According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), insurance unemployment reached 2.3 percent in August and is expected to hover between one and three percent through the remainder of the year. In addition, the rate of expected hiring has reached the second highest level in the history of the study, with 65 percent of organizations reporting that they are planning to increase their staffs. Further, nearly half of all companies are planning to increase their staffs by at least two percent in the coming year. The primary drivers for this anticipated staffing growth is an increase in business volume and a focus on filling areas that are currently understaffed.
Due, in part, to the fully employed workforce and the continued focus on filling positions, insurers are facing an increasingly challenging recruitment climate. With 1,515,500 individuals currently working in insurance, the industry is seeing employment levels that it hasn’t seen since December 2003. With a to-date average of 231,000 job openings in 2015 alone, it is clear that the demand for talent is far outpacing the supply.
Positions across the board are increasing in recruitment difficulty, with nine out of twelve surveyed roles being reported as moderate to difficult to successfully fill. Currently, actuarial, analytics and executives top the list of job areas most difficult to recruit for.
Within insurance, it is estimated that 30,000 temporary professionals are currently employed. As the industry faces a continued talent gap, temporary staffing is proving to be a valuable solution to workload needs. In fact, 76 percent of organizations participating in the recent survey responded that they are planning to maintain their use of temporary employees, a slight drop from the 77 percent reported in July 2014. Despite this dip, this remains the second highest rate in survey history.
With more and more individuals opting for a career as an interim employee, organizations are able to find highly skilled individuals to help them with their high-priority projects and demand spikes. From entry level all the way up to subject matter experts and executives, these individuals are enabling organizations to manage their increasing workloads. As the recruitment climate tightens and organizations feel the pinch, temporary staffing will continue to play a pivotal role throughout the industry.
Download the full results from the survey.