Accountants and financial professionals feeling more secure in jobs

Confidence among U.S. finance and accounting workers hit a high in the second quarter of the year, according to a new survey.

The Mergis Group Finance and Accounting Employee Confidence Index, which measures employee outlook among finance and accounting workers on job security, showed these employees’ confidence rising nearly 10 points from the previous quarter and reaching levels not seen since before the recession. The current index score is the highest since Q3 2007, and is about 10 points above the national average for workers in all professions and industries.

Each quarter, The Mergis Group releases a quarterly Finance and Accounting Confidence Index, which is conducted online by Harris Interactive and measures overall confidence among U.S. finance and accounting workers.

The study, which surveyed 173 U.S. finance and accounting workers (ages 18 and older) in April, May and June, 2013, also found that these workers’ outlook on the economy is brightening. In fact, finance and accounting employees believe that the economy is getting stronger, rising 12 percentage points from the previous quarter, to 42 percent. The Index encompasses employee attitudes and sentiment around the economy, job market, job security, employers and in their ability to find a new job.

“We are seeing a lot of movement in the finance and accounting space, particularly in areas such as insurance underwriting and financial analysis,” said Steve McMahan, President of Randstad Finance & Accounting, Randstad Human Resources, Accountants International and The Mergis Group. “We’ve also seen a major spike in transactional based accounting searches, technical accounting, domestic tax, and audit searches at the analyst, accountant, and manager levels.”

Increasing Percentage of Finance and Accounting Workers Believe the Economy is Getting Stronger

Forty-two percent of finance and accounting employees believe the economy is getting stronger, rising 12 percentage points from the first quarter of 2013. The number of finance and accounting workers who believe the economy is getting weaker took a steep, 16-percentage-point drop, from 32 percent in Q1 2013 to 16 percent in Q2.

More Finance and Accounting Workers Believe More Jobs are Available

Nearly a third (31%) of finance and accounting employees believe more jobs are available, rising eleven percentage points from the previous quarter.

Confidence in Ability to Find New Jobs Slips

Forty-two percent of finance and accounting workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, slipping seven percentage points from the previous quarter. Although, the number of workers who say they are not confident that they could find a new job decreased by 11 percentage points, from 26 percent to 15 percent.

Workers Ambivalent About Job Search

Nearly four in ten (38%) finance and accounting workers say they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, increasing just one percentage point from the previous quarter. More than half (56%) say they are not likely to job search, rising three percentage points from the previous quarter.