Economic Sectors - Financial Activities, Naics 52–53

The financial activities supersector comprises the banking, insurance, and real estate industries, including businesses that, according to Industry at a Glance, facilitate "transactions involving the creation, liquidation, or change in ownership of financial assets." The real estate sector includes businesses that manage properties for others, appraise real estate, and facilitate property buying, selling, and leasing.

According to the 2003 Service Annual Survey, employer firms engaged in securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investment activities earned an estimated $273.8 billion in 2003. Of this number, investment banking and securities dealing accounted for $86.4 billion, portfolio management totaled $82 billion, and investment advice firms earned $18.7 billion.

The financial activities supersector accounted for approximately 6% of all employment and 5.5% of all business establishments, according to the 2003 data from Industry at a Glance. According to the BLS, nonsupervisory workers in financial activities worked an average 35.5 hours per week in 2003 and earned an average $17.13 per hour. Unemployment among workers in this sector, at 3.5%, was lower than the national average of 6% for the year.