payroll services on a roll… unless you look at last year.
by beth bellor
an incomplete recovery seems to be the theme for recent employment reports.
employment in the accounting profession reversed its downward trend from the previous month to hit 1,014,000, the highest mark since march.
more on jobs: new job cuts at cpa firms | covid job toll: tax & accounting cuts 17,500 employees | firms recall half of furloughed staffers | covid kills 67,600 jobs in tax and accounting | pre-covid-19, accounting profession hits new highs
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you remember march and april, right? one month there were 1,042,800 accounting jobs; the next there had been a 7.5 percent nosedive to 965,000. with september’s figures, we’ve regained 63 percent of that 77,800-job decline.
in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 highlights:
- current and long-term hiring trends in each of the bookkeeping, payroll, tax, and cpa segments of the industry (all data seasonally adjusted)
- average hourly wages for key segments
- typical hours worked per week
- trends concerning women in the accounting workforce
total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 661,000 in september, and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9 percent, the u.s. bureau of labor statistics reported. these improvements in the labor market were attributed to the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it.
in september, the unemployment rate declined by 0.5 percentage point to 7.9 percent, and the number of unemployed persons fell by 1.0 million to 12.6 million. both measures have declined for five consecutive months but are higher than in february, by 4.4 percentage points and 6.8 million, respectively.
professional and business services added 89,000 jobs in september. despite gains of 910,000 since april, though, employment in the sector is 1.4 million lower than in february.
tax and accounting overall
september’s 1,014,000 profession employment figure represents a gain of 2,200 or 0.2 percent for the month, but a loss of 18,600 or 1.8 percent for the year. employees worked an average of 36.3 hours weekly, down 12 minutes or 0.5 percent for the month but up 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the year. they made $35.51, tying february’s second-highest-ever mark, up 54 cents or 1.5 percent for the month and $1.15 or 3.3 percent for the year.
staff numbered 740,400, down 2,900 or 0.4 percent for the month and 34,000 or 4.4 percent for the month. they put in 34.8 hours, up 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the month and 24 minutes or 1.2 percent for the year. they earned $27.60, up 14 cents or 0.5 percent for the month and 45 cents or 1.7 percent for the year.
cpa firms
numbers at cpa firms dipped to 484,900, down 200 or statistically flat for the month and 7,200 or 1.5 percent for the year. hours at 37.9 were flat for the month and up 100 or 0.3 percent for the year. they made $37.45, up 6 cents or 0.2 percent for the month and $1 or 2.7 percent for the year.
staff at cpa firms also declined 200, to 336,600, down 0.1 percent for that period and 17,100 or 4.8 percent for the year. their hours at 36.7 were flat for the month and up 400 or 1.1 percent for the year. earnings at $29.19 were down 34 cents or 1.2 percent for the month but up $1.45 or 5.2 percent year over year.
tax prep
tax preparation services were down somewhat at 95,100, a loss of 400 or 0.4 percent for the month and 1,700 or 1.8 percent for the year.
payroll services
payroll services increased for the third straight month, to 157,300, up 1,800 or 1.2 percent for the month but down 20,600 or 11.6 percent for the year. hours hit a record high of 38, up 42 minutes or 1.9 percent for the month and 1 hour 24 minutes or 3.8 percent for the year. earnings topped $35 for the first time at $35.69, up 77 cents or 2.2 percent for the month and $3.88 or 12.2 percent for the year.
staff in payroll followed the same three-month growth pattern, landing at 133,500, up 1,700 or 1.3 percent for the month but down 16,500 or 11 percent for the year. their hours also hit 38 for the first time, up 48 minutes or 2.2 percent for the month and 2 hours 18 minutes or 6.4 percent for the year. they made $28.80, up $1.24 or 4.5 percent for the month and 60 cents or 2.1 percent for the year.
bookkeeping
other accounting services saw a fourth straight month of mostly small increases, reaching 263,700, up 1,300 or 0.5 percent for the month but down 1,400 or 0.5 percent for the year.
women
women in the profession totaled 644,700, down 1,600 or 0.2 percent for the month and 15,700 or 2.4 percent for the year. there was a slight dip at cpa firms as well to 301,200, down 300 or 0.1 percent for the month and 3,400 or 1.1 percent for the year. women in payroll services numbered 82,300, down 1,000 or 1.2 percent for the month and 11,300 or 12.1 percent for the year.