Rounding out the first quarter of 2025, the latest numbers show continued stability in the insurance labor market. Consistent with past years, unemployment dropped back down to 2.5 (less than half a point from 2024’s overall average). At the same time, total employment was up both month-over-month and year-over-year in January.
According to our Q1 2025 Insurance Labor Market Study, conducted in partnership with Aon, 55% of carriers are planning to add staff this year and just 12% plan to decrease staff sizes. The insurance labor market remains stable, and job growth appears likely for the next 12 months. For more insights on what to expect this year, view our full results summary.
 | Unemployment for the insurance carriers and related activities sector decreased to 2.5% in February. |
 | The insurance carriers and related activities sector gained 5,100 jobs in February. |
 | At more than 3 million jobs, industry employment increased by approximately 53,300 jobs compared to February 2024. |
 | The U.S. unemployment rate increased to 4.1% in February and the overall economy added 151,000 jobs. |
- On a year-to-year basis, January* insurance industry employment saw job increases in agents/brokers (up 4.0%), title (up 2.9%), reinsurance (up 1.6%), and property and casualty (up 1.2%). Meanwhile, jobs stayed the same in TPAs (remained 0.5%) and decreased in life/health (down 0.6%) and claims (down 0.3%).
- On a year-to-year basis, January* saw weekly earnings increases in agents/brokers (up 8.2%), TPAs (up 7.7%), property and casualty (up 7.4%), claims (up 5.4%) and title (up 5.1%). **
BLS Reported Adjustments:
Adjusted employment numbers for January show the industry saw an increase of 12,300 jobs, compared to the previously reported increase of 6,900 jobs. The BLS continues to revise numbers to be most accurate, which may contribute to inconsistencies, depending on when reports were pulled.
*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 BLS has not reported on reinsurance and life/health insurance earnings since December 2024.
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.