{"schema_version": 1, "id": "honolulu-hi-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 230, "label": "Honolulu, HI MSA", "slug": "honolulu-hi-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:24:02.831092+00:00", "headline": "Honolulu's labor market softens while finance pay diverges sharply.", "headline_summary": "Honolulu unemployment hit a two-year high of 3.0% in September as FP&A Manager pay climbed to $136,021 \u2014 above the national median \u2014 even as Controller pay slipped to $102,651 locally.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Honolulu unemployment rate", "value": "3.0%", "context": "Up from 2.9% in Aug.; two-year high"}, {"label": "Labor force vs. employment growth", "value": "1.1% vs 0.4%", "context": "YoY Sept. 2025\u20132026, signals softening demand"}, {"label": "FP&A Manager advertised pay", "value": "$136,021", "context": "Metro exceeds national $130,000, rising significantly"}, {"label": "Average weekly wage, Honolulu", "value": "$1,441", "context": "vs $1,654 national (Q1 2026)"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Honolulu's labor market is loosening, but only at the edges.", "body": "Unemployment reached a two-year high of 3.0% as labor force growth (1.1%) outran employment growth (0.4%), a gap that typically precedes softer wage pressure for standard roles even while specialized finance talent stays scarce nationally."}, {"headline": "FP&A Manager pay is pulling away from the national market.", "body": "Metro median advertised pay of $136,021 now exceeds the national figure of $130,000 and is rising significantly, a signal that Honolulu employers are competing hard for planning and analysis talent even as broader metro wages lag the mainland."}, {"headline": "Controller pay is softening locally while the national market tightens.", "body": "Metro Controller advertised pay fell to $102,651, moderately down, against a national median of $115,420 that continues to rise \u2014 a widening gap that could complicate retention if controllers benchmark against national postings."}, {"headline": "Airline layoffs are seeding a finance talent pool worth tracking.", "body": "Six rounds of Alaska-Hawaiian merger WARN notices since 2024 have displaced hundreds of nonunion employees, some in finance and accounting support functions; watch whether this supply shows up in Honolulu applicant pools for analyst and specialist roles over the next two quarters."}], "local_conditions": "Honolulu's unemployment rate climbed to 3.0% in September from 2.9% in August, driven primarily by labor force growth outpacing job creation \u2014 the labor force expanded 1.1% year-over-year while employment grew just 0.4%, leaving more workers in the market chasing a narrower set of openings. Aviation sector consolidation continues to weigh on the metro, with Alaska Air Group cutting roughly 40 Hawaii management positions in late October, the sixth round of merger-related WARN notices since the Hawaiian Airlines combination in September 2024.", "implications": "Rising labor supply against soft employment growth gives Finance leaders more negotiating leverage on headcount costs even as Hawaii's average weekly wage of $1,441 remains well below the $1,654 national figure, meaning Honolulu-based roles offer a built-in cost advantage for distributed finance functions. Aviation layoffs and a 3.3% year-over-year rise in construction payrolls point to sector-specific churn that can supply experienced accounting, FP&A and controller-track talent at a moment when CFO and finance-team vacancy risk nationally sits near pandemic-era highs. Consider reviewing whether 2027 headcount plans can capture displaced finance and accounting talent from the airline and hospitality sectors before competing employers on the mainland do.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected", "body": "Hawaii's unemployment rate is projected to approach 3.0% statewide by year-end as labor force growth continues to outpace job creation; Finance leaders should model continued softening in entry-level and transactional roles even as specialized finance talent stays tight."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Alaska Air Group's sixth round of Hawaii WARN notices since the 2024 merger suggests further management-level cuts are possible; track whether displaced finance and administrative staff enter the Oahu candidate pool."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Hawaii's minimum wage path to $18/hour on January 1, 2028 requires early compression modeling now, particularly for Billing Specialist and other near-minimum roles where metro advertised pay ($45,087) already trails the national median."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "October federal shutdown delays mean no October BLS data for Hawaii; expect a data catch-up and potential revisions once releases resume, which could shift the apparent trajectory of the unemployment rate."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 75892.0, "metro_p50": 102651.2, "metro_p75": 119814.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 115420.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 75345.0, "metro_p50": 82500.0, "metro_p75": 88553.5, "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": 76813.0, "metro_p50": 94791.0, "metro_p75": 102417.0, "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": "metro", "metro_p25": 39653.25, "metro_p50": 45087.0, "metro_p75": 47425.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 58117.0, "metro_p50": 73701.8, "metro_p75": 82739.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 69556.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 48880.0, "metro_p50": 55869.2, "metro_p75": 66289.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 71397.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 106814.25, "metro_p50": 136021.0, "metro_p75": 160539.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations / BLS", "source_url": null, "statement": "Honolulu unemployment rose to 3.0% in September from 2.9% in August"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Labor force grew 1.1% YoY while employment grew only 0.4%"}, {"source_name": "Honolulu Star-Advertiser", "source_url": null, "statement": "Alaska Air Group cut ~40 Hawaii management positions in late October"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Honolulu average weekly wage of $1,441 vs national $1,654"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover and vacancy risk at pandemic-era highs nationally"}, {"source_name": "Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations", "source_url": null, "statement": "Hawaii minimum wage rises to $18/hour January 1, 2028"}], "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": "honolulu-hi-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "honolulu-hi-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:23:09.328058+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/honolulu-hi-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/honolulu-hi-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}