Hiring managers continue saying how hard it is to hire qualified accountants.
But the latest job postings data suggests that the demand is shifting for accountants, and other high-demand positions, like software development and nursing.
To understand where the accounting job market is headed, it's helpful to know what made the accountant shortage so extreme in the first place.
As lockdowns eased post-COVID, public accounting firms went on an aggressive hiring spree. Between 2020 and 2024, the Top 100 U.S. firms grew headcount by over 40%! They absorbed huge amounts of available accounting talent, especially at the entry level.
Public accounting’s volume hiring, early campus recruiting, and high turnover cycles meant they continuously pulled from the same limited pool of graduates making the shortage more acute for everyone else.
Now these firms are moving people around and managing a slowdown in growth. Recent layoffs at PwC and RSM signal overstaffing, but the layoffs were targeted to certain practices.
The underlying supply problem remains. Fewer students, fewer CPAs, and persistent demand mean the shortage is shifting but not solved...for now.
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