{"schema_version": 1, "id": "austin-round-rock-tx-msa/finance/2026-09", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 115, "label": "Austin-Round Rock, TX MSA", "slug": "austin-round-rock-tx-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:25:39.175847+00:00", "headline": "Austin Finance talent stays tight as national sector contracts.", "headline_summary": "Austin's 3.7% unemployment rate and 4.2% annual wage growth outpace a national finance sector that has shed 129,000 jobs since May 2025, while local FP&A Manager pay slipped to $124,665 against a steady $128,139 national median.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Austin unemployment rate", "value": "3.7%", "context": "vs 4.0% Texas, 4.1% national"}, {"label": "Austin wage growth", "value": "4.2% annual", "context": "vs 3.0% y/y national (Sept)"}, {"label": "National finance sector job loss", "value": "-129,000 since May 2025", "context": "Insurance carriers down 90,000 of total"}, {"label": "Texas WARN-affected workers", "value": "14,592 in 2026", "context": "45% drop vs 2025"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Austin's finance talent market is tighter than the national headline suggests.", "body": "National financial activities employment has contracted for over a year, but Austin's 3.7% unemployment rate and continued corporate expansion (Samsung, Apple, Tesla) keep local competition for Finance talent elevated. Treat national sector softness as a weak proxy for Austin conditions when setting offer ranges."}, {"headline": "FP&A Manager pay softening locally bears watching, not panic.", "body": "Metro advertised pay for FP&A Manager is down moderately to $124,665 against a stable national $128,139 \u2014 a reversal worth testing against actual requisition volume before treating it as a durable repricing. One quarter of directional movement in a single role is not yet a trend."}, {"headline": "Texas's accelerating 2026 growth forecast raises the stakes on workforce cost planning.", "body": "The Dallas Fed revised its Texas employment growth forecast up to 2.0% from 1.1% at year-start, a material upgrade that implies continued statewide competition for skilled finance and accounting talent through year-end. Headcount cost models built on earlier, more conservative growth assumptions may understate pressure."}, {"headline": "National wage deceleration offers Finance some budget relief, but Austin may lag it.", "body": "September's 0.13% monthly wage gain (3.0% year-over-year) nationally came in below expectations, easing aggregate salary budget pressure. Austin's private-sector wage growth has been running closer to 4.2% annually, suggesting metro compensation budgets may need to hold firmer than national averages imply."}], "local_conditions": "Austin's 3.7% unemployment rate remains the tightest among major Texas metros, sustained by Samsung's Taylor semiconductor expansion, continued Apple and Tesla buildout, and a diversification into healthcare and advanced manufacturing that is pulling labor demand beyond the traditional tech base. That tightness sits against a national financial activities sector still shedding jobs \u2014 down 129,000 positions since May 2025 \u2014 creating a split market where Austin Finance hiring managers compete for scarce local talent even as national sector headcount contracts.", "implications": "Local talent scarcity in a 3.7%-unemployment metro collides with national finance sector contraction, meaning Austin Finance leaders face upward pay pressure on in-demand analytical and technical roles even as peers elsewhere manage layoffs and hiring freezes \u2014 a dynamic that complicates both budget planning and peer benchmarking. FP&A Manager advertised pay is down moderately in Austin to $124,665 against a stable national median of $128,139, a signal worth testing against actual requisition data before assuming the role has softened structurally. Consider reviewing headcount plans by role rather than by function, since metro-level tightness is uneven and the national CPA/accountant shortage narrative (Talent Shortage Index of 77%, up from a 2025 surplus reading) may not translate uniformly into Austin's labor pool.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected", "body": "BLS September metro employment data releases in early-to-mid October with the typical 2-3 week lag; watch whether Austin's unemployment rate holds at 3.7% or drifts toward the state's 4.0-4.4% range as job growth normalizes."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Texas WARN filings so far in 2026 show a 45% drop in affected workers versus 2025, but Conifer Health Solutions' 1,037-position cut and JPMorgan Chase's Plano call center closure (244 jobs) signal pockets of displacement that could add finance and operations talent to the Austin-area candidate pool."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "National finance and accounting leaders report 74% planning to increase permanent headcount alongside a hiring rebound to a 134% Hiring Index \u2014 watch whether this translates into visible requisition growth in Austin given the metro's already-tight 3.7% unemployment floor."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Samsung's Taylor semiconductor buildout and continued data-center investment are reshaping Austin's industry mix toward advanced manufacturing; Finance leaders supporting these sectors should watch whether this pulls FP&A and cost-accounting talent away from traditional corporate finance roles."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 55074.75, "metro_p50": 107239.4, "metro_p75": 121539.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 113754.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 75000.0, "metro_p50": 87694.0, "metro_p75": 90254.5, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 87731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 73565.0, "metro_p50": 92411.2, "metro_p75": 101623.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 94782.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 39686.25, "metro_p50": 50011.0, "metro_p75": 59314.25, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 49512.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 56381.0, "metro_p50": 67742.0, "metro_p75": 83016.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 65842.4, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 60944.0, "metro_p50": 72023.0, "metro_p75": 83807.25, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 71758.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 101279.0, "metro_p50": 124665.2, "metro_p75": 134845.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 128139.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [], "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": "October 2026", "files": {"html": "austin-round-rock-tx-msa/finance/2026-09.html", "pdf": "austin-round-rock-tx-msa/finance/2026-09.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T13:48:18.955609+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/austin-round-rock-tx-msa/finance/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/austin-round-rock-tx-msa/finance/2026-09.pdf"}