Payrolls in the U.S. insurance industry dropped for the sixth consecutive month in April, losing 4,000 jobs, nearly double the total jobs lost in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. April insurance industry payrolls were 2.275 million, down from a seasonally adjusted 2.279 million in March. The number of insurance jobs has contracted in 8 of the past 9 months. Year over year, insurance payrolls fell 1.5 percent from the 2.309 million jobs the industry reported in April 2008. The exception were payrolls for reinsurers and health insurers, which grew 6.2 percent and 3.5 percent respectively. Title insurers suffered the most losses, with total jobs plunging 21 percent from March 2008. Also suffering were life insurance jobs, down 0.4 percent; claims adjusters, down 4.3 percent; third-party administrators, down 5.2 percent; agents and brokers, down 2.1 percent, and property-casualty insurers, down 1.9 percent.
From the June 2009 issue of American Agent & Broker • Subscribe!
Industry IQ: Insurance payrolls shed 4,000 jobs in April
Payrolls in the U.S. insurance industry dropped for the sixth consecutive month in April, losing 4,000 jobs, nearly double the total jobs lost in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. April insurance industry payrolls were 2.275 million, down from a seasonally adjusted 2.279 million in March. The number of insurance jobs has contracted in 8 of the past 9 months. Year over year, insurance payrolls fell 1.5 percent from the 2.309 million jobs the industry reported in April 2008. The exception were payrolls for reinsurers and health insurers, which grew 6.2 percent and 3.5 percent respectively. Title insurers suffered the most losses, with total jobs plunging 21 percent from March 2008. Also suffering were life insurance jobs, down 0.4 percent; claims adjusters, down 4.3 percent; third-party administrators, down 5.2 percent; agents and brokers, down 2.1 percent, and property-casualty insurers, down 1.9 percent.
