{"schema_version": 1, "id": "janesville-wi-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 294, "label": "Janesville, WI MSA", "slug": "janesville-wi-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:26:18.839429+00:00", "headline": "Janesville analyst pay climbs as county job growth stalls.", "headline_summary": "Financial Analyst advertised pay hit $110,000 locally, up significantly and well above the $94,646 national median, even as Rock County unemployment rose to 3.7% from a 3.1% May low.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Rock County unemployment", "value": "3.7%", "context": "Up from 3.1% in May 2026"}, {"label": "Financial Analyst advertised pay", "value": "$110,000", "context": "vs $94,646 national median"}, {"label": "Rock County private job growth", "value": "0.3%", "context": "Year-over-year, March 2026"}, {"label": "CFO turnover rate (national)", "value": "18.3%", "context": "Highest since pandemic, Crist|Kolder"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Financial Analyst pay is outrunning the national market locally.", "body": "Metro advertised median of $110,000 sits well above the $94,646 national figure and is rising significantly, while Controller pay locally ($105,184) is falling against a rising national median ($115,420). Finance leaders benchmarking analyst roles against stale national data risk underpricing a position that local employers are actively bidding up."}, {"headline": "Controller compensation is diverging from the national trend.", "body": "Metro Controller pay is down significantly while the national median climbs moderately \u2014 a signal worth investigating before attributing local market softness to falling demand alone, since a thinning pool of postings or a shift in required experience level could also explain it."}, {"headline": "County unemployment drift complicates headcount cost forecasts.", "body": "Rock County's rise from 3.1% in May to 3.7% in August, against a backdrop of flat private job growth, makes it harder to assume labor supply will ease pressure on finance role compensation through year-end. Budget cycles built on an assumption of loosening local labor supply may need revisiting."}, {"headline": "Contract staffing shift raises audit-readiness questions locally.", "body": "National data shows 70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026, a trend with direct relevance where flat Rock County employment growth already constrains FTE hiring options. Documentation and control gaps tied to contractor turnover deserve attention now, well ahead of year-end audit prep."}], "local_conditions": "Rock County unemployment rose to 3.7% in August from a May low of 3.1%, while private employer job counts crept up just 0.3% year-over-year \u2014 a labor market that has stopped tightening while still leaving hiring friction for specialized roles. Healthcare continues to absorb the bulk of net job growth locally while trade, transportation and utilities contracts, mirroring statewide softness in traditional goods-movement and manufacturing employment.", "implications": "Flat private-sector job growth alongside a rising county jobless rate signals a labor market where finance talent remains difficult to source \u2014 advertised pay for Financial Analyst (metro median $110,000, up significantly) and FP&A Manager ($116,859, up moderately) roles locally is outpacing national Financial Analyst medians, suggesting Janesville-area employers are competing hard for scarce analytical talent even as broader headcount growth stalls. With CFO turnover nationally at an 18-year high and 70% of finance leaders expanding contract talent use, Rock County finance teams face both succession risk in senior roles and a widening skills gap in planning and analysis functions during close and budget cycles. Consider reviewing contingency staffing plans for FP&A and analyst roles ahead of year-end close, given that local pay signals suggest these positions may be harder to backfill on short notice than controller-level vacancies.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Watch whether Rock County's unemployment uptick (3.1% to 3.7% since May) continues into Q4 data releases. A further rise alongside flat payroll growth would suggest labor supply loosening for finance support roles even as specialized analyst talent stays tight."}, {"category": "Expected", "body": "October BLS metro-level data for Janesville has not yet been released; expect lagged county-level figures through Wisconsin DWD to remain the best available signal into December, complicating real-time compensation benchmarking."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "National CFO turnover at 18.3% and rising external-hire rates for finance leadership roles suggest succession planning gaps may surface locally even in a smaller metro labor pool. Monitor whether local Controller or FP&A postings signal backfill urgency."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Wisconsin's employment cost index and real wage trends have turned negative statewide; if that pattern reaches Rock County's finance occupations, expect downward pressure on advertised pay growth for roles like Senior Accountant that have held stable through 2026."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 105184.0, "metro_p50": 105184.0, "metro_p75": 108302.0, "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": 74764.0, "metro_p50": 81818.2, "metro_p75": 85000.0, "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": 69438.0, "metro_p50": 110000.0, "metro_p75": 110000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 94646.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 38600.0, "metro_p50": 45687.0, "metro_p75": 46592.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 71447.0, "metro_p50": 71447.0, "metro_p75": 71447.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 69556.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 53409.0, "metro_p50": 64911.0, "metro_p75": 70000.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 100074.0, "metro_p50": 116859.0, "metro_p75": 126976.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development / USAFacts-BLS", "source_url": null, "statement": "Rock County unemployment rose to 3.7% in August 2026 from 3.1% in May"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Private employer jobs in Rock County rose 0.3% year-over-year in March 2026"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since the pandemic"}, {"source_name": "Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance and accounting leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "External hiring rate for CFOs rose to 37.5% from 35% in 2025"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Education and health services led Rock County job growth, trade/transportation declined"}], "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": "janesville-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "janesville-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:23:50.172879+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/janesville-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/janesville-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}