Similar to December 2022 (which saw an unemployment rate of 3.5% that quickly fell in the following months), December 2023’s unemployment rate increased to 3.4% for insurance carriers and related activities. Despite this rise in unemployment, the industry added 4,500 jobs last month, contributing to a total gain of nearly 40,000 jobs in 2023. Open jobs in the larger finance and insurance sector also remain strong at 290,000.
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 | Unemployment for the insurance carriers and related activities sector increased to 3.4% in December. |
 | The insurance carriers and related activities sector gained 4,500 jobs in December. |
 | At nearly 3 million jobs, industry employment increased by approximately 39,500 jobs compared to December 2022. |
 | The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 3.7% in December and the overall economy added 216,000 jobs. |
INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
- On a year-to-year basis, November* insurance industry employment saw job increases in reinsurance (up 3%), TPAs (up 2%), agents/brokers (up 1.4%), life/health (up 1.1%), property and casualty (up 0.5%), and claims (up 0.2%). Meanwhile, jobs decreased in title (down 6.4%).
- On a year-to-year basis, November* saw weekly wage increases in title (up 11.1%), agents/brokers (up 8.1%), property and casualty (up 6%), life/health (up 5.3%), claims (up 4.6%), TPAs (up 4.2%), and reinsurance (up 1.3%).
*The BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report and reports on wages and employment for the industry category are only available for two months prior.
The source for the data represented in PULSE is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Insurance data is derived from the insurance carriers and related activities sector.