Originally Posted to BenefitsPro, shared by LifeHealth Pro | MAY 07, 2015 | BY DAN COOK
Looking for a job? The insurance industry is hiring.
According to a report by GreatInsuranceJobs.com, a sampling of competitors in the industry will be trying to fill some 22,500 jobs between now and year-end. But finding the right fit for the job won’t be easy. Those who responded to the survey said that budget restrictions are hampering their recruiting efforts, and there aren’t enough top performers out there anyway to satisfy their needs.
Nonetheless, this year has all the earmarks of an insurance hiring frenzy. The survey found there were 7,262 jobs open at the 78 companies included in the survey, and managers at those companies said they anticipated that another 15,354 positions would come open before year-end. More than eight in 10 of the companies reported having current openings.
A quarter of the companies said 2015 will prove to be a stronger year for employment than 2014. The unemployment rate in the industry stands at 2.3%, the lowest rate since 2006.
“We expect 2015 to be a record year for hiring in insurance,” said Scott Kotroba, president and co-founder of GreatInsuranceJobs.com. “But for hiring managers, the greatest challenge mentioned by more than 80% of the employers is the difficulty of finding qualified talent.”
Other findings of interest from the survey:
-95% of companies plan on hiring at least one person in 2015.
-31.5% of companies are planning on hiring 51 or more employees in 2015.
The top six heaviest recruited insurance positions are:
-sales (both agent & agent and property & casualty)
-underwriters
-technology
-account managers
-customer service
-call center
Budgets are not big enough to attract and recruit enough candidates to satisfy job requisitions.
Only 6% of insurance employers feel that job seekers should include their photo on their resumes.
Competition to hire experienced insurance professionals is proving difficult for companies that cannot move quickly in the hiring process.
