INSURANCE EMPLOYMENT FLATTENS

Despite a drop of 113,000 in national nonfarm payrolls in August, insurance industry employment held even for the month, reports BestWire. Since the near-term peak of nonfarm jobs in March, payrolls have fallen 323,000 to 132,331,000, while insurance jobs have risen 4,000 to 2,357,000 jobs for the same period, according to the seasonally adjusted data released Sept. 7 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Once again, title insurance employment dominated carrier gains, accounting for 2,000 new jobs in July, offset by a net loss of 200 jobs among other insurers. The “unchanged” status of insurance payrolls resulted from a loss of 1,000 jobs among carriers, offset by a gain of 1,000 jobs among agents, brokers and insurance services. The bureau indicates that seasonal variations are not significant in the insurance industry, and it reports industry detail on an unadjusted basis, with industry segments detailed with a one-month reporting lag. Unadjusted, insurance payrolls were down 4,400 in August (3,000 among carriers, 1,400 among agents, etc.) after a 2,600 gain in July (1,800 among carriers, 800 among agents, etc.).