{"schema_version": 1, "id": "duluth-mn-wi-msa/finance/2026-08", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 224, "label": "Duluth, MN-WI MSA", "slug": "duluth-mn-wi-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-08", "public_after": "2026-08-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T16:24:58.182274+00:00", "headline": "Duluth wage restraint meets shrinking labor supply.", "headline_summary": "St. Louis County unemployment climbed to 4.7% even as Minnesota wage growth held to just 0.4% year-over-year, creating a rare gap between labor cost and labor availability that Finance leaders should watch closely.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "St. Louis County unemployment", "value": "4.7%", "context": "Up 0.7 pts year-over-year (May 2026)"}, {"label": "MN private-sector wage growth", "value": "0.4% YoY", "context": "vs 3.8% national wage growth"}, {"label": "Duluth MSA annual job change", "value": "-0.1%", "context": "77 jobs lost, Trade/Transport down 3.5%"}, {"label": "MN labor force participation", "value": "66.8%", "context": "Down from 68.1% a year ago; falling every month"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Local wage restraint is a budgeting opportunity, not a given.", "body": "Minnesota private-sector wages rose just 0.4% year-over-year versus 3.8% nationally, but Duluth's Billing Specialist and Tax Specialist advertised pay both moved up significantly \u2014 a sign wage discipline is uneven across roles, not universal."}, {"headline": "Labor force shrinkage is quietly raising recruitment costs.", "body": "St. Louis County unemployment rose to 4.7% even as Minnesota's labor force contracted for the seventh consecutive month, meaning fewer available candidates despite a technically looser jobless rate \u2014 a supply story, not a demand slowdown."}, {"headline": "Controller pay is moving while peer roles hold flat.", "body": "Metro Controller advertised pay rose moderately to a $99,704 median while Senior Accountant and Financial Analyst pay stayed stable, suggesting employers are competing harder for senior financial oversight talent as close and audit complexity grows."}, {"headline": "Trade and transportation losses may free up adjacent talent.", "body": "Local Trade, Transportation and Utilities employment fell 3.5% over the year, the metro's steepest sectoral decline \u2014 Finance leaders in logistics-adjacent industries should watch whether this loosens competition for finance and operations-support hires."}], "local_conditions": "Duluth-Superior MSA employment slipped 0.1% over the year, with Trade, Transportation and Utilities shedding 826 jobs while Education and Health Services and Government sectors expanded, pointing to a bifurcated local labor market rather than broad contraction. St. Louis County unemployment climbed to 4.7% in May 2026, up 0.7 points year-over-year, as statewide labor force participation continues to decline amid an aging workforce and reduced immigration inflows cited by DEED.", "implications": "Weakening labor supply combined with soft private-sector wage growth statewide (0.4% year-over-year, well below the 3.8% national pace) creates a rare window where Finance departments can build headcount without the wage inflation pressure seen nationally, even as 74% of F&A leaders nationally plan permanent hiring increases. Sector divergence locally \u2014 losses in trade and transportation against gains in healthcare and government \u2014 suggests Finance leaders should stress-test workforce cost models by division rather than applying metro-wide wage assumptions. Consider reviewing headcount plans against sector-specific labor supply data before finalizing Q4 hiring budgets.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Minnesota labor force participation has fallen every month in 2026, down to 66.9% from 68.1% a year prior. Watch whether Duluth-area candidate pools tighten further, pushing recruitment costs above current budget assumptions."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "St. Louis County unemployment jumped 0.7 points year-over-year to 4.7% in the most recent county data. Confirm whether the September county release shows this trend continuing or reversing before locking Q4 headcount plans."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National F&A hiring managers report 61% find skilled talent harder to source than a year ago, with 82% paying premiums for AI-related skills. Monitor whether Duluth employers begin offering similar premiums for automation and forecasting-adjacent finance roles."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Minnesota WARN notices affecting workers fell 69% year-over-year, but Manufacturing and Retail remain the most-cited industries. Track whether any Duluth-area notices emerge given the metro's continuing Trade and Transportation contraction."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 77500.0, "metro_p50": 99704.0, "metro_p75": 108031.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 112500.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 80976.0, "metro_p50": 81822.0, "metro_p75": 83411.0, "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": 70728.0, "metro_p50": 77361.0, "metro_p75": 85250.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 82905.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 46670.0, "metro_p50": 55481.2, "metro_p75": 56023.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 49700.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 49467.75, "metro_p50": 67550.0, "metro_p75": 67550.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 66725.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 72500.0, "metro_p50": 72500.0, "metro_p75": 72500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 72000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 102500.0, "metro_p50": 127846.0, "metro_p75": 135553.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 127341.0, "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": "September 2026", "files": {"html": "duluth-mn-wi-msa/finance/2026-08.html", "pdf": "duluth-mn-wi-msa/finance/2026-08.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T16:33:50.230329+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/duluth-mn-wi-msa/finance/2026-08.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/duluth-mn-wi-msa/finance/2026-08.pdf"}