Big 4 on Hiring Spree

Today’s jobs report showed a modest uptick in employment – the U.S. added 216,000 jobs in March – but the unemployment rate is still 8.8 percent. One industry that’s bucking the trend: accounting.

The Big 4 accounting firms -- Ernst & Young, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG – have been scooping up recent graduates and plan to hire thousands of accountants in 2011, Fortune recently reported.

• Deloitte plans to hire 17,000 -- accountants, auditors, consultants, and IT staff -- in the U.S. and India in 2011.
• Ernst & Young wants to hire 13,000 – a mix of new grads, interns and experienced staff.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment in accounting and auditing will rise 22 percent this year.

Why the hiring spree?

• Demand for accounting services is rising as economic conditions improve.
• Growth in financial services and health care requires accounting help.
• Mergers and restructuring create work for accountants.
• A host of new regulations stemming from Dodd-Frank and other reform legislation.
• Employee turnover.