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Industries at a Glance
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Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities: NAICS 523

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About the Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities subsector

The securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities subsector is part of the finance and insurance sector.

Industries in the Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities subsector group establishments that are primarily engaged in one of the following: (1) underwriting securities issues and/or making markets for securities and commodities; (2) acting as agents (i.e., brokers) between buyers and sellers of securities and commodities; (3) providing securities and commodity exchange services; and (4) providing other services, such as managing portfolios of assets; providing investment advice; and trust, fiduciary, and custody services.

North American Industry Classification System

The securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage: NAICS 5231
  • Securities and Commodity Exchanges: NAICS 5232
  • Other Financial Investment Activities: NAICS 5239

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment

Data from the Current Employment Statistics survey includes data for NAICS 525

Data series Back
data		 Sep.
2020		 Oct.
2020		 Nov.
2020		 Dec.
2020

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

 974.4 976.3 (p)974.9 (p)977.0

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees

 730.8 733.3 (p)731.0  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: With the Employment Situation release on February 7, 2014, Funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles (CES Industry Code 55-525000) and Securities, commodity contracts, investments (CES Industry Code 55-523000) were combined into Securities, commodity contracts, investments, and funds and trusts (CES Industry Code 55-523000).

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2019

Brokerage clerks

 35,510

Financial analysts

 86,200

Financial managers

 40,700

Personal financial advisors

 151,810

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents

 180,160

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities.

(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 are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data from the Current Employment Statistics survey includes data for NAICS 525

Data series Back
data		 Aug.
2020		 Sep.
2020		 Oct.
2020		 Nov.
2020

Average hourly earnings

 $55.19 $54.99 $55.44 (p)$56.38

Average weekly hours

 38.9 37.4 37.5 (p)39.3

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: With the Employment Situation release on February 7, 2014, Funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles (CES Industry Code 55-525000) and Securities, commodity contracts, investments (CES Industry Code 55-523000) were combined into Securities, commodity contracts, investments, and funds and trusts (CES Industry Code 55-523000).

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data from the Current Employment Statistics survey includes data for NAICS 525

Data series Back
data		 Aug.
2020		 Sep.
2020		 Oct.
2020		 Nov.
2020

Average hourly earnings

 $42.95 $42.86 $43.64 (p)$44.67

Average weekly hours

 38.5 36.8 36.9 (p)38.7

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

NOTE: With the Employment Situation release on February 7, 2014, Funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles (CES Industry Code 55-525000) and Securities, commodity contracts, investments (CES Industry Code 55-523000) were combined into Securities, commodity contracts, investments, and funds and trusts (CES Industry Code 55-523000).

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2019
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Brokerage clerks

 25.66 26.97 53,370 56,100

Financial analysts

 47.45 60.00 98,690 124,810

Financial managers

 90.41 97.01 188,050 201,790

Personal financial advisors

 45.93 61.23 95,540 127,350

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents

 41.75 59.29 86,840 123,330

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

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 securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related 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 2016 2017 2018 2019

Fatalities

Number of fatalities

   5 4 5

Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.
Data series 2018

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

Total recordable cases

 0.2

Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer

 0.1

Cases involving days away from work

 (1)0.0

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

 (1)0.0

Footnotes
(1) Rate rounded to zero

Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction.

Data series Back
data		 Sep.
2020		 Oct.
2020		 Nov.
2020		 Dec.
2020

Producer price index

 (p)200.3 (p)202.6 (p)202.0 (p)203.9

Percent change from previous month

   (p)3.0% (p)1.1% (p)-0.3% (p)0.9%

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities.

Establishments

Data series Back
data		 3rd quarter
2019		 4th quarter
2019		 1st quarter
2020		 2nd quarter
2020

Number of establishments

Private industry

 115,340 116,232 (p)118,954 (p)122,151

Local government

 53 52 (p)48 (p)48

State government

 17 17 (p)17 (p)17

Federal government

 6 6 (p)6 (p)6

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

 

Data extracted on: January 15, 2021