Nine percent of chief financial officers interviewed said they plan to add full-time professionals and 5 percent anticipate staff reductions. The net 4 percent increase is down two points from the first-quarter forecast. The majority of respondents, 85 percent, anticipate no change in personnel levels.

Of those executives expecting to hire, approximately two in five (41 percent) attributed the demand to business growth, up 11 points from the first-quarter Financial Hiring Index. Rising workloads was cited as the primary reason by 34 percent of respondents.

"Businesses seek financial professionals for general accounting, internal controls and compliance initiatives, among others," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. "Sustained hiring in accounting and finance over the past several years has resulted in an increasingly shallow talent pool, and many employers continue to struggle to find professionals with the requisite skills."

CFOs in the South Atlantic states are most optimistic about hiring in the second quarter. Fourteen percent of financial executives expect to add accounting and finance employees and 1 percent anticipate reducing personnel levels, a net 13 percent increase in hiring activity.
 
"The employment market for accountants in the South Atlantic region is competitive, and, as a result, firms are finding they must move quickly to hire promising job candidates," Messmer said. "Organizations are looking for professionals who possess the functional abilities to do their jobs as well as strong interpersonal skills."
 
Hiring also is forecast to outpace the national average in the New England and West South Central regions, where a net 7 percent and a net 5 percent of CFOs, respectively, said they expect to add accounting staff.

Robert Half has conducted additional CFO interviews in more than 40 major metropolitan areas to provide snapshots of financial hiring trends in these markets.

The business services sector is expected to see the most active hiring during the second quarter. Fourteen percent of CFOs anticipate hiring financial professionals, compared to 4 percent who foresee cutbacks, a net 10 percent increase in hiring activity.

Above-average financial hiring also is expected among construction companies. A net 7 percent of executives said they plan to add personnel in the second quarter of 2008.

The Financial Hiring Index is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CFOs across the United States.

South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas