South Korean securities firms are tightening their belts by trimming the number of analysts, data showed Thursday, as the prolonged economic slump dented their earnings.

The total number of analysts at 58 local securities firms came to 1,385 as of Wednesday, down 4.81 percent from end-December 2012, according to the data compiled by the Korea Center for International Finance.

Of the brokerage houses tallied, 31 companies reduced the number of their analysts, while only 15 firms hired more.

Taurus Investment & Securities Co. has laid off 16 of its 24 analysts over the cited period, followed by Samsung Securities Co. and Woori Investment & Securities Co., which downsized 15 and eight positions, respectively.

Market watchers said the decline came as the prolonged economic slowdown weighed down on investor sentiment, which reduced the trading volume on the stock market, leading to a decline in the firms’ commission income.

Analysts are becoming the target of such belt-tightening moves as they receive relatively higher paychecks than other employees, while their work is not directly linked to generating profits, market watchers added.

As of Wednesday, Woori Investment & Securities held the largest number of analysts at 85, trailed by KDB Daewoo Securities Co. and Samsung Securities with 80 and 78, respectively. Hyundai Securities Co. held 67. (Yonhap News)