Most insurance companies plan to either maintain current staffing or add new employees over the next 12 months, The Jacobson Group and Aon plc have found.

At the same time, their new Semi-Annual U.S. Insurance Labor Outlook Study determined that companies are struggling to fill vacant positions. Nine of the 11 job functions reported on for the study increased in recruiting difficulty compared to one year ago. What’s more, for the first time since the study began in July 2009, accounting met the condition for moderate difficulty.

“Recruitment difficulty is still increasing in the insurance industry, driven by continued low unemployment, mass retirements and job growth incited by modernization efforts,” Gregory Jacobson, co-chief executive officer of Jacobson, said in prepared remarks.

Still, Jacobson noted that insurers remain optimistic overall as they deal with slightly slowing revenue growth rates. About 77 percent of companies expect increased revenue growth, just two points lower than six months ago. As of July 2019, 17 percent of companies expect flat revenue growth, the study noted.

Other survey highlights:

• In 2020, insurers will most likely hire more people to handle technology-related functions.
• Automation will be the primary driver behind staff reductions in the next year, though only 8 percent of companies expect to reduce staff.
• If the industry follows through on its plans, there will be a 0.77 percent increase in industry employment during the next 12 months, creating new jobs.

The insurance labor outlook study has been conducted semi-annually for 11 years. Collecting revenue and hiring projections from carriers across all sectors of the industry, it provides a valuable look at the insurance labor market outlook and hiring trends.

Source: The Jacobson Group/Aon