The ranks of the insurance sector continue to prosper, with new census figures showing that nearly 40,000 people have entered the financial services industry since 2001.

The latest data shows that 348,587 people work in the financial and insurance industries - up 12% since the 2001 census. About 177,000 of these employees are in insurance.

The overall sector is dominated by women, although the gap is closing fast. Since 1996, the number of males working in the financial and insurance industries has risen by 24%, and females by 12%.

Most of those working in the financial services industry are in clerical administration (158,229), followed by professionals (106,689) and managers (53,442).