There is so much conversation out there — much of which is easy to misinterpret. It’s imperative that you have accurate information to make smart hiring and compensation decisions, plan any workforce reductions, and develop effective retention strategies. Without the right data, you can’t do any of those things with confidence. I also want to stress that the data points related to unemployment, labor participation, and other charts in the Quarterly Barometer cover all types of jobs. Within the accounting and finance sector, the market is even tighter. And that is not going away anytime soon. As we highlighted in January , the professional accounting and finance talent pool is shrinking rapidly due to multiple factors including a significant decline in students who are pursuing degrees in accounting. Those of us in accounting and finance know the sad truth: Even in the best of times companies' accounting and finance teams are rarely overstaffed. So, when we look at recent headlines about layoffs and restructures, it’s generally not impacting the accounting and finance departments in a material way. Our most critical issue is more one of supply and demand, which may not track with overall labor trends. In this Barometer, you’ll find a snapshot of what happened in Q1 from a data-driven perspective with some additional commentary. We’ll also include a look ahead at what we think are the most important considerations for Southern California leaders for the rest of 2023. I hope you find it informative, actionable, and relevant to the decisions you are making.
Jennifer Hannigan Founder and CEO Alliance Resource Group
4 ARG Quarterly Barometer Q2 2023
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