Ok, we know you are seeing a common theme here at CPA Success: We are determined to beat this recession, or at the very least come out of it even stronger. Bill's post gives some bright spots at the global / national level. Mine is devoted to the Free State, Maryland.
We have been watching the economic statistics and looking for signs to guide us as we navigate this recession. Here is our latest research about Maryland:
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The Maryland economy is one of the top 5 best positioned to emerge out of the recession, according to an Economic Alliance of the Greater Baltimore Committee article titled “Maryland in good position to weather economic storm.” A second article in Forbes titled “Where Recession Will Hit Hardest” listed Baltimore as one of the best cities in which to ride out the storm. The most recent unemployment stats show Maryland continuing to have some of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.
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Small businesses historically lead the way out of the recession (graph is courtesy of fellow blogger Rick Telberg at CPA Trendlines, based on SBA statistics). See 2009 Will Be the Year for Small Businesses.
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CPAs are working on productivity, efficiency and cost control in addition to the core services of tax, financial reporting and auditing. The demand for CPAs is continuing to increase despite major job losses in the economy, both ofr CPA firms (hiring up 5.5 percent in November 2008) and corporate CPAs. This trend is supposed to continue through 2016, according to the latest research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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CPAs are one of the most stable and prosperous careers to have during a recession. Business Week, Forbes, Trendhunter and others rank the profession as one of the top 10 recession-proof jobs.
- Collaboration among the private sector, governments and non-profits is already in progress. We have participated in several meetings in which major players are coming together to have the serious conversations needed to find new solutions to our economy. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce, Maryland Bankers Association, Greater Baltimore Committee, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the Small Business Administration, the MACPA and others have already been meeting and starting to form a community that's trying to attack this recession. We expect to continue this in a larger conversation at the MD Biz Expo on June 16-17.
As recently as Jan. 9, we participated in the Maryland Bankers Association's 2009 Economic Forum, where the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Jeff Lacker, and several bank economists gave the latest statistics and outlook. Bottom line: There was no clear consensus, but the recovery estimates ranged from the third quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2010. That means we could be slightly ahead of that in Maryland.
While this is good news, we hear from members who are affected by this recession every day and we are want to help them. We are working on ways to help our members weather this storm — new job services, increased networking, and courses to help you manage cash, find credit and save money. After all, we are all in this together.