As many of you speed past the first big compliance deadline of the year, the IRS just announced the extension of the individual filing deadline. In some ways 2021 seems to feel a little more like normal, but in other ways it still feels like we have long way to go. It will be interesting to see how the economy and employment deal with the ongoing fallout of shutdowns, trillions of dollars of stimulus money and a cornucopia of other issues happening simultaneously.
Before I get into the specifics of where tax salaries are at, let’s talk about the employment market. Certain industries (ie oil & gas) and areas of the country are lagging; but overall, opportunities for tax accounting professionals remains strong in Colorado and most major markets. Denver has seen a handful of new tax departments spring up the past year, but has also seen some consolidations and outsourcing take place (ie Jacobs). Hiring in public accounting was strong in the 4th quarter, as is traditionally the case. I'm optimistic and will continue to monitor hiring across all sectors and industries.
Something that we see occurring and that may change the employment landscape, is the trend towards fully remote work. Although this has been going on in the tech sector for a number of years, the pandemic has significantly increased the adoption of this trend. And we see it happening in virtually (no pun intended) all industries. When a position is fully remote, supply and demand for labor is greatly impacted. In Colorado, a few companies have announced they have moved to a fully remote work environment. Others have announced they are going to a hybrid and still others will be back in person, full time. I would say, though, that the majority have yet to make any firm decisions around what the workplace will look like in the future.
