What does the Finance and Insurance sector do?
The Finance and Insurance sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in financial transactions (transactions involving the creation, liquidation, or change in ownership of financial assets) and/or in facilitating financial transactions. Three principal types of activities are identified:
1. Raising funds by taking deposits and/or issuing securities and, in the process, incurring liabilities. Establishments engaged in this activity use raised funds to acquire financial assets by making loans and/or purchasing securities. Putting themselves at risk, they channel funds from lenders to borrowers and transform or repackage the funds with respect to maturity, scale, and risk. This activity is known as financial intermediation.
2. Pooling of risk by underwriting insurance and annuities. Establishments engaged in this activity collect fees, insurance premiums, or annuity considerations; build up reserves; invest those reserves; and make contractual payments. Fees are based on the expected incidence of the insured risk and the expected return on investment.
3. Providing specialized services facilitating or supporting financial intermediation, insurance, and employee benefit programs. In addition, monetary authorities charged with monetary control are included in this sector.
Careers in Business and Financial Occupations
Employment in business and financial operations occupations is projected to grow 5 percent from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations, adding about 476,200 new jobs. Globalization, a growing economy, and a complex tax and regulatory environment are expected to continue to lead to strong demand for accountants and auditors. In addition, increasing usage of data and market research in order to understand customers and product demand, and to evaluate marketing strategies, will lead to growing demand for market research analysts.
The median annual wage for business and financial occupations was $72,250 in May 2020, which was higher than the median annual wage for all occupations of $41,950. BLS provides summary data, including employment projections, for business and financial occupations not shown in the table on this page. That information is available on the Data for Occupations Not Covered in Detail page.
This content is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
