QUARTERLY Employment in the FIRE industry grew by 832 employees since last quarter, up 0.6%. Sector activity was mixed. Real Estate (65) incurred the largest increase adding 855 workers. Seasonal staffing of managed properties for outdoor maintenance, grounds keeping and pool maintenance influenced quarterly increases. Security & Commodity (62) added 634 employees. Two large firms involved in the sale and brokerage of securities expanded adding almost 250. Expansion by a firm involved in management of investments added another 175 employees. A number of banking institutions increased employment over the quarter causing Banking (60) to gain 390. Credit Agencies (61) reported the largest quarterly decline losing 705 employees. Mortgage Bankers & Brokers suffered the bulk of the loss with many firms taking small staff cutbacks. Insurance Carriers (63) declined by 377 employees. More than half of the sector loss was attributed to cutbacks in agencies providing title insurance services. Layoffs in Accident & Health Insurance & Medical Service Plans subtracted another 114 from sector totals. Interest rate hikes in July may have influenced mortgage banking and title insurance declines. ANNUAL Annual growth in the FIRE industry slipped but remained positive at 2.5% adding 3301 employees. Almost one half of the industry’s increase occurred in Security & Commodity (62) up 1648 employees. Growth took place in businesses dealing with securities and those providing management of investments. The second largest sector gain occurred in Banking (60), which grew by 1089 employees. Yearlong staff expansions at state chartered commercial banks accounted for the addition of 886 employees. Insurance Carriers (63) reported a gain of 571, which is considerably lower than in past quarters. Layoffs in Accident & Health Insurance & Medical Service Plans and Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance affected the lower totals, however cutbacks in Title Insurance had a more substantial impact. Over the year Title Insurance still reported a gain, but layoffs this quarter have dropped the annual gain from 451 last quarter to 40 this quarter. Insurance Agents (64) fell by 531 employees with January SIC changes causing the drop. Credit Agencies (61) dropped 382 employees due to closures in 1999 of a couple of large establishments that provided personal credit.
Colorado Employment and Wages (ES202) Third Quarter 1999
