US insurance employment surpasses 3 million

The US insurance industry added 3,300 jobs in August, showing slight improvement compared to the gains in July, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Since August 2023, the industry has added 40,600 jobs, bringing total employment in the sector to approximately 3.02 million, according to BLS data cited in an AM Best report.

In August, total nonfarm payrolls increased by 142,000, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%. Job growth was primarily driven by the construction and health care sectors, the BLS reported.

“Employment gains rebounded in August after a weak July, but remained lower than the pace seen earlier in the year,” said Stephen Cooper (pictured above), executive director and senior economist at the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI).

Cooper noted that the labor market has slowed significantly compared to earlier in the year, based on recent trends.

For the insurance industry, total payroll data is reported monthly on a seasonally adjusted basis alongside the current month’s nonfarm payrolls. In contrast, industry segment-specific data—covering various insurance carrier and noncarrier categories – is released unadjusted for the prior month. In this case, July’s detailed figures were used.

According to the BLS, five of the seven insurance industry job categories experienced growth in July.

Insurance agencies and brokerages recorded the largest increase, adding 6,300 positions in July. As of that month, insurance agencies and brokerages employed 997,900 individuals, based on preliminary BLS figures.

Despite this growth, the report noted that BLS revised its job benchmarks downward in August, reducing the overall number of jobs created by 358,000 in the professional and business services sector for the year ending in March. A BLS spokesperson stated that revised segment-specific data will not be available until February 2025.

Direct life, health, and medical insurance carriers added 2,100 jobs in July, bringing total employment in that segment to 924,600. Direct property/casualty carriers added 600 jobs, reaching a total of 596,400 employees.

Reinsurers also showed modest growth, adding around 100 positions, bringing total employment to 32,000 in July. Claims adjusters saw a rise in employment as well, increasing by 700 positions to reach 66,200 jobs.

On the downside, direct title insurance and other direct insurance services experienced the largest decline, cutting approximately 700 positions, bringing employment in that sector to 89,600 in July.

Pharmacy benefit management and other third-party administrators also saw a slight reduction, with 200 fewer jobs, resulting in a total of 222,100 positions as of June.

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