The insurance sector has experienced its first year of job losses since the pandemic, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Jan. 9.
Four notes:
- The insurance carriers and related activities sector ended 2025 with roughly 3 million employees, down from about 3.03 million workers at the start of the year. The category covers life, health and property insurers.
- The sector lost nearly 28,000 positions over the course of 2025, marking the first annual decline since 2020, when insurers cut about 21,000 jobs and the sector’s unemployment rate peaked at 4.8%.
- The industry’s unemployment rate hit 3% in December, up from 2.5% in November.
- As of November 2025, the average hourly earnings for the insurance sector stood at $48.38.
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