February 2026: Labor Market PULSE

Posted by The Jacobson Group

AT-A-GLANCE LABOR MARKET NUMBERS

Unemployment for the insurance carriers and related activities sector decreased to 1.8% in May. Unemployment for the insurance carriers and related activities sector decreased to 1.9% in January.
The insurance carriers and related activities sector gained 4,800 jobs in May. The insurance carriers and related activities sector lost 11,300 jobs in January.
At more than 3 million jobs, industry employment increased by approximately 37,800 jobs compared to May 2023. Industry employment decreased by approximately 42,800 jobs compared to January 2025.
The U.S. unemployment rate slightly increased to 4% in May and the overall economy added 257,000 jobs.

The U.S. unemployment rate decreased to 4.3% in January and the overall economy added 130,000 jobs.

INSURANCE INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS

  • On a year-to-year basis, December* insurance industry employment saw job increases in TPAs (up 1.5%), property and casualty (up 1.2%), agents/brokers (up 0.4%) and title (up 0.4%). Meanwhile, jobs decreased in claims (down 18.4%), reinsurance (down 3.2%) and life/health (down 2.4%). 
  • On a year-to-year basis, December saw weekly earnings increases in all categories: agents/brokers (up 9.2%), title (up 5.7%), claims (up 5.6%), TPAs (up 5.1%), and property and casualty (up 4.4%). **
  • Within the larger finance and insurance sector, job openings decreased to 138,000 for December. *
  • 2025 closed with a slightly higher average rate of hires (2.1%) compared to 2024 (2%) and 2023 (1.8%).

Notes:

The BLS continues to revise numbers to be most accurate, which may contribute to inconsistencies, depending on when reports were pulled. 

*The BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report and reports on wages and employment for the industry category are only available for two months prior.

**The BLS has not reported on reinsurance and life/health insurance earnings since December 2024.

The BLS also performed its annual five-year revision in January, which adjusted employment numbers slightly down from what was previously reported.

The source for the data represented in PULSE is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Insurance data is derived from the insurance carriers and related activities sector.