accounting hiring stalls; salaries hit new highs

even as firms trim payrolls, especially in tax prep.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

after heady gains, the accounting profession is doing some backsliding. how worried should we be?

more on jobs: tax prep services slash 10,000 jobs as busy season begins | all staffed up? new tax prep hiring stalls on eve of busy season | the myth of the staff shortage | wages up, headcounts down at tax & accounting firms
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in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analyzes:

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

in the accounting profession, employment stood at 974,100. while that’s up 2,500 or 0.3 percent for the month, it’s also down 7,100 or 0.7 percent for the year, and the lowest it’s been since april 2016.

employees were averaging 35.9 weekly hours, flirting with the 36-hour mark that hasn’t been hit since september 2015. that’s up 18 minutes or 0.8 percent for the month and 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the year.

 

chart of overall hourly earnings
overall hourly earnings

 

fortunately, longer hours were being matched by higher earnings. employees were making a record average $32.74 an hour – the fourth new high in as many months – up 30 cents or 0.9 percent for the month and $1.35 or 4.3 percent for the year.

 

chart of staff hourly earnings
staff hourly earnings

 

staff numbers dipped slightly as well, to 734,300, down 6,500 or 0.9 percent for the month and 14,000 or 1.9 percent for the year. hours were flat for the month at 34.1 and up 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the year. staff earnings hit a third straight high at $25.64, up 15 cents or 0.6 percent for the month and $1.12 or 4.6 percent for the year.

cpa firms

cpa firms employed 480,900, up 800 or 0.2 percent for the month and 8,800 or 1.9 percent for the year. weekly hours averaged 36.5, down 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for both the month and year. earnings set a new mark of $35.42, up 33 cents or 0.9 percent for the month and $1.39 or 4.1 percent for the year.

 

chart of overall hourly earnings at cpa firms
overall hourly earnings at cpa firms

 

staff at cpa firms numbered 354,100, up 300 or 0.1 percent for the month and 6,900 or 2 percent for the year. they worked 35.7 hours a week, down 18 minutes or 0.8 percent for the month but up 42 minutes or 2 percent for the year. they earned $26.96 an hour, up 23 cents or 0.9 percent for the month and 69 cents or 2.6 percent for the year.

chart of tax prep employment
tax prep employment

 

tax prep

tax preparation services dropped again though not as dramatically as the previous month’s 15,500 dive. at 81,600, the sector was down 1,600 or 1.9 percent for the month and 10,700 or 11.6 percent for the year. sorry, folks, that’s not a typo.

payroll

payroll employed 168,100, up 100 or 0.1 percent for the month but down 1,400 or 0.8 percent for the year. weekly hours averaged 35.7, up 18 minutes or 0.8 percent for the month and flat for the year. earnings remained below much of last year but have recovered some ground at $29.57, up 30 cents or 1 percent for the month but down 49 cents or 1.6 percent year over year.

payroll staff numbered 140,100, down 900 for the month and 3,500 for the year, respective declines of 0.6 and 2.4 percent. they worked 35 hours a week, flat for the month and up 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the year. and at $26.06, their earnings topped $26 an hour for the first time since october 2015. that’s up 19 cents or 0.7 percent for the month and 67 cents or 2.6 percent for the year.

bookkeeping

other accounting services employed 252,200, down 900 or 0.4 percent for the month and 1,300 or 0.5 percent for the year.

women

women’s numbers slid to 605,600, down 7,900 or 1.3 percent for the month and 1,600 or 0.3 percent for the year. there were 295,600 women working in cpa firms, up 1,000 or 0.3 percent for the month and 6,100 or 2.1 percent for the year. women numbered 81,500 in payroll services, up 1,200 or 1.5 percent for the month and 2,100 or 2.6 percent for the year.