It was already predicted that in 2020, we would see a shortage of accountants within the industry. With COVID-19 causing a record high in unemployment, Accounting Today reported professional and business services shed 2.1 million jobs in April of this year, including nearly 68,000 in accounting and bookkeeping.
We're already seeing the shortage take effect—the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that year-over-year growth for accounting and bookkeeping services is down almost 2%.
If it’s possible to compensate for emerging shortage, accounting firms will have to adjust their hiring process in order to do so.