What’s going on with the job market for tax professionals?

Other than quarter-end provision work, I hope most tax professionals are able to enjoy a bit of a lull between busy periods. As many of you may remember, I used to send out newsletters about what’s going on with hiring, layoffs, salaries, benefits, and changes in the employment market. As the post-covid, hiring frenzy took off; the newsletter fell by the wayside. Although the labor supply in tax is still very tight, hiring activity seems to be slowing down just enough that I feel it’s a good time to get back to it. Stay tuned for shorter, monthly newsletters that should offer timely, relevant, and helpful information; whether you’re looking to hire or considering a job change. Over the next few months, I will talk about compensation and salary ranges for tax professionals, in-office vs remote hiring trends, who’s hiring and who’s laying off, skills that are opening doors and what you can do to get hired or attract and retain the best talent.

Here is a short summary of what’s going on out there. We are beginning to see a slowdown in hiring activity, especially in industry (in-house tax). In some cases, open tax positions have been taken down or hiring has been paused. Companies are choosing not to backfill, and the hiring process has definitely seen a slowdown. In the Colorado job market, which has been one of the hottest markets since coming out of the pandemic, open tax positions in industry are down by 12% Y-o-Y. Public accounting hiring has slowed down but not quite as much. I sense that a lot of larger firms are preparing for a slower period and adjusting their hiring accordingly. Hiring for anticipated growth, the norm for many years, has slowed way down. To view the full newsletter, please click here.