The insurance industry has shed more than 54,000 jobs since the end of 2024, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Three notes:
- Insurance carriers and related activities lost 11,300 positions in January 2026 alone. Total employment in the sector stands at about 2.98 million, down from about 3.02 million a year earlier. The insurance employment category covers life, health and property insurers.
- The 2025 decline was the first annual drop since 2020, when insurers cut about 21,000 jobs and the sector’s unemployment rate peaked at 4.8%.
- Several major insurers have announced workforce reductions in recent months. The industry’s unemployment rate fell to 1.9% in January, down from 3% in December and 2.5% in November.
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