except at payroll agencies, where wage gains are dipping.
by beth bellor
let’s talk about earnings, because the latest national data shows some good news on that front. hourly earnings in the accounting profession have nudged above $39 for the first time, to $39.09, up 81 cents or 2.1% for the month and $2.48 or 6.8% for the year.
more: tax & accounting firms beef up wages and headcounts | cpa hiring rises as number of new grads continues to decline | staffing crisis: 40% are looking for new jobs
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another new high came at cpa firms, where they topped $41 for the first time at $41.61, up $1.23 or 3% for the month and $3.70 or 9.8% for the year. staff at cpa firms followed the trend with $31.84, up 53 cents or 1.7% for the month and $2.02 or 6.8% for the year.
before more accounting details, let’s look at the larger picture. according to the u.s. bureau of labor statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment was up 372,000 in june. the unemployment rate stayed at 3.6% for the fourth straight month, with 5.9 million people. these figures were close to the pre-pandemic february 2020 figures of 3.5% and 5.7 million. news is better in professional and business services, where we’re 880,000 higher than before covid-19, adding 74,000 jobs in june alone.
employment in the accounting profession reached 1,114,300 in june, up 4,800 or 0.4% for the month and 64,400 or 6.1% for the year. people worked an average of 36 hours per week, down 18 minutes or 0.8% for the month and year.
staff topped 800,000 for the first time at 802,600, up 10,000 or 1.3% for the month and 41,000 or 5.4% for the year. they put in 34.6 hours, down 30 minutes or 1.4% for both the month and year. they made $29.78, up 13 cents or 0.4% for the month and $1.20 or 4.2% for the year.
cpa firms
cpa firms employed 511,400, up 500 or 0.1% for the month and 6,500 or 1.3% for the year. employees averaged 36.4 hours, down 30 minutes or 1.4% for the month and 12 minutes or 0.5% for the year.
staff at cpa firms numbered 355,300, up 4,100 or 1.2% for the month and 3,600 or 1% for the year. they worked an average 35.2 weekly hours, down 12 minutes or 0.6% for the month and an hour or 2.8% for the year.
tax preparation
tax preparation services employed 99,700, up 13,900 or 16.2% for the month and 9,400 or 10.4% for the year.
payroll services
payroll services made their first hop above the big 2 to total 203,800, up 4,100 or 2.1% for the month and 24,100 or 13.4% for the year. employees worked 35.3 hours, down 42 minutes or 1.9% for the month and 1 hour 48 minutes or 4.9% for the year. earnings dipped for the fourth straight month and below $39 for the first time since august 2021. at $38.60 they were down 48 cents or 1.2% for the month but up 52 cents or 1.4% for the year.
staff at payroll services numbered 171,500, up 3,400 or 2% for the month and 25,000 or 17.1% for the year. they put in 35.5 weekly hours, down 54 minutes or 2.5% for the month and 2 hours 42 minutes or 7.1% for the year. earnings dipped to $30.59, down 42 cents or 1.4% for the month but up 68 cents or 2.3% for the year.
bookkeeping
other accounting services continued a slow climb, reaching 290,000, up 2,900 or 1% for the month and 14,700 or 5.3% for the year.
women
women in accounting crossed the 700,000 mark to 706,400, up 15,200 or 2.2% for the month and 39,600 or 5.9% for the year. their ranks in cpa firms were 314,100, up 5,300 or 1.7% for the month but down 1,900 or 0.6% for the year. women in payroll services numbered 101,900, up 1,500 or 1.5% for the month and 12,200 or 13.6% for the year.