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How interest in stockbroking jobs rocketed after The Wolf of Wall Street – especially in Essex
Lies, deceit and an industrial quantity of cocaine. Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street was supposed to document the very worst side of stockbrokers but new figures suggest it had the opposite effect on cinema goers
How to get young people into work? It's the question that has had politicians scratching their heads for decades. Now though we seem to have an answer and, boy, is it simple: show them a lot of money and drugs on the big screen and they'll be queuing up to get through those office doors before you can roll up a £50 note. Why has the Government never thought of this before?
New figures released today show that, following the UK cinema release of The Wolf of Wall Street, job searches for stockbroker positions rose nationwide by 44 per cent.
Martin Scorsese's Oscar-nominated film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as the corrupt, hard-partying Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort, appears to have galvanised a nation into seeking work in the City.
The survey, which was conducted by the country's leading job website, Indeed.com, showed that the highest increase in searches for stockbroker jobs was in Essex, where there was a 177 per cent rise. Kent was not far behind, boasting a 123 per cent increase, while searches in Lancashire soared by 107 per cent. The top 5 was completed by Birmingham and Manchester, where increases of 99 per cent and 91 per cent respectively were recorded.
The graph below shows a significant spike in searches for stockbroker roles in January, when the film was released in UK cinemas.
"As one of the most talked about films this year, it is really interesting to see the effects movies and popular culture have on the jobseeker," said Indeed.com's David Ruddick. "For many people the inspiration for their career choice was based on a TV or film character. In the case of The Wolf of Wall Street, it seems the proof is in the data."
The Wolf of Wall Street tells the true story of Jordan Belfort, the stockbroker who founded investment firm Stratton Oakmont. Belfort went on to make million of dollars throughout the Nineties and lived a hedonistic lifestyle in which drugs, fast cars and prostitutes were among the priorities.
Though the film was critically well-received, concerns were raised at the time about whether it glorified a group of stockbrokers who employed illegal means for personal financial gain.
DiCaprio dismissed these criticisms, however, saying: "I hope people understand we’re not condoning this behaviour, that we’re indicting it.
"[Jordan Belfort's] book was a cautionary tale and if you sit through the end of the film, you’ll realise what we’re saying about these people and this world, because it’s an intoxicating one."
Despite this, one critic wrote: "There’s nothing exotic or empathetic about a bunch of scheming, loathsome creeps given a whole movie in which to play (again) on our dime. There are no wages of sin on this ‘Street’ – in fact, it looks like sin pays pretty damned well." It appears a lot of people in Essex agree.
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