(This is the first in a series of blogs featuring research compiled by Rick Telberg of CPA Trendlines. Telberg and his partner, Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing, assist accountants with practice management through their Seven Keys to Success in CPA Firm Management.)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPA firms retained 391,700 non-seasonally-adjusted employees for June, representing  a marginal decline from May’s 392,700 and a 3.7% drop from June 2009.

However, tax preparation services reported non-seasonally-adjusted employment sank to 50,300 workers, down 19% from the month before and 5.8% from the year before.

July’s employment for the industry represented a 3% decline from the previous July, and, possibly, an acceleration in job losses because the 3% year-to-year decline in July followed a 2.8% year-to-year decline in June, 2.9% May-to-May, and 1.8% for both March and April.

Seasonally-adjusted total industry employment peaked in January 2008 at 970,100 workers, making the workforce in July about 7.9% smaller.

Read the full story for more information.