Companies continue to let go of their employees as they slash costs to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the insurance industry is not immune from the cuts.

The latest survey from Roy Morgan Research revealed that 1.83 million people were unemployed in September, which was 12.9% of the workforce. An additional 1.33 million people (9.4%) were underemployed, meaning those with work but still seeking more hours.

In total, 3.16 million people were unemployed or underemployed last month, which was 22.3% of the workforce.

According to wsws.org, many companies continue to restructure their operations and implement workplace changes that were planned before the pandemic, including switching from face-to-face customer services to online servicing.

Suncorp, for example, announced last month that it will permanently close 19 branches in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, as well as one business centre at the cost of 550 jobs.

A spokesman for Suncorp confirmed via wsws.org that the company was “continuing to realign teams around our new operating model.”

But which types of companies have been worst hit?

According to research by consulting firm Taylor Fry, SMEs have been hardest hit – Victoria taking  the worst beating, followed by NSW, Tasmania and then the ACT. And it’s SMEs that have suffered most across the country. The report shows that businesses that employed under 200 people had lost up to 8% of jobs nationally. Larger companies have fared significantly better, with an average of only 0.8% of jobs being lost.