President Chris Burkhard’s reaction to the latest staffing industry reports
Industry trends in staffing continue to show growth year over year. Clearly more firms are using a contingent workforce program and leveraging more talent these days. Many segments of staffing are slowing down or decelerating into the fourth quarter. In some ways this is explainable, even with record stock market performance as of late, there are factors that prevent companies from hiring with reckless abandon.
Unless you happen to work in accounting and finance! As a grizzled industry veteran, I watched the beginning of specialty staffing firms in the early 90’s. At this point our message to CFOs was to understand the potential benefits of using flexible labor in their accounting and finance departments. Most cringed at the thought. Staff and hiring was a core competency and all hiring was mostly done through the company or perhaps through the accounting firm of choice for standard third party work in audit or consulting work.
Today? Accounting and finance continues to be a market leader in using contract accounting and finance talent! Placers sees it with it customers and our marketplace.
So what are the factors that have accounting and finance leading the industry over the second half of 2014?
- Our government shutdown sending millions of government workers temporarily to the unemployment lines causing what we hope is a short-term spike in overall unemployment to 7.3 from 7.2% in September.
- We see many firms pressing the planning “pause” button. As budgets get planned for 2014 and as organizations reevaluate their progress in 2013, the Outside-In Companies has seen many start dates and hiring plans pushed to the first quarter.
- Each month the jobs report continues to be a surprise and there is an adjustment! The ADP jobs report has been revised up and down several times over the last few months. Uncertainty and surprises continue to weigh on decision makers that have the challenge of setting strategy for their business.
- Job churn. The psyche of today’s worker is evolving. The marketplace is still when full of flux and change. But today’s worker (even traditional conservative occupations like engineering, sciences, and accounting and finance) are moving laterally. Staff is starting to change jobs! The Outside-In companies are now working on replacing talent in roles that are (finally) making job changes.
- The overall employee landscape is evolving and narrowing. More temporary workers worked last month then any month but one in the history of our job market. This penetration rate is a clear indicator of the shifting role that temporary work is playing in business today. And the overall workforce is narrowing. More workers retiring each day or redefining work in part-time or seasonal roles.
- Demand. There is an insatiable need for experienced Accounting and Finance talent that is a culture fit. Where the talent fits the organizational values.
There you have it – six reasons accounting and finance jobs are going strong in the staffing industry.
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