We’re experiencing continued job growth as we reach the mid-point of 2023. The insurance carriers and related activities sector added jobs for the third consecutive month, reaching a new high watermark of 2,939,200 in May. The industry’s unemployment rate increased to 2.5%; however, it’s likely this will fall in the coming months, consistent with a previous spike in December 2022.

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.