Property and casualty carrier employment is at the lowest level in more than 20 years, according to data published by the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics and compiled by the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).
P&C carrier employment fell to 459,100 in January 2011, down 0.7 percent from 462,300 in the month prior. Compared to January 2010, P&C carrier employment has declined 2 percent.
The number of agents and brokers also dropped 0.7 percent to 636,500 in January when compared to 641,300 in December 2010. Employment in claims adjusting saw its largest drop in more than 20 years—down 4.5 percent to 47,200 in January, according to I.I.I.
In an I.I.I. analysis of insurance industry employment from 1990-2011, carrier employment peaked at 515,800 in July 1999 before a downtrend began, "likely fueled by technology and productivity improvements, and lately by a very soft premium market," I.I.I. said.
Since the recession began in December 2007, P&C insurance industry employment is down 6.5 percent. Life insurance industry employment is up 5.4 percent since the same time, I.I.I. noted, but employment in the health-medical insurance industry is down 4.7 percent.
I.I.I. said some of the December 2010 to January 2011 declines could be seasonal. In 21 December-to-January comparisons, employment for P&C carriers dropped 15 times but May-to-June comparisons were positive all 21 times.
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