The collapse of investment banking giants like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch has impacted the financial sector so much globally that hiring prospects in the sector looks bleak, though less so in India, say analysts.

"The current turmoil in the global financial market will render lots of people jobless. But the scenario looks a little better in India as this sector is highly regulated in the country," global management consultancy HayGroup's Practice Leader Mark Thompson said.

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There will be some negative effect of the global credit crunch but it would not be very significant, as the investment banking space in the country was tiny, besides it was mainly retail-focussed and the banks were pretty conservative about lending, Thompson added.

Meanwhile, staffing services firm Manpower India said, "Employers in India were already anticipating a steep fall in the finance and insurance sectors, as compared to the last quarter and the recession in the finance and insurance sector will continue till the year-end."

In the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2008 (October-December), the employers in finance and insurance sector were not so optimistic and reported a net employment outlook of only 33 per cent.

The outlook for the financial sector is 23 percentage points less than the previous quarter and 7 percentage points than last year.