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Latest Insurance Talent Perspectives

Q1 2026 Insurance Labor Study Results

Explore staffing projections and hiring plans for the U.S. insurance industry for the next 12 months.

Download the results from the Q1 2026 iteration of The Jacobson Group and the benchmarking division of Aon’s Strategy and Technology Group’s Semi-Annual U.S. Insurance Labor Market Study. A valuable industry tool, the study examines data collected on insurance industry hiring and revenue trends and projections.

The Changing Face of Insurance Talent

Understand, support and develop the industry’s next generation of leaders.

Download the white paper for strategies to help your organization better understand emerging generations, foster meaningful mentorship and build a future-ready workforce poised to lead the industry forward.

Competing for Technology Talent

Technology talent continues to be in high demand as insurers work to enhance customer experience, increase operational efficiency, personalize their offerings and compete in a quickly evolving environment.

Read our blog post for ways to be strategic and intentional in overcoming this talent challenge and effectively appealing to candidates within the technology space.

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Polling Results: How Are Professionals’ Job Expectations Evolving?

As workforce dynamics evolve, professionals’ priorities and expectations have also undergone shifts. Throughout the past few months, we’ve polled our LinkedIn audience on a number of talent topics, including their sentiments around exploring new roles, work flexibility and more. Consider the below information as you build out your own recruiting strategies in today’s landscape. With the "Great Resignation" behind us, we’re hearing an increasing number of insurance leaders share the challenges of recruiting passive candidates. However, 64% of professionals both actively and non-actively job-hunting said they are very likely to explore a new role and 17% said they were “likely” to explore a new opportunity. While some professionals may still be hesitant to make a move, there are several ways to ease candidates’ concerns and help them feel more comfortable learning about a new position and even accepting an offer. Over the past four years, many insurers have adapted to remote and hybrid work environments; and flexibility in work location remains key for job seekers. We polled hiring managers about candidates’ preferences, and 42% felt flexibility in work location is their top priority, surpassing monetary compensation (30%), flexible work hours (24%) and career development opportunities (4%). When we asked this same question in 2021, 42% said flexibility in work location was most important, followed by monetary compensation and career development (tied at 22%).  Asking employees to be in the office even once a week is posing a hiring challenge. A substantial 73% of employers polled find it more difficult to attract talent when requiring employees to come into a physical office once or more a week. While hybrid work may seem like a reasonable compromise between fully remote and fully in-person, it often still limits candidate pools to shrinking local markets, especially as many professionals have taken on remote positions with companies in other parts of the country. When it comes to relocation, candidates have varying preferences: 54% are open to moving for the right job, 32% are exclusively seeking remote roles and 14% are only looking for local opportunities. In order to avoid severely limiting your candidate pool, it’s important to first evaluate whether a role really must be performed in person. Then focus on how you can best communicate the attributes of both the role and organization to appeal to qualified individuals.  For more of our LinkedIn poll results, view our past posts on professionals’ expectations and  insurers’ insights on the talent marketplace. To share your thoughts in our future polls, follow us on LinkedIn. 

Aon and The Jacobson Group Reveal Staff Increase Trends in Insurance Industry

Reinsurance News examines the findings from our Q1 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study. Our co-CEO Greg Jacobson highlights the industry's stable unemployment rate and insurers' cautious hiring approach.
Q1 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study Results

Q1 2024 U.S. Insurance Labor Market Study Results

The Jacobson Group and Aon-Ward conducted a study to investigate hiring trends within the insurance industry. The following presents the findings of an insurance labor survey conducted in the first quarter of 2024...

Fewer Insurers Planning to Increase Staff in 2024

The Claims and Litigation Management Magazine covered Jacobson's Q1 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study, noting that while more companies plan to maintain current staff levels, technology and claims remain top priorities for growth across the industry.

Jacobson: Survey Shows ‘Significant Pause’ in Industry Job Growth

Carrier Management examines the findings from our Q1 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study. While the results reveal industry-wide optimism for revenue growth, our co-CEO Greg Jacobson noted an interesting shift in hiring trends.
Embracing Multigenerational Dynamics in Today's Workplace

Embracing Multigenerational Dynamics in Today’s Workplace

How you can help employees of all generations best communicate and work together? With hybrid and remote environments limiting relationship-building opportunities, effective multigenerational communication and collaboration can be a challenge. In this white paper, Judy Busby and Rachel McCollister share tips for building strong working relationships with your co-workers across all generations.
PULSE of the U.S. Labor Market - February 2024

February 2024: Labor Market Pulse

The insurance labor market remained stable throughout the first month of 2024. Notably, January hit a record high of 3 million jobs in the insurance carriers and related activities sector. Revised numbers* from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reflect the 2023 average monthly employment for the industry was 2.96 million – 34,000 more positions than previously reported. Additionally, industry unemployment dropped 1.1 points from December, to 2.3%. Meanwhile, the overall U.S. economy’s unemployment rate is 3.7%, marking 24 consecutive months under 4%. AT-A-GLANCE NUMBERS INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS On a year-to-year basis, December** insurance industry employment saw job increases in claims (up 7%), reinsurance (up 3.3%), TPAs (up 2.6%), agents/brokers (up 2.6%), and life/health (up 1%). Meanwhile, jobs decreased in title (down 2.8%) and property and casualty (down 0.2%). On a year-to-year basis, December** saw weekly wage increases across all areas: (up 7.5%), TPAs (up 6.5%), title (up 6.5%), claims (up 5%), life/health (up 4.4%), property and casualty (up 4.2%), and reinsurance (up 2.4%).    BLS Reported Adjustments: Adjusted employment numbers for December show the industry saw an increase of 4,100 jobs, compared to the previously reported increase of 4,500 jobs. The BLS continues to revise numbers to be most accurate, which may contribute to inconsistencies, depending on when reports were pulled. *The BLS made its annual revisions on February 2, adjusting current employment statistics (CES) numbers for the past five years. **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 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.

Search Exec’s Career Advice: Build a Personal Board of Advisers

Creating a well-defined personal brand can fast-track career growth by opening doors to increased opportunities and visibility. In a recent AM Best TV interview, Judy Busby discusses this and stresses the importance of building a personal board of advisors for guidance when making career decisions.

ICM 2024: Why Choose a Career in Insurance

Each February, the insurance industry comes together to celebrate Insurance Careers Month and highlight the industry’s many facets, showcase a vast array of jobs and career paths, and share why we love working in insurance!  In the video below, our co-CEO, Greg Jacobson, shares just a few of the numerous benefits of working within the insurance industry. If you’re a young professional, student, or simply interested in learning how you can make an impact with a career in insurance, we hope you take this time to explore what the industry has to offer.  To learn more about the limitless opportunities within the industry, follow #ICM2024 and #InsuranceCareersMonth on social media. Insurance Careers Month is the hallmark event of the Insurance Careers Movement, which The Jacobson Group is proud to support as a co-founder and steering committee member.  To learn more about the Insurance Careers Movement, visit https://insurancecareersmovement.org/. 

Insurance Careers Month: How You Can Make an Impact

The Jacobson Group is proud to be a co-founder of the Insurance Careers Movement, a grassroots initiative committed to inspiring young people to choose a career in insurance, sharing what makes the industry a great place to work and retaining its emerging leaders. More than 1,000 global industry organizations have come together to support this movement. And, as you may know, February marks Insurance Careers Month, the hallmark event of the Insurance Careers Movement.   This month is about raising our collective voices to inspire young talent to choose a career in insurance. In the video below, our co-CEO, Greg Jacobson, invites insurance leaders to join us in supporting this important cause. To learn more about the Insurance Careers Movement, visit https://insurancecareersmovement.org/. 
Embracing Multigenerational Dynamics in Today's Workplace

Compass 17.1: Embracing Multigenerational Dynamics in Today’s Workplace

This quarter’s Compass feature article offers best practices to help your employees communicate, collaborate and work effectively with all generations in today's workplace. The newsletter also includes an overview of the industry's current labor market and recent executive-level job changes.
PULSE of the U.S. Labor Market - January 2024

January 2024: Labor Market Pulse

Similar to December 2022 (which saw an unemployment rate of 3.5% that quickly fell in the following months), December 2023’s unemployment rate increased to 3.4% for insurance carriers and related activities. Despite this rise in unemployment, the industry added 4,500 jobs last month, contributing to a total gain of nearly 40,000 jobs in 2023. Open jobs in the larger finance and insurance sector also remain strong at 290,000. While the overall labor market may be slowing, there’s still a strong demand for insurance talent. Next month marks the 9th annual Insurance Careers Month, where the industry comes together to amplify why insurance is a career of choice: it’s stable, it’s rewarding and it offers limitless opportunities. Learn more and start planning your organization’s involvement: https://insurancecareersmovement.org/resources/. Additionally, the Q1 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study, conducted by Jacobson and Aon plc, is now open for participation. Share your plans for the next 12 months and gain access to the results: https://jcbsn.gr/2024q1-laborstudy.   AT-A-GLANCE NUMBERS   Unemployment for the insurance carriers and related activities sector increased to 3.4% in December.  The insurance carriers and related activities sector gained 4,500 jobs in December. At nearly 3 million jobs, industry employment increased by approximately 39,500 jobs compared to December 2022. The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 3.7% in December and the overall economy added 216,000 jobs. INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS On a year-to-year basis, November* insurance industry employment saw job increases in reinsurance (up 3%), TPAs (up 2%), agents/brokers (up 1.4%), life/health (up 1.1%), property and casualty (up 0.5%), and claims (up 0.2%). Meanwhile, jobs decreased in title (down 6.4%). On a year-to-year basis, November* saw weekly wage increases in title (up 11.1%), agents/brokers (up 8.1%), property and casualty (up 6%), life/health (up 5.3%), claims (up 4.6%), TPAs (up 4.2%), and reinsurance (up 1.3%).      *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 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.