On a percentage basis, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (FIRE) recorded the largest increases of any division in both employment and total wages at 7.5 and 13.7 respectively. The gains were not distributed evenly throughout the division. Sixty-six percent of the FIRE jobs were in the Denver MSA.

Employment in Depository Institutions increased by 1,527 with the addition of 60 establishments. The growth was primarily in Commercial Banks, which saw employment increase by 1,024 to 18,687 and the number of establishments increase from 651 to 696. Savings Institutions continued their decline with the number of establishments declining from 198 in 1993, to 150 in 1997. Employment decreased from 2,496 to 1,571 during this period. The number of Credit Unions remained the same at 227 but employment increased by 152 to average 3,524 in 1997.

Non-Deposit Credit Institution employment increased by 1,443 to 13,229. Most of the growth occurred within Mortgage Bankers and Brokers, which added 726 jobs to average 7,048 in 1997.

The Security and Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges and Services sector experienced another extraordinary year with employment increasing by 11.3 percent to 10,017 and the average wage rising to $70,809. Security Brokers and Dealers establishments saw employment increase by 726 to 7,048. The Services Allied With the Exchange of Securities or Commodities sector's employment increased by 340 to 2,709 with the average wage increasing to $82,893.

The largest increase in employment in the Insurance Carriers sector was in Accident and Health Insurance and Medical Service Plans, which added 837 jobs to average 5,382 in 1997. The largest sector within Insurance Carriers is Fire, Marine, and Casualty Insurance. This sector added 591 jobs to average 9,994 in 1997, however, the number of establishments declined from 411 to 402. The largest percentage increase in employment occurred in Pension, Health, and Welfare Funds, which increased 32.6 percent to 1,367.

Covered employment in the Insurance Agents, Brokers, sector continued to increase with the addition of 1,129 jobs to 11,141 in 1997. The average wage decreased slightly to $34,409.

The largest increase within Real Estate was among Real Estate Agents and Managers, which accounted for 841 of the sectors 1,054 additional jobs. The only other sector to increase within Real Estate was Land Sub-dividers and Developers with an increase of 155 jobs to average 2,006 in 1997.