Seasonally-adjusted workforce declined to 916,800 in February.
That’s 3,600 off from January’s 920,400 headcount, and the February 2008 level of 947,000, according to today’s employment situation report from the Labor Department Bureau of Labor Statistics for the accounting and bookkeeping sector.
But February’s decline follows a revised gain in January of 4,600 jobs.
Overall, the number of jobs in the U.S. fell by 36,000 last month, and the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%. The jobs picture was probably hurt by February snowstorms. Still, the rate of job loss may be slowing. Last February, by comparison, the U.S. economy lost 726,000 jobs. Analysts expect the economy to start adding jobs later this year.
In the offices of CPA firms, in particular, data through January shows a workforce of 400,400 people (not seasonally adjusted), down from 405,600 in December.
For the year, CPA firms employed 415,500 people, down from 433,300 in 2008, and off from the peak 420,200 in 2007.
But the big story may be in taxes.
For tax prep businesses, 2009 represented a (not seasonally adjusted) gain to 114,000 annual workers, a new annual record, up from 2008’s 110,800.
And in January the tax sector bulked up with a workforce of 251,600, also a record, and a huge leap from the year-ago 208,000 roster.
Payroll Business Decline
Payroll services showed a (not seasonally adjusted) roster of 139,600 in January, down from 147,300 in the year-ago month. And for the full year 2009, payroll shops employed 151,100 workers, down from 167,500 in 2008 and off the record 169,200 in 2007.
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