Northwestern Mutual, State Farm add thousands of jobs across U.S. and Canada

Insurance giant State Farm said it will hire 3,000 people across the U.S. and Canada to make up for many positions that were lost during the economic downturn.

The Associated Press reports that the company is looking to add 900 agents, as well as jobs in customer service, claims and information technology.

Holly Anderson, a spokeswoman for the company, told the news agency that 300 of the staff jobs will be at its headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois, with the rest of the positions "widely scattered."

"During the economic downturn, we really carefully monitored our staffing levels. We are now hiring just to maintain and enhance our customer service response," Anderson said.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin-based Northwestern Mutual life insurance company said it plans to recruit more than 5,000 new financial professionals for jobs throughout the country this year.

Northwestern said that it will add more than 2,000 financial representatives and 3,000 interns as part of the company's largest-ever recruitment campaign.

"We're seeing an uptick in energized professionals who are looking for new opportunities to grow in their professional lives and who are immediately attracted to the opportunity to work with an industry leader," said field and growth development vice president Steven C. Mannebach.