Economy poised for continued growth.
Accounting & finance job sector to remain strong.

With prospectus from Neil S. Lebovits, CPA
President and COO, Ajilon Finance

What will drive the economy?
In the past two years, the U.S. economy has realized steady growth, adding millions of new jobs to the labor force while significantly reducing the pool of unemployed workers. The economy possesses considerable underlying strength and should continue its expansion as income is growing steadily and consumer spending remains solid. In Canada, there is a more balanced economic outlook. Look for the Canadian dollar to remain strong and Gross Domestic Product to grow at a moderate pace.

Overall, a few powerful factors should continue to fuel growing economic conditions:

• Favorable fiscal and monetary policies and historically low long-term interest rates are still in place
• Businesses are continuing to benefit from profit growth, strong internal cash flows, and demand generated by sustained economic expansion
• Strong corporate balance sheets point to further steady gains in business investment
• With near-peak levels of worker productivity, look for incremental hiring and broad-based job creation to continue throughout the labor force

Which industries will benefit?
Just as it has been for the past few years, employment growth will be concentrated in the service-providing sectors of the economy. Industries that are projected to grow faster than average in the near future include:

• Education
• Health services
• Professional and business services
• Information technology
• Leisure and hospitality
• Transportation and warehousing

Demand will also remain strong for accountants and financial professionals with CPAs and other specialty certifications and skills. In addition, internal auditing and corporate governance regulations dictated by Sarbanes-Oxley will continue to fuel a strong demand for accounting and finance professionals as companies strive to manage compliance and maintenance related issues.

The demand for talent heats up.
Over the next 15 years, some 70 million baby boomers are expected to retire. In the same time period, only 40 million workers will enter the workforce. By 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that North America will face an unprecedented shortage of workers. So it should come as no surprise that demand for top professionals is rapidly increasing across all industries. The accounting and finance sectors are no exception.

Three years after the establishment of tougher accounting and corporate governance rules, businesses – including large accounting firms – are scrambling to recruit new accountants, struggling to retain their staff, and digging deeper than ever into their pockets to come up with attractive compensation packages. A shortage of accountants is pushing annual salaries up sharply – over 30 percent in the past three years alone for an accountant with five years experience at a top-four public accounting firm. Compare that to an expected 3.7 percent average increase in wages across the U.S. economy overall this year – those are the lengths companies are willing to go to for top accounting and financial personnel!

A talent war is heating up, with corporate America looking for individuals that have the experience – and proven ability – to affect a company’s bottom line. This should positively impact compensation packages, as salaries will continue their trend upward as organizations seek to attract and retain top talent to help meet critical business objectives.

Interested in learning more about economic and job market trends in your area, and how this will affect hiring activity in the coming months? Contact your local Ajilon Finance branch at 1.866.GO AJILON or at ajilonfinance.com to speak with a staffing professional for more helpful advice on key workplace issues affecting the labor market and more!

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