{"schema_version": 1, "id": "albany-ga-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 102, "label": "Albany, GA MSA", "slug": "albany-ga-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:00:12.099791+00:00", "headline": "Albany finance pay falls as the metro's labor market contracts.", "headline_summary": "Dougherty County unemployment sits at 4.8% against Georgia's 3.3%, and Controller advertised pay has fallen to $67,313 locally even as the national median climbs to $115,420.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Dougherty County unemployment", "value": "4.8%", "context": "vs 3.3% Georgia, 4.1% national"}, {"label": "Metro nonfarm employment", "value": "-1.2% YoY", "context": "Albany lost 100 jobs in August 2026"}, {"label": "Government share of metro jobs", "value": "18.5%", "context": "1.8x the national average share"}, {"label": "CFO turnover rate, national", "value": "18.3%", "context": "Highest since pandemic (Crist|Kolder)"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Controller and Senior Accountant pay are falling locally while demand rises nationally.", "body": "Metro Controller advertised pay dropped significantly to $67,313 against a national median of $115,420 moving up \u2014 a gap wide enough to signal Albany employers may struggle to compete for candidates willing to relocate or work remotely. FP&A Manager pay shows the same pattern, down moderately locally to $118,411 while the national figure climbed to $130,000."}, {"headline": "Tax Specialist pay is the standout signal in an otherwise soft local market.", "body": "Advertised pay for Tax Specialist roles in Albany rose significantly to $83,170, well above the national median of $69,556, pointing to acute local scarcity likely tied to compliance workload or a thin regional talent pool. Finance leaders filling tax roles in this metro should expect to pay a premium relative to historical local norms."}, {"headline": "Public-sector dependence is compressing Albany's finance labor market.", "body": "Government accounts for 18.5% of metro employment, nearly double the national share, and is contracting alongside retail trade \u2014 a structural drag that likely explains why Albany's finance pay trends diverge from Georgia's record statewide labor force growth. Workforce planning for Albany-based finance teams should account for slower local wage inflation than state or national trends would suggest."}, {"headline": "CFO turnover nationally raises the stakes for thin local succession benches.", "body": "CFO turnover is projected at 18.3% in 2026, the highest since the pandemic, with external hiring filling 37.5% of vacancies \u2014 a national pressure that compounds locally given Albany's smaller finance talent pool and falling advertised pay for senior roles like Controller. Succession and interim-coverage planning carries added urgency where local replacement candidates are scarcer."}], "local_conditions": "Albany's labor market is contracting while the state around it sets records \u2014 Dougherty County unemployment sits at 4.8%, well above Georgia's 3.3% and the national 4.1%, as nonfarm employment fell 1.2% year-over-year through August. Government, 18.5% of metro employment versus 10% nationally, and retail trade are both shrinking, exposing a metro economy still tethered to public-sector payrolls even as Georgia's statewide labor force hits ninth-consecutive-month highs.", "implications": "Falling advertised pay for Controller (-significant to $67,313) and Senior Accountant (-significant to $65,000) roles locally, against rising national medians, signals Albany employers are pulling back on finance compensation even as skilled-talent scarcity intensifies statewide and nationally \u2014 a divergence that complicates headcount cost planning for multi-site organizations benchmarking Albany against Atlanta or national peers. Tax Specialist pay moving sharply upward locally ($83,170, outpacing the national $69,556) suggests employers are bidding aggressively for a narrow, high-demand skill set even while broader finance pay softens. Consider reviewing whether Albany-based finance roles are being compared against outdated local benchmarks that no longer reflect the metro's contracting employment base and shifting role-level demand.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Dougherty County unemployment has moved between 4.2% and 4.8% through 2026 without clear direction. Watch whether the rate stabilizes below 4.5% or climbs further as government and retail contraction continues."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Georgia logged 74 WARN notices affecting 10,750 workers statewide in 2026 YTD, with Wellstar Health System's 761-worker filing in late September among the largest. Monitor whether released talent, including finance and accounting staff, begins appearing in the Albany candidate pool."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Tax Specialist pay has moved sharply upward locally while Controller and Senior Accountant pay have fallen \u2014 a divergence worth tracking monthly to see whether it reflects a temporary compliance-driven spike or a lasting reallocation of local finance demand."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National contract-talent usage in finance and accounting is up, with 70% of F&A leaders increasing contractor reliance in H2 2026. Albany's thinner finance talent base may make this shift more pronounced locally, with implications for fixed-cost forecasting and audit documentation controls."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 66353.0, "metro_p50": 67313.0, "metro_p75": 92131.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 115420.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 65000.0, "metro_p50": 65000.0, "metro_p75": 72663.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 87731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 66934.75, "metro_p50": 90889.0, "metro_p75": 97590.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 94646.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 35886.5, "metro_p50": 45202.4, "metro_p75": 51565.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 39887.75, "metro_p50": 83170.2, "metro_p75": 84109.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 69556.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 53840.0, "metro_p50": 67800.0, "metro_p75": 76165.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 71397.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 107481.0, "metro_p50": 118411.0, "metro_p75": 130605.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Georgia Department of Labor", "source_url": null, "statement": "Dougherty County unemployment at 4.8% in August 2026"}, {"source_name": "Georgia Department of Labor", "source_url": null, "statement": "Georgia labor force and employment hit records for ninth straight month"}, {"source_name": "USA Facts / BLS", "source_url": null, "statement": "Albany government employment share 18.5% vs national average"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic"}, {"source_name": "Georgia Department of Labor WARN tracker", "source_url": null, "statement": "Georgia WARN notices: 74 filings, 10,750 workers affected YTD 2026"}, {"source_name": "AFP FP&A Forum", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance and accounting leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026"}], "methodology": "Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay.", "edition_label": "November 2026", "files": {"html": "albany-ga-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "albany-ga-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:17:29.267465+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/albany-ga-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/albany-ga-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}