🔒Hartford ranks among the nation’s tightest markets for accounting and tax talent

Greater Hartford is one of three U.S. metros where job openings for tax and accounting professionals most sharply outnumber the workers available to fill them. A new analysis from California-based financial software company Intuit, using LinkedIn Talent Insights data, ranked metro areas by how much hiring demand outran the local talent pool. Hartford landed among the 10 tightest markets in both the tax category and the bookkeeping and accounting category, making it one of only three metros — along with Atlanta and Nashville, Tennessee — to appear near the top of both lists. The imbalance is most pronounced on the tax side, where Hartford’s relatively small pool of specialists is straining to keep up with the demand for compliance work. Intuit measured that gap with what it calls a “Talent Gap Score,” which compares active job postings to the number of available professionals. The higher the score, the more openings outnumber candidates. Hartford’s tax score ranked fourth-highest among the metros studied, meaning the local need for tax help outpaced the available workforce by more than in nearly every other market in the country. The Greater Hartford area’s demand for bookkeepers and accountants rated “very high” as well, driven by local businesses, hospitals and government agencies rather than seasonal filing cycles. Nationally, the report found venture capital and private equity firms posted the fastest growth in tax hiring over the past year, up 14.2%, as demand for U.S. GAAP reporting skills jumped 128% among accounting and bookkeeping professionals. The study found that tax professionals earn an average of $105,941 nationally, compared with $62,696 for bookkeepers and accountants. Intuit tied the disparity to specialization and the time-sensitive nature of tax work. The analysis included more than 816,000 financial professionals. Intuit, which sells accounting and tax-preparation software, produced the report. It cautioned that LinkedIn’s data comes from voluntarily submitted profiles and cannot be guaranteed for accuracy.