Key Industry Trends
Economics
Many factors of the economy help to indicate certain trends in the tax industry. The Gross Domestic Product has been calculated at an increase of 3.9% the first quarter of 2004. Consumer spending has also increased .4% from the last year. Both of these statistics may indicate an upward trend in the nation's economy. A consumer may have more disposable income therefore, they may be more apt to spend their extra money on a tax preparation service. This would reveal a positive effect for H&R Block. The unemployment rate has increased nationally while the employment rate is decreasing. This may result in a decrease of the amount of tax returns that H&R Block files annually, due to the amount of taxpayers that have become unemployed. Either these people may have no taxes to file due to their job loss, or they may not have the extra money to pay for a tax preparation service. If a person is out of work then they may have the extra time to file their taxes in their own time.
Demographics
There are many trends in national population characteristics that indicate both opportunities and threats to H&R Block. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the U.S. will experience a large increase of the Hispanic, Asian, and many other ethnic populations. This will create a large demand for employees that are at least bi-lingual. H&R Block also has an opportunity to open temporary offices in parts of the country that would benefit consumers requiring an employee to speak their native language.
The U.S. Census Bureau has also indicated an increase in the percentage of the nation's population ...