Houston Economic Update
October 2012 Newsletter for Accounting Professionals from Diane Delgado LeMaire @ CFS
Industry News and Updates
This has been an interesting start to the 4th quarter of the year. I can’t say that we are super busy on the direct hire side of our business, but we have been very steady. Although year to date, the CFS Houston Team has become one of the top CFS offices for growth! The demand for contract workers is very high. We are seeing this locally in Houston and nationally (40 offices nationwide). I wonder how much of an impact the coming election is having on the types of hires companies are making (temporary vs. permanent) and if we will see the flood gates open after we receive the election results. I guess we will have to wait and see.
I continue to be optimistic about our local economy. Most of the news we see every day about Houston is very positive. We were just recently name the number one city in the US for Manufacturing by Forbes. Just simply drive around town and there seem to be buildings going up every where (especially on the west side of town). Construction is always the last industry to come out of a recession, so I am sure this is just the beginning of what’s to come. According to the GHP Houston added almost 90, 000 jobs by the end of August 2012. We are experiencing one of the fastest growth rates in the nation. Again, very positive news. It is great to live in such a wonderful and prosperous city. Oh, and by the way GO TEXANS! They are having an amazing year and I am certain making a positive impact on our local economy :-). Until next time……
Local Statistics:
National / Houston Unemployment rate: 7.8/6.7
Price of Oil: $95 (last year $95)
Oil Rig Count: 1955 (last year 1835)
Industries hiring: Oil & Gas, Healthcare, Oil & Gas Field Services, Retail, Chemicals and Services, Construction, Manufacturing
Positions in demand: Senior Accountants,Auditors, Financial Analysts
Industries not hiring or flat: Telecommunications, Government
Openings:
- Credit & Collections Manager, SE, 110 to 120K
- SEC Accountant, Westchase, 1 to 2 year Auditor needed
- Senior Accountant, Westchase, 60K (2 openings)
- Staff Accountant, Galleria, 48K
- Auditor, Galleria, 40% travel 60 to 75K
- Fixed Asset Accounting Manager, DT, 90K
- Bilingual Senior Accountant, DT, 60K
- Controller, Manufacturing, Rosenberg, 130K
- 2 Entry Level Tax Accountants, CPA Firm, Good GPA
- Accounting Manager, Katy, 100K
- Assistant Controller, Rosenberg, 85K
- Audit Senior Manager & Partner, Galleria, DOE
- Tax Senior Manager & Partner, Galleria, DOE
- Payroll Administrator, Woodlands, 50K
- International Tax Staff & Senior, Westchase, 50 to 90K
- Revenue Accounting Supervisor, DT, 115K
- Revenue Senior, DT, 65 to 85K
- Gas Plant Accountant, DT, 85 to 90K
- Staff Accountant, West Houston, Small Company, 60K
- Procurement Rep, 2 to 3 year assignment IRAQ, 100 PLUS
- Tax Staff Accountant, CPA Firm, Galleria, 45 to 55K
- Internal Auditor, Galleria, 60 to 65K – 20% Travel
- Gas Plant Accountant, Westchase & DT, 75 to 100K
- Sales Analyst (heavy excel), Greenway, 55K
- Payroll and Payroll Tax Accountants, Galleria, 45 to 65K
- Pharmacy IT Analyst, Modeling, Data Mining, Greenway Plaza, 80 to 90K
Articles:
Forbes names Houston No. 1 city for manufacturing jobs
Accounting Today: Salary Hikes Likely in Accounting in 2013
August 2012 Newsletter for Houston Accounting Professionals
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August 2012 Industry News and Updates Diane – can you believe that Summer is almost over? Right now it seems that most people are focused on last minute vacations, back to school shopping and getting prepared for unbelievable amounts of traffic on the freeways again. I must say, I do love the sunny and warm days of summer, but I am ready for the fall. One of the main reasons for that excitement is not only the change in weather, but the amount of hires that happen in September, October and November. These are typically the busiest months for permanent placements. Contract placements tend to be higher in the summer months, although there are record numbers of temporary hires happening this year. So what is new to Houston? According to the Greater Houston Partnership’s Economy at a Glance, consumer confidence seems to be improving. Houston enjoyed the highest auto and home sales numbers since 2007 this past month. The GHP ties this back to 3 factors which include: job and income growth, as well as the strong performance of the energy industry. They also mentioned that the average annual wage is up $9,100 from 2009. I can tell you first hand that making a move right now does not mean you have to go backwards in salary. That is not to say that people are not making lateral moves, but for the most part everyone is seeing an increase in salary. The market is still doing very well in Houston and good talent is getting harder to find. Accountants like yourself will benefit from that today and for years to come! Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have and stay tuned for the next newsletter in October. Local Statistics:
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Local Searches
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HOT Accounting & Finance Openings – EMAIL: dcd@fittsroberts.com
Cost Accounting Analyst – Sugarland Area – Need Standard Costing!
Senior Accountant – East Houston – Manufacturing – Again, standard costing
Interim Controller – South Houston 610 area – prefers some healthcare experience
Business Analyst – West Houston – HFM Hyperion
Operations Analyst – Galleria – good communication skills, multi location experience
Accounting Manager – Energy Trading – Very hands on…roll your sleeves up
Corporate Accounting Manager – Need Exploration and Production experience
Tax – various levels of public accouting, Industry – Sales Tax role – Multistate
Staff and Senior Auditor – Various industries, including oil and gas, retail – Need some public accounting experience
Credit Analyst – need letters of credit and credit risk experience
AP Supervisor – Downtown
Treasury Analyst – Bond / Fixed Income Analysis experience required
Diane Delgado LeMaire
dcd@fittsrobert.scom
713-260-5238
June Houston Economic Update from GHP
Houston Economic Update from GHP
Houston May Economic Update from GHP
Article: 10 Things to Remove from Your Resume – Don Goodman, Expert Resume Writer, Career Coach and Job Search Strategist.
Don Goodman, Expert Resume Writer, Career Coach and Job Search Strategist.
20 seconds
That’s the average amount of time that an employer will spend scanning your resume. The phrase “Less is more” has often been used for design purposes, but it can apply just as well to your resume.
The point is to keep only information on your resume that is clear, simple and that supports your brand and message. It’s a balance of having just enough information to draw the interest of an employer, while leaving room for you to further explain during an interview.
The more irrelevant information you add to your resume, the more it dilutes your “key message”. Employers today also look right through fluff words and are rather annoyed by them.
So, you ask, “How can I power up my resume and make sure it contains the precise balance of information?”
Consider the following:
- Replace the “Objective” statement on your resume with “Professional Profile.”
- Employers today are not that interested in what you want. Your opening paragraph needs to be a strong message that summarizes your background and indicates what you are best at. That creates a theme that is then followed by proving that you are great at these things by showcasing supporting accomplishments in each job.
- Eliminate superfluous, or “fluff” words.
- I can’t tell you how many resumes start with “Dynamic visionary…” I call these fluff statements as anyone can make them and they add no real value to your resume. Keep your message on point and stick to the facts. If you want to express these traits, demonstrate it with what you have achieved or accomplished.
- Watch your grammar.
- Sentences in resumes are written like headlines and are in the first person. In other words, the statement “I am known for consistently exceeding my sales quotas” becomes “Known for consistently exceeding sales quotas.” Another one of the biggest mistakes when writing a resume is when people mix first person and third person. For example, although “Easily learns new software” sounds right, that is the third-person (“she learns”) and should really be “Easily learn” (“I learn”). Small but important point, as you do want your resume to be grammatically correct.
- Include one telephone number rather than multiple numbers.
- If you must list more than one number, make sure to specify under what conditions the other numbers should be used.
- Do not include discriminating information.
- Avoid information that can lead one to discriminate against you, including age, sex, religion, marital status, and ethnicity. This includes the use of photos that should never be on a resume unless your face is an important part of your job (e.g. modeling, TV, etc.). In fact, some employers are forced to ignore your resume if it contains such information because of the chance that they may be accused of discrimination later in the process.
- Keep information on your education specific to the degree received, major, institution attended, and if appropriate, your GPA.
- You do not need to reveal your graduating year, the institution(s) you transferred out of or high school attended.
- Include only experiences that are relevant to the job.
- Employers are not interested in achievements or abilities that are not applicable to the job. If you are in sales and you helped develop an Access database to track supplies, that’s nice, but not relevant. Also be cautious about listing your associations or volunteer work that is irrelevant or may be in conflict with the potential employer.
- Eliminate skills for basic software programs.
- Most employers today expect you to be familiar with the basic computer programs.
- Do not include references unless requested.
- Employers today expect you to offer references when requested, which is typically during the latter part of the interview process. A top five Peeve of recruiters is seeing “References available upon request” on the resume. Do you really know anyone who would refuse to give references?
- Maintain a reasonable length for your resume.
- If you are a recent graduate, most employers do not expect your resume to be more than one page. However, if you have had considerable professional experience then your resume should be two to three pages. Note the notion all resumes should be one page is not true especially in this market. Resumes need to have enough detail to support your positioning so a two to three page resume is acceptable. I always tell my clients a resume has to have a compelling message and be easy to read, so after you have tightened up your content, format it to have a decent amount of white space.
Finding the right balance of information for your resume can make it impactful. It’s not about how long or short your resume is or how many employers you’ve worked for, but finding the right information and words to present it in the best light to demonstrate that you have the specific experiences and skills the employer is seeking.
So, keep in mind the phrase, “Less is more” when creating or updating your resume.
Don Goodman, president of About Jobs, has assisted thousands of people with their career search. A Certified Career Management Coach and Expert Resume Writer, he has been a Featured Keynote Speaker at dozens of Job Fairs, Executive Conferences, and State Agency events and has worked with the Career Placement Services of Johns Hopkins University, Clark University, and Fairleigh Dickinson University.
April Newsletter for Houston Accounting Professionals – dcd@fittsroberts.com
I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to get back in touch and let you know a little about what’s going on the Houston job market these days. It seems that Houston is doing much better than the data from last year revealed. We actually added 3500 more jobs in 2011 than initially released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At this point Houston has recovered all the jobs lost during the recession. I have also read several articles that reference Houston having more demand for Accountants than any other city in the U.S (check out this article: http://wp.me/puDjI-jX ). I can certainly attest to the fact that Q1 was a very busy quarter for us and Q2 is not slowing down. Not only is Houston doing very well, but our other offices across the nation are also experiencing more jobs and a tighter candidate market. If you’re considering a move, now’s the time to dust off that old resume and get back in touch. If you’ve got any new updates on your search, I’d love to hear about them!Stay tuned for my next newsletter in June.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dianedelgadolemaire (I accept all invitations)
Local Statistics:
- National / Houston Unemployment rate: 8.9% / 7.2%
- Houston’s recession officially ended in November ’11 when we recouped all lost jobs since the peak in December 2008. Houston remains the 1st of the nations largest 20 metro areas to emerge.
- From Feb ’11 to Feb ’12 Houston created 93,400 jobs. This represents a 3.7% increase. This ranks 1st in Texas metro areas.
- Trade records abound – for the 6th consecutive month, the Galveston Customs District reports a record value of $269B
- Auto sales on the rise – Looks like people are spending money on cars again. 36.8% increase YTD.
- Foreclosures are down 12.6% YTD
- Price of Oil: $103.57 (last year $109.57)
- Oil Rig Count:1979 (last year 1782)
- Industries hiring:
- Services, Exploration & Production, Manufacturing, Service Companies, Oil & Gas Field Services. Healthcare & Hospitality
- Positions in demand:
- Senior and Staff Accountants, Financial Analysts, Internal Auditors, Public Accounting, Operational Accounting Managers, Treasury, International Ta
- Industries not hiring or flat: Telecommunications, Government, Real Estate, Financial
Fight for talent puts crunch on Houston accounting firms – Houston Business Journal
Date: Friday, April 6, 2012, 5:00am CDT
If you’re looking for an accounting job anywhere in the country, Houston is your best bet. you’re looking to hire a number cruncher, it’s thin pickings.
Houston has more job openings in the accounting field than any other U.S. city, according to Charlotte, N.C.-based recruiter Accounting Principals. That means Houston companies that want to build up their accounting staff are finding it difficult, as intense demand has dried up the talent pool, accounting sector officials say.
Big companies favor Houston for their back-office operations, seeking the city’s relaxed tax environment and large workforce, while the city’s still-booming oil and gas industry is hungry for accountants, Accounting Principals said. Add it all up, and the spike in demand for accounting skills accompanying that growth has slowed down the recruiting process.
It’s frustrating, and it takes more effort,” said Thomas Wright, an executive at Margolis, Phipps & Wright PC, a Houston-based public accounting firm. “We’re able to hire sufficient people, but it’s not easy. The process has lengthened itself, it takes longer, and you spend more time to find the candidates.” Wright says he sees plenty of resumes, but it’s tough to find the right fit because his firm looks for experienced tax accountants, rather than the recent college graduates who are ideal for other positions, especially at the much larger, so-called “big four” accounting firms. Experienced candidates are in demand and harder to find, he said.
Employment in accounting is expected to be among the fastest growing in the Gulf Coast area, growing 26 percent between 2008 and 2018 to 33,000, according to the according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Even the pool of talented college graduates is shrinking, in large part because college students have turned to other pursuits, such as investment banking, area accountants say.
Demand for recent accounting graduates is at its second-highest level since 1971, and companies nationwide hired 33,321 recent grads last year, according to the New York-based American Institute of Certified Public Accountants . “The pipeline of the university has begun to dwindle somewhat,” said Charles Swanson, Houston managing partner at New York-based Ernst & Young LLP. At the state’s major universities, such as The University of Texas at Austin, fewer college graduates are interested in the audit side of accounting — they’d rather snatch up tax accounting jobs, he said.
And even when firms hire strong candidates, it’s tough to keep them. Edward Hlousek, a human resources officer at Houston-based McConnell Jones Lanier& Murphy LLP, said the firm has difficulty retaining talent longer than one or two years. “The market here is hot,” Hlousek said. “We’ve lost people to the big four, we’ve lost people to the large oil companies. They’re coming in and offering a lot more money — we go and train somebody, and then those assets are hard to hold on to.”
With those jobs in demand, salaries for accountants in Houston are now 4 percent higher than the national average, according to Robert Half Management Resources.
At a large CPA firm in Houston, a senior manager in tax services could make between $114,140 and $182,000 in 2012, up 3.6 percent from the previous year. A tax services accountant with one to three years’ experience could make between $55,120 and $69,940 at a midsize Houston firm.
Skills in Demand
The skills most in demand in Houston, according to Accounting Principals, are payroll and compensation analysis, vendor auditing, internal auditing, cash posting, and taxes; senior accountants and energy specialists are also sought after.
Still, accounting recruiters say they’re not lying down; they’re trying out different recruitment methods, especially at colleges.
“Our policy has been if we find a talented person through our network of business relationships or being out in the market place, we try to hire them,” said Bo Brackendorff, a shareholder at Houston-based EEPB PC. “We’re comfortable that we will be able to plug that person into oil and gas, and we’ll certainly need them sooner rather than later.”
When looking for more experienced tax accounting candidates, Margolis, Phipps employs a national recruiting firm, said Wright. He expects the demand for accountants will divert business school students back into the field — but right now, they see greater rewards elsewhere.
Nevertheless, when McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy goes on campus recruiting tours, it creates “orchestrated campaigns,” with a lead recruiter and digging through professors’ classes, Hlousek said. But the firm has also turned to poaching talent from others. “We’re good at giving people a home and work-life balance so we look at some of these other firms where kids are burned out. We can offer them a better
But for the short term, at least, most Houston accounting sector observers say the recruiting wars will continue.
“I don’t see it changing,” said Swanson of Ernst & Young. “We all have to pedal really hard to keep up with the demand we have. The need to attract talent is something you can’t ease up on. I’d say on the horizon that’s my biggest concern.”
Collin Eaton covers banking, finance and securities.
Diane Delgado LeMaire | Senior Managing Director, Accounting & Finance Recruiting | Creative Financial Staffing, a division of Fitts, Roberts CPA Firm | 5718 Westheimer Suite 800 | Houston, TX 77057 | 713-260-5238 |
dcd@fittsroberts.com| Blog| Twitter| LinkedIn
Creative Financial Staffing (CFS) is the nation’s largest, privately-held accounting and financial staffing firm. We provide qualified accounting and finance professionals on a temporary and permanent basis across a broad range of industries. Our affiliation with leading accounting firms provides us with resources that help us better understand our client’s needs, attract a higher caliber of candidate, and best assess candidate potential. For more information please visit our website at
Great information about the Houston ACCOUNTING job market…..the talent pool is slowing drying up….
Houston, You May Have a Problem
The Texas oil-and-gas town tops a new list of U.S. cities where finance organizations may find it difficult to staff up this year.
If you’re a CFO in Houston and need to fill out your accounting staff, you may have a problem. Houston is the best city in the country for accounting and finance professionals, from accounts-payable clerks up through senior accounting managers, to find work, because of the plentiful supply of openings and a lack of qualified candidates to fill them.
So says Accounting Principals, a temporary staffing firm, which has released its second-annual study identifying the top cities for such professionals to find work. The firm tracked the orders coming in from its 110-plus U.S. branch locations over the past six months, and added in data from its sister company Parker & Lynch, a finance-executive search firm.
While the national unemployment figure stands at 8.5%, in finance and accounting it’s half that at about 4.2%, says Accounting Principals vice president Mike McNamara. In the cities that were among the 10 where finding such jobs was easiest, the incidence of unemployment in the field was even lower. The squeeze is being felt in markets across the country (see chart).
Houston, which didn’t even make last year’s list of best jobs cities, shot to the top this year based on a sudden boom in the cyclical oil-and-gas industry. That also hoisted Tulsa onto the list. Meanwhile, in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, the staffing and recruiting firms were filling more jobs in the financial-services sector than they had in several years.
The position of Richmond, Virginia, at No. 2 on the list, was something of a puzzle, McNamara admits. There was a noticeable uptick in hiring at the many supply-chain logistics firms located in and around Richmond, a port city that is close to Washington, D.C., and mortgage and loan-processing business was also up in the area. But McNamara says Accounting Principals is still analyzing why Richmond placed where it did.
In Atlanta, No. 5 on the 2012 list, the real estate and hospitality businesses are stronger this year, McNamara says, while unemployment in the accounting and finance field is very low, creating a good market for those who are looking for jobs there.
Diane Delgado LeMaire| Senior Managing Director, Accounting & Finance Recruiting | Creative Financial Staffing, a division of Fitts, Roberts CPA Firm | 5718 Westheimer Suite 800 | Houston, TX 77057 |713-260-5238 | dcd@fittsroberts.com|
Jobless claims: Lowest level in nearly 4 years
Diane Delgado LeMaire – dcd@fittsroberts.com -WordPress for BlackBerry
Houston hiring update 2012
2012 Houston is HIRING! Check out this article!
Job market shows big improvement
November job losses fewest since start of the recession. Unemployment rate decline is biggest in more than three years.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: December 4, 2009: 12:22 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The long-suffering U.S. jobs market improved significantly in November, as employers trimmed the fewest jobs of any month since the start of the recession, and the unemployment rate posted the biggest one-month decline in more than three years.
U.S. payrolls slipped 11,000 jobs in the month, far below any of the job losses posted over the last 23 months. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a loss of 125,000 jobs in November.
The October and September job loss estimates were also revised sharply lower, trimming previous job loss estimates by 159,000 between them.
The new reading put October job losses at 111,000 jobs, and September’s loss estimate was cut to 139,000. Each of those new estimates would have been the smallest declines in more than a year.
The unemployment rate improved to 10% in the month. Economists had forecast it would remain at the 10.2% level reached in October, which had been a 26-year high. The unemployment rate had risen in 12 of the previous 13 months before November.
“I think it’s a little bit premature for champagne, but after enduring two years of really bad news, let’s enjoy this one,” said Jay Bryson, economist with Wells Fargo Securities. “You’ve got to walk before you start running. I don’t think we’re walking yet, but we’re starting to get back up on our feet.”
Long-term unemployment remains gloomy. Still, the number of jobs lost — even with the lower revisions — since the start of 2008 is 7.2 million. And that only captures the net loss of jobs, and doesn’t give a full picture of the large pool of those without work or income.
The report showed 15.4 million Americans are now unemployed and seeking work, although that’s down 325,000 from the October reading. Another 6 million want jobs but are not counted as part of the labor force because they have stopped looking.
Add to that group the 9.2 million who have only found part-time work when they want full-time jobs or have had their hours cut as a result of the downturn, and that brings to 30.6 million Americans who are not able to find the full-time job they want or need.
The long-term unemployment problem was worse in November than at any time in the 61 years those records have been kept. A record 5.9 million people have been out of work for more than 6 months, as the average length of time those with work have been without a job rose to 28.5 weeks.
Rises in work week, temp hiring. Still, there were signs of good news in the report beyond the overall drop in unemployment and sharp decline in job losses. One is that the average work week increased to 33.2 hours from a record low of only 33 hours in October, a sign that employers who had cut the hours of their workers were starting to restore those hours.
The jump in work week meant the total number of hours worked by American workers increased by 0.6%, the biggest such jump in three years, which was crucial to help lift the size of paychecks, even as average wages remained relatively unchanged. And that is important for feeding into the recovery in the economy.
“Consumer spending is a function of income, not jobs,” said Bryson. “Working people longer hours is a way of creating more income.”
Another hopeful sign cited by economists was a 52,000 increase in the number of temporary workers. Typically employers bring on temporary help before they add permanent employees. It was the biggest jump in temporary help in five years.
“The temporary workers and the longer hours, those are signs this is finally going in right direction,” said Tig Gilliam, CEO of Adecco Group North America, a unit of the world’s largest employment staffing firm. “Now we need to get to creating 200,000 to 300,000 jobs a month. That’s what it’ll take to get improvement in labor market. It’s very possible it can be in the second quarter of next year.”
White House still concerned. The report came the day after the Obama administration held a “jobs summit” at the White House, during which business leaders, economists and policymakers discussed what could be done to end the job losses.
President Obama continued to focus on the job situation during a trip to Allentown, Pa., Friday, at which he toured Allentown Metal Works and a community college. He said he would announce additional measures Tuesday that he will send to Congress in an effort to jumpstart private sector hiring.
“This is good news, just in time for the season of hope. But I want to keep this in perspective,” the president said. “Good trends don’t pay the rent. We’ve got to actually grow jobs and get America back to work as quickly as we can.”
Alan Krueger, the Treasury Department’s chief economist, said the report and other economic readings show that the layoffs have slowed but that hiring still remains weak.
“The trend of slow healing continues but there is a long way to go before the labor market returns to full health,” he said. While Krueger said there are many encouraging signs in the report, “unemployment remained unacceptably high.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele issued a statement pointing out that the economy has lost 2.8 million jobs since the Obama administration passed its economic stimulus bill in February, and that the unemployment rate remains in double digits.
“If President Obama is truly interested in job creation, then he should stop campaigning for re-election, stop pushing ‘Stimulus II,’ and start working with Republicans on common-sense conservative solutions,” said Steele.
Position: Manager of Tax Planning and Strategic Projects / 130 – 175K
Industry:Large SEC bank
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Relocation: Yes
Salary: 130 to 175k plus bonus 10-15%
Job Description: ¡ Duties of the Manager of Tax Planning and Strategic Projects: ¡ Tax research, analysis and planning to minimize tax liabilities and to identify tax saving opportunities. ¡ Manage tax planning projects to achieve targeted goals. ¡ Evaluate impact of proposed transactions, including the management of modeling. ¡ Evaluate potential impact of tax law changes. Manage and prepare responses to complex inquiries from taxing authorities.
Required: ¡ MUST 7+ years tax experience within banking and /or financial services. ¡ Bachelors Degree in Accounting or Finance. ¡ MS/MBA Taxation required or working towards ¡ CPA required ¡ Expert knowledge of federal and state tax laws. ¡ Knowledge of Tax Research databases such as CCH and RIA. Strong reconciliation, analytical and problem solving skills.
Houston's F&A Recruiter and Talent Connector 