Jobs Report: US Insurance Industry Adds 7,300 Jobs in February
March 6, 2015 by Jeff Jeffrey, Washington Bureau manager: jeff.jeffrey@ambest.com
WASHINGTON – The U.S. insurance industry added 7,300 jobs in February, according to figures released March 6 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The seasonally adjusted 0.29% increase continued the strong growth the industry has seen over the past year. But it was down significantly from the job growth the industry saw the month before.
According to updated figures released by BLS, the industry added 11,000 jobs between December and January, which marked a 10-year high for the insurance sector. BLS had previously reported that the industry added 13,900 jobs in January (Best’s News Service, Feb. 6, 2015).
Industry employment, which currently stands at 2.5 million, has increased by 84,600 jobs since February 2014.
Nationally, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 295,000 in February and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.5%.
BLS said job gains occurred in food services and drinking places, professional and business services, construction, health care and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in mining was down over the month, the bureau said.
Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement that February marked the twelfth straight month in which the private sector added more than 2,000 jobs.
For the insurance industry, total payrolls are reported each month on a seasonally adjusted basis, along with the current month’s nonfarm payrolls. Separately, data by industry segment — broken out by various insurance carrier and noncarrier categories — are available only on an unadjusted basis for the prior month.
Between December and January, most industry sectors saw employment decrease. Employment declined in property/casualty (down 0.19% to 523,500 jobs); title insurance (down 0.53% to 75,700 jobs); reinsurance (down 0.4% to 24,900 jobs); agents/brokers (down 0.21% to 726,900 jobs); and claims adjusting (down 1.94% to 50,500 jobs).
Sectors that saw upticks in employment included life (up 0.83% to 354,000 jobs); health (up 0.08% to 508,100 jobs); and third-party administration of insurance funds (up 0.23% to 177,100 jobs).
On a year-to-year basis, all but three sectors saw an increase in employment. Decreases occurred in title insurance (0.13% from 75,800 jobs); reinsurance (down 3.49% from 25,800 jobs); and claims adjusting (down 5.78% from 53,600 jobs).
For the same period, employment increased in life (up 3.21% from 343,000 jobs); health (up 5.66% from 480,900 jobs); property/casualty (up 1.95% from 513,500 jobs); agents/brokers (up 4.74% from 694,000 jobs); and third-party administration of insurance funds (up 6.88% from 165,700 jobs).
In terms of wages, only claims adjusting and third-party administration of insurance funds saw a decrease in average weekly earnings since January 2014. Claims adjusting pay decreased 13.24% to $1,141.34. Average weekly earnings in third-party administration of insurance funds dipped 1.36% to $1,143.48.
Meanwhile, earnings increased in life/health (up 0.4% to $1,351.00); property/casualty (up 0.24% to $1,351.52); title insurance (up 22.87% to $1,379.98); reinsurance (up 10.26% to $2,352.17); and agents/brokers (up 1.63% to $1,106.80).