NU Online News Service, July 12, 11:46 p.m. EDT
A spike in the number of agent and broker jobs added in May drove an overall net gain of 900 jobs industry-wide for the month compared to April, according to an Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) analysis of U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) figures.
The figures do not differentiate between property and casualty and life agents, but in May, employment for agents and brokers increased by 4,100 to 641,700. The I.I.I. says agent and broker employment typically increases in May over April, but not by this much.
According to I.I.I.'s analysis, employment at insurance agencies and brokerages was down 5.6 percent in May 2011 compared to December 2007 when the recession began. This compares to an overall U.S. employment decline of 5.2 percent.
A sharper decline is seen in P&C direct employment over that same timeframe. Employment as of May 2011 for P&C direct is down 6.8 percent compared to December 2007.
From April 2011 to May, P&C direct added 100 jobs, inching total employment up to 457,500.
Reinsurers also added 100 jobs for the month, bringing total employment in that subsector up to 27,300. Since December 2007, reinsurers have added 400 jobs, for an increase of 1.5 percent. However, the I.I.I. notes that despite increases in four of the first five months in 2011, reinsurance employment is still below the employment level in December 2010.
Claims-adjuster employment fell by 100 jobs in May compared to April, which the I.I.I. said is "contrary to what we expected given the enormous tornado damage in April and early May."
The sharpest declines in industry employment from April to May were in life direct, which shed 1,500 jobs, and third-party administration, which lost 1,200 jobs. Health and medical direct lost 600 jobs.
The overall industry increase of 900 jobs from May to April comes after industry employment dropped by 1,800 jobs in April compared to March.
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