The U.S. insurance industry added 5,100 jobs in November compared to October, according to data from the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Employment in insurance carriers and related sectors reached 3.03 mn in November, up 41,000 from 2.99 mn jobs in November 2023. This increase marks a recovery from October, when the industry shed 1,400 jobs, according to BLS data.
Overall, nonfarm payrolls rose by 227,000 in November, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%. Key contributors to job growth included health care, leisure and hospitality, government, and social assistance. Retailers, however, reduced their workforce.
Stephen Cooper, senior economist at the National Council on Compensation Insurance, noted that “strong employment and wage growth” in construction, leisure, hospitality, and health care are supporting growth in workers’ compensation payrolls. He added that worker turnover declined significantly in 2024, with hiring and quitting rates falling below pre-pandemic levels. Layoffs also stayed historically low.
Cooper suggested that slower turnover may lead to weaker wage growth in 2025 as businesses face less pressure to compete for workers.
BLS reports total insurance payrolls each month on a seasonally adjusted basis, alongside nonfarm payrolls. However, industry-specific data — segmented by insurance carriers and noncarrier roles — are only available on an unadjusted basis for the prior month.
In October, three of seven insurance sectors tracked by BLS added jobs. Agencies and brokerages led with 2,400 new positions. Claims adjusting companies added 400 jobs, and direct title and other direct insurance carriers added 100.
Meanwhile, direct life, health, and medical carriers cut 1,000 jobs, and direct property/casualty carriers reduced positions by 100. Employment remained flat in October for reinsurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and other third-party administrators.
U.S. Labor Market Update: November Sees 227,000 New Jobs as Unemployment Holds at 4.2%
The U.S. economy added 227,000 nonfarm jobs in November, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employment growth occurred in health care, leisure and hospitality, government, and social assistance. Retail trade saw job losses.
Household Survey Data
The unemployment rate stood at 4.2%, with 7.1 mn people unemployed in November. Both figures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.7% with 6.3 mn unemployed.
Unemployment for Black workers edged up to 6.4%, while jobless rates for adult men (3.9%), adult women (3.9%), teenagers (13.2%), Whites (3.8%), Asians (3.8%), and Hispanics (5.3%) remained stable.
The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) was 1.7 mn, accounting for 23.2% of all unemployed people. This figure is up from 1.2 mn a year ago.
The labor force participation rate held steady at 62.5%, within a range of 62.5% to 62.7% since December 2023. The employment-population ratio remained at 59.8%, down 0.6 percentage points from last year.
Part-Time and Marginally Attached Workers
About 4.5 mn people worked part-time for economic reasons in November, up from 4.0 mn a year earlier. These workers wanted full-time positions but faced reduced hours or were unable to find full-time roles.
The number of people not in the labor force who want a job was 5.5 mn, little changed from October. This group includes individuals not classified as unemployed because they had not actively searched for work in the four weeks prior to the survey or were unavailable to start a job.
Of this group, 1.6 mn people were classified as marginally attached to the labor force, unchanged from October. Marginally attached workers are available for work and have searched for jobs within the past 12 months but not in the four weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers — those who believe no jobs are available for them — remained at 396,000.
