Recruiting difficulty increasing
Photo by Wright Studio/Shutterstock
A new labor study shows that most insurance companies will be hiring in the next 12 months – if they can find the workers to fill the positions. The Insurance Labor Outlook Study by industry recruiter The Jacobson Group and Aon found 92% of respondents intend to maintain or increase staff in the next 12 months.
“Recruitment difficulty is still increasing in the insurance industry, driven by continued low unemployment, mass retirements and job growth incited by modernization efforts,” said Gregory Jacobson, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Jacobson, in a statement. Though revenue growth rates are slowing slightly in the industry, respondents still reported relatively high expectations as compared to the general economy. “Overall, insurers remain optimistic.”
It’s gotten more difficult to hire in nine of the 11 job functions covered in the report compared to last year. Even accounting jobs within insurance are now rated as moderately difficult to fill, for the first time in the 11 year history of the semi-annual report.
Some of the study’s key findings include the following:
- 77% of companies expect increased revenue growth, 2 points lower than six months ago. As in July 2019, 17% of companies expect flat revenue growth.
- In 2020, technology will be the function in which companies will be most likely to increase staff.
- Automation will be the primary driver behind staff reductions in the next year, though only 8% of companies expect to reduce staff.
- If the industry follows through on its plans, we will see a 0.77 percent increase in industry employment during the next 12 months, creating new jobs.
It’s a challenge many industries are facing, some worse than others. With unemployment at a nearly 50-year low, more than 96 out of 100 people who want jobs, have them. There’s more insight on employment and wages in this NPR article.
LMA Newsletter of 2-24-20
