PROVIDENCE – Local demand for full-time accounting and finance professionals is expected to dip slightly in the October to December period, defying the trend nationwide and across New England, according to a survey by Robert Half International.
In Rhode Island, 85 percent of CFOs surveyed said they plan no change in staffing in the fourth quarter. But 6 percent said they plan to add staff during the quarter while 7 percent said they anticipate reductions in personnel, for a net loss of 1 percent. That was down from a net gain of 3 percentage points called for by the survey’s local third-quarter forecast. (READ MORE)
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.
Nationwide, although the same 85 percent of CFOs surveyed said they would neither increase nor decrease the size of their teams, 10 percent said they would add personnel and 5 percent said they would pare staff. That yields a predicted net gain of 5 percent, compared with the third quarter’s predicted change of 0 percent.
New England tied with the East South Central region for the biggest projected gains, with a net 7 percent of CFOs in each region planning to add full-time accounting and financial professionals in the year’s final quarter.
“In the New England region, financial analysts are needed to help firms identify further operating efficiencies,” Harold M. “Max” Messmer Jr., chairman and CEO of Robert Half International said in a statement today.
“While the forecast for Providence is more conservative, businesses need a strong financial function to see them through all economic cycles,” he added. “When hiring, firms seek accounting and finance professionals who can help them reduce costs, ensure accurate reporting and guide business strategy.”
Smaller firms, with 20 to 49 employees, had the brightest outlook nationwide, the survey found. Eleven percent of such firms said they would add staff in the fourth quarter while 5 percent expected to cut personnel, for a net gain of with a net 6 percent. Business growth was cited by 44 percent of CFOs nationwide who said they expect to expand their staffs, while 41 percent credited rising workloads.
Among industries, optimism was highest in wholesale trade, where a net 12 percent of CFOs plan to add staff in the fourth quarter; manufacturing, with a net 11 percent projecting gains; and the finance, insurance and real estate industry and transportation industry, where a net 8 percent of CFOs plan to add accounting or finance personnel in the period.
Accounting posts are the hardest to fill, 28 percent of respondents said. But 22 percent said operational-support roles, such as those in accounts payable and collections, as the most difficult to staff.
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.
In a separate report today, Chicago-based outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said that layoff announcements nationwide dipped to 88,736 last month from 103,312 in July, though they remained well above the 79,459 of August 2007.
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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.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based outplacement consulting firm, is the producer of a monthly job-cuts report based on corporate layoff announcements nationwide. To learn more, visit www.challengergray.com.
