Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Inc. today announced that the company’s recruiting is up 13 percent, putting the company on pace to recruit more than 5,000 financial representatives in 2012.
Northwestern Mutual continues to hit its recruiting targets for the year as part of its largest ever recruitment effort. The company recruited approximately 4,300 representatives through August.
According to Steven Mannebach, vice president with Northwestern Mutual, the company’s recruiting achievement is a significant bright spot as the national unemployment rate for September slightly declined to 8.1 percent, according to job figures released last Friday.
“While the job market continues to be a challenge, there is a growing sector that proves to be a good opportunity for job seekers – the financial advice industry,” said Mannebach. “We’re seeing the demand for financial professionals continuing to steadily climb, especially as baby boomers slowly approach retirement. However, while the need for financial professionals has been increasing, the talent gap has not filled in.”
Sales of Northwestern Mutual’s life insurance policies have increased roughly 9 percent over the comparable period last year. Sales of disability insurance and long-term care have both seen double-digit gains over the same period last year – with disability up 15 percent and long-term care insurance climbing 13 percent.
“The market has certainly come to us – and our recent sales numbers support our recruiting efforts,” Mannebach said. “Building a pipeline of talent to meet this demand is a top priority for us.”
