Securities firms have begun adding employees again, according to statistics from the Securities Industry Association and the Labor Dept.
For the first time in more than a year, the number of employees in the securities industry showed a monthly increase. June’s numbers were 800,600, a 1.1 percent increase over May’s 793,000. The industry hit its all time high in March 2001, with 841,000 employees.
The figures are from the newest edition of the SIA’s Research Reports, and, the association warns, subject to intense revision.
Nevertheless, an uptick suggests better times ahead for the industry–or at least smoother sailing than the last year, and the report makes a point of predicting net employment gains for the rest of 2003.
The statistics are derived from the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.