Financial Activities

About the Financial Activities supersector

The financial activities supersector is part of the service-providing industries supersector group.

The financial activities supersector consists of these sectors:

• Finance and Insurance: NAICS 52
• Real Estate and Rental and Leasing: NAICS 53

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in financial activities. While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry unemployment comes from a national survey of households. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry, job openings and labor turnover, union membership and representation, gross job gains and losses, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Openings, Hires, and Separations

Data series	Back data	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		7,734	7,737	(P) 7,735	(P) 7,742
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)		5,939	5,948	(P) 5,951	(P) 5,955
Unemployment
Unemployment rate		5.1%	5.6%	5.1%	5.3%
Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)
Job openings		243	238	(P) 280
Hires		203	213	(P) 201
Separations		168	171	(P) 190
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	2008	2009	2010	2011
Union membership and representation
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		1.8%	1.8%	2.0%	1.6%
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		2.3%	2.3%	2.5%	2.0%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment

Data series	Back data	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011
Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)
Gross job gains		317	346	370	359
Gross job losses		334	352	336	352

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates in financial activities, see the Employment and projected employment by major industry sector table.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. This section also contains information on recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$29.03	$29.07	(P) $29.20	(P) $29.33
Average weekly hours		37.2	37.2	(P) 37.2	(P) 37.2
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series	Back data	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$22.59	$22.64	(P) $22.72	(P) $22.77
Average weekly hours		36.6	36.8	(P) 36.7	(P) 36.7
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	Median weekly earnings
		2008	2009	2010	2011
Union membership and representation
Full-time workers		$814	$839	$849	$866
Members of unions		$782	$843	$806	$824
Represented by unions		$782	$831	$799	$822
Nonunion		$816	$839	$852	$866

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Employer Compensation Costs

Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012
12-month percent change
Total compensation		3.3%	2.5%	1.3%	1.6%
Wages and salaries		2.6%	1.6%	1.2%	2.1%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in financial activities. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series	2008	2009	2010	2011
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	108	109	113	(P) 96
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	1.5	1.5	1.3
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	0.7	0.6	0.6
Cases involving days away from work	0.5	0.4	0.4
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.2	0.2	0.2
Footnotes (P) Preliminary
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments and the number of establishments experiencing job gains or job losses in financial activities.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012
Number of establishments
Private industry		806,986	807,687	810,209	(P) 810,119
Local government		1,858	1,864	1,864	(P) 1,867
State government		112	112	112	(P) 113
Federal government		874	871	873	(P) 870
Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)
With job gains (seasonally adjusted)		134	141	139
With job losses (seasonally adjusted)		146	139	140
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

The Editor's Desk

See industry studies in the subject matter index of The Editor's Desk (Current Edition).

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: September 27, 2012