million a year and beyond for managing directors, executive pay experts say. No matter what they make, many on Wall Street share one thing in common. They live in New York, where condominium prices average US$973,438, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc and residential broker Insignia Douglas Elliman.

Nils Nilsen was co-head of a group that helped raise financing for private equity firms at Credit Suisse First Boston until he lost his job along with 300 other investment bankers last month. For him, unemployment means the chance to spend time with his 9-year-old daughter.

"I get to drive my kid to school, then pick her up in the afternoon and take her to ice skating," said Nilsen. "It's a silly little thing, but I never had time to do that before."

Nilsen said he is confident he will land another position -- just not too soon. He aims to start a new job in September.

Meantime, he's planning a summer tour of Europe with his family.
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