tax & accounting wages up 4%

and, hours worked? down all over.

by beth bellor

the accounting profession continues to make year-over-year gains, according to new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research. hourly earnings are growing more than 4 percent, and the number employed is up in all segments – except tax prep, which is down 8.9 percent… for now.

more on jobs: the myth of the staff shortage | what’s the profession going to do with 79,000 new accounting graduates? | accounting profession shows steady growth | tax & accounting salaries increase 2.8% | regional cpa firms go head-to-head with big four in talent wars | global talent wars hit home for local firms | how to set your firm apart to recruits
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in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 highlights:

  • current hiring trends in each of the bookkeeping, payroll, tax and cpa segments of the profession
  • average hourly earnings for key segments
  • average hours worked per week
  • trends regarding women in the accounting workforce


generally speaking, wherever increases or decreases are seen, they hold true for both the 1-month and 1-year periods. the two exceptions are payroll staff earnings, down for the latest month but up the year, and women in payroll, who gained for the month but lost year over year.

chart of overall employment
^ overall accounting employment

in context, the u.s. unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 4.2 percent in september. hurricanes irma and harvey may have contributed to a sharp employment decline in food services and drinking places, as well as below-trend growth in some other industries.

in professional and business services, employment was little changed with 13,000 new jobs; the trend had averaged 50,000 per month during the previous 12 months.

chart of overall hourly earnings
^ overall hourly earnings

overall employment in the accounting profession stands at 1,010,100, up 800 or 0.1 percent for the month of september and 12,600 or 1.3 percent for the year.

average weekly hours dipped to 35.1, down 12 minutes for the month and 24 for the year, respective declines of 0.6 and 1.1 percent. meanwhile hourly earnings rose to $32.45, up 28 cents for the month and $1.38 for the year, respective increases of 0.9 and 4.4 percent.

chart of staff earnings
^ staff hourly earnings

staff number 767,900, up 4,200 or 0.5 percent for the month and 17,300 or 2.3 percent for the year. they average 33.9 hours, down 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the month and half an hour or 1.5 percent for the year. their earnings grew for the eighth straight month, to $25.30, up 10 cents or 0.4 percent for the month and $1.02 or 4.2 percent for the year.

cpa firms employ 479,600, up 1,200 or 0.3 percent for the month and 12,400 or 2.7 percent for the year. their hours fell below 36 for the first time since january 2012 to 35.9, down 12 minutes or 0.6 percent for the month and 1 hour or 2.7 percent for the year. at the same time, earnings topped $35 for the first time ever, hitting $35.42 – up 92 cents or 2.7 percent for the month and $1.15 or 3.4 percent over the previous year.

chart of cpa firm staff employment
^ cpa firm staff employment

staff at cpa firms number 355,900, marking the ninth straight month of slow but steady growth, adding 300 or 0.1 percent for the month and 16,800 or 5 percent for the year. they average 34.9 hours, down 12 minutes or 0.6 percent for the month and 42 minutes or 2 percent for the year. earnings at $26.91 are up 26 cents for the month and 84 cents for the year, respective increases of 1 percent and 3.2 percent.

chart of tax prep employment
^ tax prep employment

tax preparation services employ 104,300, down 100 or 0.1 percent for the month and 10,200 or 8.9 percent year over year.

payroll numbers took a small uptick to 170,200, up 1,100 or 0.7 percent for the month and 7,700 or 4.7 percent for the year. hours average 35.1, down 18 minutes or 0.8 percent for the month and 1 hour or 2.8 percent for the year. earnings slid to $29.53, down 46 cents or 1.5 percent for the month and 99 cents or 3.2 percent for the year.

chart of payroll employment
^ payroll employment

payroll staff also grew slightly, to 143,700, up 700 or 0.5 percent for the month and 5,700 or 4.1 percent for the year. hours fell back below 35 to 34.9, down 24 minutes for the month and 1 hour 18 minutes for the year, respective decreases of 1.1 percent and 3.6 percent. earnings stand at $25.04, down 57 cents or 2.2 percent for the month but up 34 cents or 1.4 percent for the year.

chart of payroll staff employment
^ payroll staff employment

other accounting services stand at 255,900 employees, up 700 or 0.3 percent for the month and 3,300 or 1.3 percent for the year.

women in the profession number 628,000, up 4,900 or 0.8 percent for the month and 9,300 or 1.5 percent for the year. they hold 295,200 spots at cpa firms, up 1,100 or 0.4 percent for the month and 11,100 or 3.9 percent for the year. there are 77,100 women in payroll, up 1,700 or 2.3 percent for the month but down 2,000 or 2.5 percent for the year.