Finance & Insurance Snapshot

It was a quarter of dependable, if low, growth for the finance and insurance sector. After several years of dramatic ups and downs, it managed to sustain three straight months of positive gains, adding 5,500 net new jobs in April, 5,600 in May, and 7,800 in June. These are by no means earth-shattering gains, but they speak to a stability that this sector has lacked in the past three years.  

Most subsectors experienced growth, with just credit intermediation dragging down gains in the second quarter. That subsector shrank by 3,900 in June, perhaps due to elevated interest rates and the continued pressure they put on financial markets. Elsewhere, though, interest rates have not seemed to have an impact. Insurance carriers gained an impressive 8,600 last month. Interestingly, demand in this sector may be positively impacted by climate change: Increased incidences of storms and other climate-related disasters require more insurance workers to review claims and evaluate coverage. Real estate had another slow month, gaining just 800 net new workers in this tight-interest-rate environment. Securities and commodities gained 3,000 net new jobs in June.