It’s not all bad news in the U.S. insurance industry – even though the industry had 7,300 fewer positions at the end of 2008 compared to the beginning of 08 according to seasonally adjusted data released Jan. 9 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The worst period of 2008 was from November to December where the industry saw 5,200 jobs cut.

Some indications on where the industry might be moving could be found in the figures based on the just-released November 2008 data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Areas with most increase in payroll

• Reinsurers saw payrolls surge over the past year, up 13.2% from November 2007 to 31,800
• Payrolls for health insurers rose 3.6% to 447,800
• Claims adjusters were up 1.5% over the past year to 52,600
• Third- party administrators were up 0.9% to 133,000
• Life insurers were up 0.7% to 360,900

Average Wage increases

Average weekly earnings for the industry’s nonsupervisory positions rose 6.8% from November 2007 to November 2008, from $828.06 to $884.71, and wages were up in all eight industry categories.

• The property/casualty segment remained the most highly compensated, with employees averaging $996.23 a week, up 6.1% from November 2007
• Life insurer employees saw the greatest gains, with weekly earnings rising 11.3% to $974.36
• Title insurers were up 8.3% to $844.52
• Health insurers were up 7.2% to $928.23
• Claims adjusters, were up 3.4% to $892.84
• Third-party administrators were up 1.9% to $787.05
• Reinsurers were up 1.2% to $772.64
• Agent and broker employees were least well compensated, but were up 3.6% to $748.75

Areas with most decrease in payroll

• Title insurers again saw the most significant job declines, down 11.5% to 78,800
• Job losses also were seen among agents and brokers, down 1% to 671,000
• Property/casualty insurers were down 0.4% to 491,700
• In the “other” segment, the decline was 4.5% to 48,800