PROVIDENCE – Local demand for full-time accounting and finance professionals is expected to increase in the July to September period, according to a new report from Robert Half International.
The latest Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index – a two-quarter rolling average based on surveys of chief financial officers at companies with 20 or more employees – found that most CFOs nationwide expect no net change in finance and accounting employment in the third quarter.
Eighty-four percent of CFOs surveyed said they would neither increase nor decrease the size of their teams, while 6 percent said they would add personnel and 6 percent said they would pare staff.
In Rhode Island, however, 8 percent of CFOs surveyed said they plan to add staff during the quarter and 5 percent said they anticipate reductions in personnel, for a net gain of 3 percent. That is 2 percentage points above the year-ago forecast (READ MORE) and 3 percentage points above the survey’s local second-quarter forecast.
Business growth was cited by 36 percent of CFOs nationwide who said they expect to expand their staffs, while 31 percent credited rising workloads.
“While the job market has become more competitive in a number of fields, demand for skilled accounting and finance professionals is holding steady,” Harold M. “Max” Messmer Jr., chairman and CEO of Robert Half International said in a statement today. “In fact, for many key positions, it remains a challenge to find experienced candidates.”
Accounting posts are the hardest to fill, 32 percent of respondents said. But 18 percent said audit positions are the most difficult, while another 18 percent said finance openings are most difficult.
The business services sector had the brightest outlook nationwide, with CFOs predicting a 6-percent net increase in hiring in the quarter ahead. The finance, insurance, real estate and wholesale industries also outpaced the national average, with respondents predicting a 5-percent net gain in hiring for each sector.
Robert Half has been tracking financial hiring activity in the United States since 1992. The data released today are based on responses from 200 CFOs across Rhode Island and 1,400 nationwide, at “a stratified random sample of companies,” the staffing firm said. The quarterly telephone survey is conducted by an independent research firm.
Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), founded in 1948, provides accounting, finance and information technology staffing services through its Web site and more than 350 offices around the world. Its financial staffing divisions include Accountemps, Robert Half Finance & Accounting and Robert Half Management Resources. To learn more, visit www.rhi.com.
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