Insurance Carriers and Related Activities: NAICS 524

About the Insurance Carriers and Related Activities subsector

The insurance carriers and related activities subsector is part of the finance and insurance sector.

The insurance carriers and related activities subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Insurance Carriers: NAICS 5241
• Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities: NAICS 5242

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in insurance carriers and related activities. While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry unemployment comes from a national survey of households. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry, union membership and representation, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Layoffs

Data series	Back data	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		2,285.1	2,284.1	(P) 2,283.1	(P) 2,289.0
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees		1,845.8	1,852.1	(P) 1,854.1
Unemployment
Unemployment rate		4.5%	5.0%	4.6%	4.3%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		6	7	6	7
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		395	530	383	461
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	2008	2009	2010	2011
Union membership and representation
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		1.9%	1.5%	1.6%	1.2%
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		2.4%	2.2%	2.1%	1.5%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012
Extended mass layoff events		11	8	(P) 8	(P) 6
Separations		2,079	1,129	(P) 1,659	(P) 1,510
Initial claimants		1,415	1,283	(P) 1,042	(P) 603
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2011
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	184,650
First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers	52,670
Insurance claims and policy processing clerks	194,820
Insurance sales agents	308,320
Insurance underwriters	83,510

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for insurance carriers and related activities.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in insurance carriers and related activities. This section also contains information on the average cost of benefits paid by employers, as well as recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	Apr. 2012	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$32.15	$31.60	$31.40	(P) $31.85
Average weekly hours		38.8	37.8	37.8	(P) 38.8
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series	Back data	Apr. 2012	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$26.15	$25.84	$25.65	(P) $25.78
Average weekly hours		38.9	38.2	38.3	(P) 38.8
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	Median weekly earnings
		2008	2009	2010	2011
Union membership and representation
Full-time workers		$846	$868	$902	$899
Members of unions		$745	$850	$759	$822
Represented by unions		$769	$863	$772	$840
Nonunion		$849	$868	$908	$900

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2011
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	$27.70	$28.93	$57,620	$60,160
First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers	$27.55	$29.12	$57,300	$60,580
Insurance claims and policy processing clerks	$16.94	$17.71	$35,230	$36,850
Insurance sales agents	$22.88	$30.39	$47,590	$63,220
Insurance underwriters	$29.30	$32.55	$60,940	$67,700

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Employer Compensation Costs

Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012
12-month percent change
Total compensation		2.4%	2.7%	1.4%	1.3%
Wages and salaries		1.8%	2.1%	1.9%	1.8%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2012
		Compensation component ($ per hour worked)	Percent of total compensation
Compensation costs
Total compensation		41.30	100.0
Wages and salaries		27.72	67.1
Total benefits		13.58	32.9
Insurance		3.83	9.3
Retirement		1.94	4.7

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in insurance carriers and related activities. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series	2008	2009	2010	2011
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	7	6	5	(P) 6
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	0.9	0.9	0.8
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	0.3	0.3	0.3
Cases involving days away from work	0.2	0.2	0.2
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.1	0.1	0.1
Footnotes (P) Preliminary
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction.

Data series	Back data	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012
Producer price index		(P) 122.4	(P) 122.5	(P) 122.6	(P) 122.7
Percent change from previous month		(P) 0.0%	(P) 0.1%	(P) 0.1%	(P) 0.1%
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in insurance carriers and related activities.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012
Number of establishments
Private industry		180,835	181,164	182,689	(P) 183,654
Local government		53	53	53	(P) 54
State government		22	23	23	(P) 23
Federal government		133	132	132	(P) 134
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See insurance in the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: September 27, 2012