Fourth Quarter Employment By The Numbers

Credit unions added more than 10,000 employees nationwide over the course of 2016.

Credit unions give back to the communities they serve is in myriad ways. One way is by providing jobs. Based on fourth quater data from 5,847 credit unions representing 99.6% of industry assets, credit unions across the country employed more than 281,000people as of year-end 2016. That’s a 3.9% increase over one year ago.

Credit unions across the industry reported employee growth, and more than 90% of states have posted a positive net gain of credit union employees. This growth was mostly driven by credit unions gaining new full-time employees. In fact, the number of full-timeemployees grew by 5.7% over the course of 2016.

Click on the graph below to visit Peer-to-Peer Analytics by Callahan & Associates and compare your credit union’s performance against any peer group of your choosing.

Credit unions’ 3.9% employee growth is well above the 2.1% overall employment growth figure reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The overall financial services industry posted an average growth rate of 2.3%, yet that is weaker than the growthwithin the credit union sector.

But credit unions not only added employees, they also increased compensation and benefits. The average compensation and benefits per employee rose to $70,934 per year. This is a 3.2% increase over last year’s number and above the inflation rateof 2.1%.

Industrywide employee compensation grew by 7.2% year-over-year to reach $20.0 billion at fourth quarter. Although rising employee compensation contributes to increasing operating expenses, these employees are instrumental in increasing revenue. The industrygrew revenue 8.8% year-over-year. The dollar amount of revenue per each dollar of salary and benefits rose to $3.01, a three-year high.

One metric that has not changed much over time is the number of members per employee, which is 385 for the fourth quarter. The members per employee ratio has remained relatively flat over the past 10 years, with a low of 371 in second quarter 2008 anda high of 389 in first quarter 2012. Keeping track of members per employee is one way credit unions can ensure they maintain excellent member service.

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February 21, 2017

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