Finance & Insurance Snapshot

The finance and insurance sector has had a volatile couple of years. From July 2021 to May 2022, the sector lost no positions (though the size of gains was variable). As the year went on, those gains became less dependable, and the sector ended the year in decline. Unfortunately, that softness has continued into 2024. In the first quarter, the sector lost 13,900 net jobs, with losses in January and February and miniscule gains in March.

Within subsectors, credit intermediation continues to be a drag, perhaps a symptom of the Federal Reserve’s current interest rate regime, or maybe a result of slow hiring. At the same time, the real estate subsector has been adding jobs at a steady pace, most recently adding 4,700 net new jobs. Securities and commodities and insurance carriers have both seen less dramatic fluctuations lately