How much do you know about the latest hiring trends affecting your profession?
As we enter the midpoint of 2016, it’s as good a time as ever to assess the health of the labor market—especially with recent economic uncertainties. That’s why I wanted to share with you the latest study Brilliant™ conducted with University of Michigan professor Dr. Richard Curtin on the hiring trends surrounding accounting, finance and IT slated for the third quarter.
Overall, businesses appear to remain optimistic despite the recent fiscal challenges, and hiring managers reported strong hiring plans for the year ahead.
Last quarter, we saw the highest spike in open accounting, finance and IT positions since early 2015. However, it appears the bulk of those positions have since been filled since a drop in open positions was reported by the companies surveyed in the study.
While companies did indicate fewer unfilled accounting, finance and IT positions compared with the previous quarter, and planned hiring for IT was more dominant than accounting and finance, most survey takers reported critical open accounting and finance positions needing to be filled as quickly as possible.
I think it’s important for accounting, finance and IT professionals of all levels and roles to stay in the know with these hiring trends. Take a look at the Top 5 Hiring Trends Heading Into Q3 2016 below.
1. How many companies are reporting open positions?
For accounting and finance positions, 35 percent of survey respondents reported one or more positions open—down from 45 percent in last quarter’s forecast. Open IT positions were reported by 39 percent of survey respondents—down from 44 percent last quarter. Although the trend is in decline the percentages remain at historical highs.
2. How many positions remain open?
The number of companies reporting 10 or more unfilled accounting and finance positions decreased to 4 percent from 10 percent in last quarter’s forecast; and for IT, it decreased to 4 percent from 16 percent last quarter.
3. What’s the length of time the positions have been unfilled?
The biggest jump in the length of time the positions have stayed unfilled was in the one to three-month range: 17 percent versus 9 percent last quarter for accounting and finance, and 23 percent versus 9 percent last quarter for IT.
4. What type of unfilled positions are most common?
The most common type of open accounting and finance positions, mentioned by 25 percent—down from 30 percent in last quarter’s forecast—was in corporate accounting which includes financial analysis, tax, general accounting and internal auditing. For IT positions, the most common positions open include software development and database administration, with 20 percent of survey takers reporting, down from 24 percent last quarter.
5. What are the expected hiring plans over the next 12 months?
Planned hiring of accounting and finance roles remains healthy. 17 percent of companies (only slightly down from 18 percent last quarter) plan to increase their hiring for accounting and finance positions. IT fared even better with 27 percent of companies (up from 24 percent last quarter) planning to increase their IT teams during the year ahead.
Know of any other trends you can expect in the coming quarter? Comment below and let us know!