Banks slashed jobs in 2008 and 2009, started building back up in 2010 and 2011 and then virtually stopped hiring last year. The industry's total U.S. workforce of 2.1 million is still 105,000 less than it was at its peak in 2007. And some observers wonder if the turnaround in banking jobs that seemed imminent in 2010 and 2011 is now off the table.
Here's a look at the total employment at institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., compared with employment levels from the previous year.
2002: 2,017,645 (up 50,030)
2003: 2,045,975 (up 28,330)
2004: 2,097,165 (up 51,190)
2005: 2,150,741 (up 53,576)
2006: 2,206,656 (up 55,915)
2007: 2,215,029 (up 8,373)
2008: 2,151,758 (down 63,271)
2009: 2,062,950 (down 88,808)
2010: 2,088,579 (up 25,629)
2011: 2,108,565 (up 19,986)
2012: 2,110,101 (up 1,536)
