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Labor Market Pulse
Florence, SC Metro Edition
Focus: FINANCE
Florence Finance pay climbs for some roles, shrinks for others.
4.8%
Florence MSA unemployment rate
June 2026, down 0.2 pts YoY; Florence County at 4.6% in July
$903.56
Florence average weekly wage
Up 15.3% YoY despite 400-job employment decline
-129,000
National financial activities job losses
Since May 2025; -7,000 in September alone
77%
F&A Talent Shortage Index
Up from 2025 Talent Surplus of 108%
This Month's Takeaways
Metro wage growth is a composition story, not a raise story.
Average weekly wages in Florence rose 15.3% year-over-year while total employment fell, meaning the gain likely reflects a shift toward higher-paid roles in a smaller workforce rather than broad pay increases. Treat this figure with caution when modeling salary budget increases for existing staff.
Controller pay is pulling away from the rest of the Finance ladder.
Metro Controller advertised pay is up significantly to $105,670, closing toward the national median of $113,754, while FP&A Manager and Financial Analyst roles in the same metro are moving down moderately. Current conditions suggest employers are concentrating scarce compensation budget at the senior accounting layer rather than spreading it across Finance functions.
Tax Specialist pay is diverging sharply from national demand.
Metro advertised pay for Tax Specialist fell significantly to $40,067 against a national median of $65,842 that is rising significantly — a 64% gap that did not exist a year ago. This may signal either a local talent surplus or employers under-pricing a role that is tightening nationally, worth validating before the next req posts.
National F&A hiring intent is colliding with a shrinking local base.
Nearly three-quarters of F&A leaders nationally plan to add permanent headcount in H2 2026, against a national Talent Shortage Index of 77%, but Florence's employment base contracted 400 jobs year-over-year. Expansion plans built on national hiring sentiment may need local calibration given a measurably tighter candidate pool.
Local Labor Conditions
Florence MSA unemployment held near 4.8% through June with employment contracting 400 jobs year-over-year to 96,200, even as average weekly wages jumped 15.3% year-over-year to $903.56 — a divergence suggesting wage gains are concentrated in a shrinking, higher-paid labor base rather than broad-based growth. Statewide, Financial Activities payrolls grew only 200 jobs month-over-month in June, consistent with a national pattern where finance and insurance shed 129,000 jobs since May 2025, even as F&A leaders nationally report an accelerating talent shortage.
Leadership & Talent Implications
Local wage data appears to reflect compositional shift — fewer, better-paid roles — rather than across-the-board pay pressure, which complicates budget planning if Finance leaders assume uniform merit increase needs across the function. National F&A hiring intent (74% planning headcount increases) sits uneasily against sector job losses and metro employment contraction, suggesting the real constraint is qualified-candidate scarcity rather than open requisitions, particularly for accounting and controllership talent. Consider reviewing headcount plans role-by-role against this scarcity signal rather than applying a flat labor-cost inflation assumption across the Finance organization.
