The insurance industry gained 5,500 jobs for the month of April, according to the latest employment numbers from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics' Economic Situation Report released on Friday, May 6, 2015.

Compared to March’s gain of 4,800 jobs, the insurance industry’s growth is up by 14 percent. The Economic Situation Report also revealed that the insurance industry, a subsector of the finance and insurance sector, grew by 0.21 percent last month and now sits at 2,594,200 employed insurance workers with an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, a 0.2 percent decrease. Employment has increased by 2.3 percent over the last 12 months, rising from 2,530,000 jobs in April 2015.

Last month, the insurance carriers and related activities subsector accounted for 38 percent of overall growth within its parent sector. The subsector, which includes insurance carriers, agencies and other brokerages, typically makes up more than half of the job growth within the finance and insurance sector. Last month, however, credit intermediation and related activities accounted for 54 percent of job growth.

Across all industries, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 160,000 jobs in April, a 23 percent decrease from the 208,000 jobs gained in March 2016. The unemployment rate held at 5.0 percent, and the number of unemployed persons changed little at 7.9 million. Last month, employment gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, and financial activities, while job losses continued in mining.