BLS: Insurance Industry Jobs Growth Jumps by 7,900 in February
March 7, 2016 by Thomas Harman, Washington Bureau manager, BestWeek: Tom.Harman@ambest.com
WASHINGTON – The U.S. insurance industry added 7,900 jobs in February, according to figures released March 4 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The seasonally adjusted 0.30% increase for February 2016 over January 2016 illustrates continued insurance industry growth. The adjusted growth rate for February was greater than the 0.19% adjusted growth rate reported for January, the BLS Report said.
Updated industry data show the insurance industry added 4,900 jobs in January, after initially reporting a 4,100-job increase (Best’s News Service, Feb. 5, 2016). The adjusted jobs industry data for January exceeded the 3,100 jobs added in December.
The BLS said overall insurance industry employment for February was 2,577,100, an increase of 68,800 jobs over the February 2015 level.
Total nonfarm payroll employment nationwide increased by 242,000 in February, while the overall unemployment rate remained at 4.9%, the lowest level since February 2008.
Job gains occurred in health care and social assistance (57,000 jobs); retail trade (55,000 jobs); food services and drinking establishments (40,000 jobs); private educational service (28,000 jobs); and construction (19,000). The mining sector dropped 19,000 jobs in February, the BLS said.
Private employment grew by 230,000 jobs in February. Businesses have now added 14.3 million jobs during the past six years, extending the longest recorded streak, said Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
The BLS reports insurance industry total payrolls monthly on a seasonally adjusted basis, along with the current month’s non-farm payrolls. Separately, data by insurance industry segments — broken out by various insurance carrier and non-carrier categories — are available only on an unadjusted basis for the prior month.
Between December and January, five of eight insurance industry sectors saw growth reductions. Sectors showing declines included reinsurance carriers (down 3.52% to 24,700 jobs); claims adjusting (down 1.77% to 55,500 jobs); insurance agencies and brokerages (down 0.62% to 770,000 jobs); and direct life insurance carriers (down 0.48% to 331,500 jobs). Sectors showing job increases included direct title insurance and other direct insurance carriers (up 0.35% to 86,700 jobs); direct health and medical insurance carriers (up 0.15% to 539,000 jobs); and third-party administration of insurance funds (up 0.12% to 173,800 jobs).
Seven of eight insurance sectors showed job growth in January 2016 over January 2015, led by direct title insurance and other direct insurance carriers (up 6.51%); direct health and medical insurance carriers (up 4.88%); insurance agencies and brokerages (up 2.82%); direct life insurance carriers (up 2.6%); reinsurance carriers (up 0.82%); claims adjusting (up 0.18%) and direct property/casualty insurers (up 0.08%). The only sector showing a year-to-year decrease in January was third-party administration of insurance funds (down 0.34%).
Wages increased in five of seven insurance sectors between December 2015 and January 2016. They were led by direct life and health insurance carriers (up 3.65%); third-party administration of insurance funds (up 2.09%); direct property and casualty insurers (up 1.62%), direct title insurance and other direct carriers (up 1.13%) and insurance agencies and brokerages (up 0.20%). Wages fell in reinsurance carriers (down 0.84%) and claims adjusters (0.29%), the BLS said.
Six of seven insurance sectors also report year-to-year increases from January 2016 over January 2015, led by direct life and health insurance carriers (up 6.38%); claims adjusters (up 4.70%); direct property and casualty insurers (up 4.48%); direct title insurance and other direct carriers (up 3.13%); third-party administration of insurance funds (up 0.67%); and insurance agencies and brokerages (up 0.20%). The lone sector showing a decrease was reinsurance carriers (down 1.45%).
