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For Immediate Release
December 4, 2007
FINANCIAL HIRING TO KEEP AT CURRENT PACE IN FIRST QUARTER
Most Active Hiring Predicted in West South Central States
MENLO PARK, CA -- Ten
percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) plan to add
accounting and finance staff during the first quarter of 2008 and 4 percent anticipate
personnel reductions, according to the Robert Half International
Financial Hiring Index. The net 6 percent increase is unchanged from the
fourth-quarter 2007 forecast. The majority of respondents, 86 percent, foresee no change
in hiring activity.
Forty-two percent
of CFOs who expect hiring increases cited rising workloads as the
primary reason, while 30
percent attributed the demand to anticipated business
expansion.
The national report is based on interviews with more than 1,400 CFOs
from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or
more employees. It was conducted by an independent research firm and
developed by Robert Half International, the world’s first and largest
staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance. Robert
Half has been tracking financial hiring activity in the United States
since 1992.
“Many employers are concerned about their ability to recruit skilled
accounting and finance professionals amid continued competition for
this talent,” said Max Messmer, chairman and
CEO of Robert Half International. “The demand has resulted in higher
salaries for positions such as staff accountant, internal auditor and
financial analyst.”
Accounting and Financial
Hiring -- By Region
Hiring is expected to be strongest in the West South Central1 region, where a net 12 percent of CFOs anticipate
adding full-time accounting and finance professionals: 14 percent of executives
surveyed will be hiring and just 2
percent project cutbacks.
“Companies in the West South Central states are hiring accounting
and finance personnel to help meet expansion objectives,” Messmer said. “In particular, employers seek
professionals for positions in general accounting, cost accounting and
tax.”
Hiring activity in the Middle Atlantic2 and Pacific3 states also is expected to
exceed the national average. A net 9 percent of CFOs in the Middle Atlantic region
and 8 percent
in the Pacific states expect to add staff during the quarter.
Robert Half has conducted additional CFO interviews in major
metropolitan areas to provide snapshots of financial hiring trends in
these markets. The local results are available at www.roberthalf.com/PressRoom.
Accounting and Financial
Hiring -- By Industry
Among all industries, executives in the business services sector are
most optimistic about hiring. A net 15 percent of CFOs from business services firms
expect to hire additional staff in the first quarter.
Above-average hiring activity also is expected in manufacturing; 12 percent of executives said
they plan to expand their accounting and finance teams during the first
quarter and 3 percent
foresee personnel reductions, a net 9 percent increase.
Robert Half International was founded in 1948 and is traded on the
New York Stock Exchange. Its financial staffing divisions include Accountemps®, Robert Half®
Finance & Accounting and Robert Half® Management
Resources, for temporary, full-time and senior-level project
professionals, respectively. The company has more than 350 staffing
locations in North America, South America, Europe
and the Asia-Pacific region, and offers online job search services on
its divisional websites, all of which can be accessed at www.rhi.com.
[1] Arkansas,
Louisiana, Oklahoma,
Texas
[2] New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania
[3] Alaska,
California, Hawaii,
Oregon, Washington
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