In a mixed month for insurance-industry employment, P&Ccarries added 1,100 jobs in May while agents and brokers shed jobsfor the sixth straight month, albeit at a slower rate.
|According to an Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)analysis of the latest U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of LaborStatistics (BLS) figures, P&C-carrier employment increased from521,800 in April to 522,900 in May. I.I.I. President Robert Hartwignotes that this subsector has typically added jobs in May (it fellin only 8 of the 24 Mays from 1990 through 2013).
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The gain of 1,100 jobs in May follows a loss of 1,400 jobsfor P&C carriers in April. Speaking to the employment trendsfor the subsector, Hartwig notes, “Considering recent consecutivemonths, it’s hard to tell what’s happening. From February 2011 toFebruary 2012, P&C employment fell by 19,400, down 3.6 percent.But from February 2012 to February 2013, P&C carrier employmentrose by 6,200, up 1.2 percent.”
Compared to May 2012, P&C-carrier employment is up by5,100.
|For agents and brokers, an employment slide that began inDecember 2012 continued in May, as the subsector shed 100 jobs. ButMay’s figure is the lowest amount of jobs lost since the slidebegan. Agents and brokers shed 600 jobs in April, 500 in March,1,000 in February, 300 in January and 1,200 in December.
|Hartwig says the dip in May is “somewhat atypical; in the 24Mays starting in 1990, for example, agent and broker employmentgrew 14 times, was flat 4 times, and fell 6 times.”
|He adds, “In a broader context, agent and broker employment,currently 661,300, had been generally rising from August 2010, whenit was 637,700, but has backed off from a peak of 663,900 inNovember 2012.”
|Compared to May 2012, agent and broker employment is up by1,000.
|Among other industry subsectors, reinsurance-carrieremployment in the U.S. was up by 300, to 26,000. Claimsadjusting employment was flat at 50,800. “This is likely driven bylessened demand for adjusters following closure of claims fromSuperstorm Sandy,” Hartwig says.
|Overall, the insurance industry gained 900 jobs in May comparedto April, with total employment standing at 2,349,000.
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