Over 60% of companies are looking to hire full-time accountants to their staff and an even
higher 80% are looking to hire contract accountants.
According to State of U.S. Hiring Survey from firm Robert Half, accounting and finance are
among the most-in-demand personnel companies are looking to hire in Q1&2 of 2023.
According to the chart below, within the first half of this year, 62% of companies are looking to hire full-
time finance and accounting professional.
An even higher need is for managers who are looking to hire contract staff in accounting and finance at
about 78%, on par with legal.
As the study indicates, the states planning on bringing in the most new hires during the first half of 2023
are as follows: Atlanta (65%), Houston (62%), Chicago (60%), Minneapolis (60%), Dallas (59%), and the
District of Columbia (59%).
How does this compare to least year? Well, over 58% of Robert Half’s respondents stated they are
looking to hire new permanent roles at the beginning of this year as opposed to 46% just six months
ago. It is worth noting that another 39% is looking to hire for recently vacated positions.
Senior executive director of Robert Half, Paul McDonald, recently said in a statement, “Contract
professionals can quickly step in to help with critical projects and heavy workloads while companies
continue their search for permanent employees.”
What’s interesting with this study is that it actually is taking longer on average to hire a full-time
accountant. It’s been reported that it can take up to 11 weeks to place a full-time employee, up from 7
weeks in 2021. In may ways, it is still a challenge to find and hire skilled employees.
According to McDonald, “Hiring tends to pick up at the beginning of the year, as budgets have been
approved and teams seek additional support for initiatives that will drive business growth and customer
retention. As job opening and turnover remain high, employers need to play offense – and be prepared
to negotiate – in order to recruit and retain skilled talent.”
**The survey referenced was developed by Robert Half and conducted online from October 20th to
November 3 rd of 2022 by an independent research firm. The survey includes responses from 2,175
managers, all with hiring responsibilities in the U.S. at companies with more than 20 employees.
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