No Job Openings in Accounting and Finance?

June 5, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Those looking for jobs in accounting and finance departments in the next quarter may have a hard time as the Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index indicates staff levels in accounting and finance departments will remain unchanged.

Eighty-four percent of chief financial officers surveyed said staff levels would remain the same, according to a Robert Half press release. Only 6% said personnel would be added in the third quarter, but the good news is only 6% indicated personnel would be reduced.

Of those CFOs who expect to expand their staff size 36% cited business growth as creating the need for additional personnel, and 31% of executives attributed the need to hire to rising workloads, the release said.

However, employers seem to have some difficulty in finding skilled employees. Thirty-two percent of CFOs surveyed indicated accounting positions were the most difficult for which to hire, while audit and finance roles were each mentioned by 18% of executives as being the hardest to fill.

By industry, the financial hiring outlook is most optimistic among business services firms where 9% of CFOs from this sector plan to increase personnel levels, and only 3% foresee reductions. Hiring activity also is expected to outpace the national average in the finance, insurance and real estate, and wholesale industries, as a net 5% of CFOs interviewed in each sector anticipate adding staff.

Those looking for a position in accounting or finance might head to the Middle Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) and West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas) states. A net 4% of CFOs in each region anticipate adding full-time accounting and finance professionals during the third quarter.

The Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CFOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees.

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