profession loses four years of job growth in the first month of the coronavirus recession, reversing years of steady gains.
by beth bellor
crushed by the covid-19 pandemic, the tax and accounting profession has fallen below 1 million employees for the first time in two years – way below, and that may be just the tip of the iceberg, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research.
more on jobs and hiring trends: planning for the coronavirus recession | pre-covid-19, accounting profession hits new highs | the fight for new tax clients | tax & accounting headcounts hit record high | hiring growth rate shows signs of leveling off | what staffing shortage? | payroll agencies lead jobs growth in the tax & accounting industry |
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
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
the data comes with a big asterisk.
the numbers are wildly preliminary and internally inconsistent because researchers are hampered from going door-to-door and contacting employers and employees directly due to lockdowns in several states and general chaos in most.
that said, the hardest-hit sectors seem to be in tax prep and in payroll, when not adjusting for normal seasonal changes. adjusted for seasonality, most sectors are reporting headcounts that may be deceptively optimistic. it may take another two or three months for the trends to become clear.
accountants aren’t alone, of course. nationally, the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent in april thanks to the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million, including 2.1 million jobs in professional and business services, and the number of unemployed people who reported being on temporary layoff increased about tenfold to 18.1 million.
at 974,900, the overall accounting job count plummeted 67,600 or 6.5 percent for the month and 43,600 or 4.3 percent for the year. workers put in 35.6 hours weekly, down 12 minutes or 0.6 percent for the month and 54 minutes or 2.5 percent for the year. their hourly earnings at $35.58 set a new high, up 7 cents or 0.2 percent for the month and $1.68 or 5 percent for the year.
staff counts rose to 771,200, up 1,700 or 0.2 percent for the month and 7,900 or 1 percent for the year. their hours dipped to 33.9, down 18 minutes or 0.9 percent for the month and 42 minutes or 2 percent for the year. earnings dropped a penny to $27.78, statistically flat for the month but up $1.22 or 4.6 percent for the year.
and while a few sectors eked out new records, payroll services saw seesaw pay changes, down 6 percent for the month but up the same amount for the year.
cpa firms
cpa firms hit a slight new high at 501,400, up 800 or 0.2 percent for the month and 15,700 or 3.2 percent for the year. employees put in 36.7 hours, down 12 minutes or 0.5 percent for the month and 48 minutes or 2.1 percent for the year. their earnings of $37.74 marked the fourth straight month of new highs, up 30 cents or 0.8 percent for the month and $1.64 or 4.5 percent for the year.
staff at cpa firms fell to 353,100, down 1,700 or 0.5 percent for the month but up 2,000 or 0.6 percent for the year. they worked 35.6 hours, down 12 minutes or 0.6 percent for the month and 18 minutes or 0.8 percent for the year. they made a record $28.82, the third straight month of new highs, up 17 cents or 0.6 percent for the month and $1.20 or 4.3 percent for the year.
tax preparation
tax preparation services added 300 workers, up 0.3 percent for the month but down 5,000 or 5.4 percent for the year.
payroll services
payroll services dropped to 187,300, down 900 or 0.5 percent for the month but up 12,100 or 6.9 percent for the year. hours worked were 37.1, down 18 minutes or 0.8 percent for the month but up 1 hour 36 minutes or 4.5 percent for the year. earnings fell to $32.33, down $2.16 or 6.3 percent for the month but up $1.81 or 5.9 percent for the year.
staff in payroll took a slightly larger decline of 1,100 to 156,100, down 0.7 percent for the month but up 10,000 or 6.8 percent for the year. they worked 36.7 hours, down 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the month but up 2 hours 12 minutes or 6.4 percent for the year. as they worked more their earnings fell $1.01 to $27.94, down 3.5 percent for the month but up 98 cents or 3.6 percent for the year.
bookkeeping
other accounting services barely hit a second straight new high, up 500 to 268,700, increases of 0.2 percent for the month and 8,100 or 3.1 percent for the year.
women
women’s overall numbers edged up to 665,000, up 1,900 or 0.3 percent for the month and 18,100 or 2.8 percent for the year. at cpa firms they added 200 for a new high, up 0.1 percent for the month and 7,300 or 2.4 percent for the year. women gained in payroll services for a record 97,500, up 900 or 0.9 percent for the month and 10,700 or 12.3 percent for the year.