The U.S. labor market remains resilient – despite some economists’ predictions – as we enter May. The insurance carriers and related activities unemployment rate saw just a slight increase to 1.6%; and unemployment for the overall U.S. economy dropped to 3.4%, which along with January 2023, marks a 54-year low. Numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also indicate that insurance industry employment hit a new high watermark in April, at nearly 2,937,000 jobs. 

Entering the second quarter of 2023, the insurance labor market remains relatively constant. The industry unemployment rate is low at 1.5%, and insurance employment is steady, boasting nearly 32,000 more jobs than one year ago. Finance and insurance job openings dipped slightly in February*, to 350,000; however, while this number is lower than last year’s annual monthly average, it is still notably higher than pre-pandemic levels. 

The insurance labor market continued its steady growth in February with unemployment falling almost a full point to 1.4% for insurance carriers and related activities. Revised numbers for January also show the industry hit record-high employment at 2,922,000 jobs.

The insurance labor market remains strong as realignment persists. Although the industry saw a slight decrease in jobs from December to January, revised numbers* from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show 2022 average monthly employment for the insurance carriers and related activities sector was 2.9 million – 74,350 more positions than previously reported. This annual BLS adjustment also slightly impacted wages, yet general trends remain similar.

Despite a sense of economic uncertainty, the insurance labor market does not seem to be cooling in the new year. The industry ended 2022 with roughly 40,000 more jobs than the start of the year and 10 consecutive months of wage increases. Voluntary quits and job openings within finance and insurance had slight dips in November*, but remain high.