Nearly every subsector of the insurance industry showed a rise in employment in September, according to the most recent figures from the US Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, a separate report reflects a simultaneous dip in job postings, suggesting that though the industry is growing, traditional advertising is on the out.
According to the BLS report, the property/casualty carrier subsector was the only one to reflect a decrease in employment, falling by 1,200 in September as compared to August. Employment in this subsector is now back to January 2015 levels after peaking earlier this year.
Employment by life/annuity carriers, meanwhile, rose in September to 365,700 and the health carrier segment continued its pace of gaining jobs to finish at 523,200 – up 5.4% from the same period last year.
Agents and brokers, meanwhile, gained 18,900 jobs in September 2015 versus September 2014 to finish at 736,000 – a slight increase of 2.6%. Reinsurance carrier employment also increased slightly at a 1.2% level to 25,600.
However, these increases do not align with findings from an InsuranceJobs.com report that shows a 6.3% decrease in the number of insurance job postings to the site for the month of September 2015 compared to the previous month, which saw an increase of 2,300 jobs.
“The decrease in job postings to the insurance employment website goes against the reported increase in the number of new insurance jobs gained in September,” the site said in a news release.
This suggests the insurance industry is turning to alternate hiring sources apart from posting jobs to the popular site, which has more than 250,000 registered job seekers and 6,500 registered employers.
Indeed, a collaboration of insurance carriers, trade associations and industry partners has this week announced a first-ever Insurance Careers Month to be held during February 2016. Designed to raise awareness of career opportunities in risk management and insurance, Insurance Careers Month will broaden their local outreach to job seekers and “amplify the message that the insurance industry is hiring and has solid opportunities to offer.”
“As insurance professionals mature, baby boomers prepare for retirement, and organizations shift their focus toward building up their staffs, insurers are facing a growing ‘war for talent,’” said Greg Jacobson, co-CEO for The Jacobson Group. “The focus needs to shift toward recruiting and engaging the next generation of talent and bringing millennials into insurance.
“Insurers must join together and rebrand insurance as the industry of choice for young professionals.”
