A majority of carriers (86 percent) intend to increase or maintain their staff sizes in the next 12 months, according to Jacobson’s Q3 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 11 consecutive months of job growth for the insurance carriers and related activities sector during the same timeframe.

While the industry continues to add jobs, the employment growth remains relatively modest, the report noted.

Just over half (52 percent) of companies intend to grow their teams in the next 12 months, unchanged from January 2024 and down 11 points compared to July 2023; while 34 percent plan to maintain their current headcounts.

The main drivers for growth are expected increases in business volume and expansion into new markets.

At the same time, 14 percent of companies expect a reduction in their workforce—up 4 points from one year ago—with automation continuing to be the most common reason.

No respondents plan to decrease staff size by more than 10 percent.

For the first time in the study’s 15-year history, technology positions are not the industry’s greatest need; underwriting and claims roles are currently in highest demand, with technology ranking third.

Desired job levels remain relatively consistent with previous studies.

Of those planning to hire, 77 percent say they’re most in need of experienced professionals, followed by entry-level individuals at 21 percent and executives at 2 percent.

Entry-level positions are most needed within operations (62 percent, which is 14 points higher than one year ago), claims (38 percent) and underwriting (21 percent).

Compliance (4 percent) and loss control/risk management (7 percent) departments are the areas most likely to add executive-level positions.

Recruiting difficulty has eased in eight of the survey’s 11 categories; however, most positions continue to be considered at least moderately difficult to fill.

Actuarial, executive and analytics roles remain the most challenging positions to fill, the study confirmed.

Just 11 percent of companies report their ability to hire talent has become more difficult over the past year, down from 17 percent in July 2023.

Flexibility continues to be an important consideration for many professionals, with 72 percent of companies shared the majority of their employees work a hybrid model (38 percent one to two days in office; 34 percent three to four days in office).

About a quarter of companies say most of their staff is fully remote (up from 18 percent in January 2024) and just four percent report most employees are in the office full time (down from 6 percent at the beginning of the year).

The vast majority (94 percent) of companies do not plan to make changes to their work models within the next six months, the report found.

The remaining six percent plan to require more in-office presence, down 10 points from January.

The Q3 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study took place from July 8 through July 28, with participation from insurance carriers across all industry sectors. The semi-annual survey collects and examines data on insurance industry hiring, as well as revenue trends and projections.