Labor Market Pulse

MO NONMETROPOLITAN AREA Edition

Focus: FINANCE

Rural Missouri counties split: some tighten, some loosen.

3.0%

Daviess County unemployment

vs 4.6% Grundy County, same region

3.5%

Missouri statewide unemployment

vs 4.1% national rate

-1,000 jobs

Missouri manufacturing employment

Aug 2026, vs construction +2,200

$1.27B

Missouri UI Trust Fund balance

As of Aug 31, 2026, supports stable UI rates

This Month's Takeaways

01

County-level unemployment is diverging, not converging.

Daviess fell to 3.0% while Sullivan and Grundy rose to 4.5% and 4.6% in the same month. Finance teams sourcing talent across multiple counties in this footprint should expect uneven recruiting difficulty and calibrate offer strategy by location, not region.

02

FP&A Manager pay is softening against a resilient national market.

Metro advertised pay for FP&A Manager is down moderately while the national median holds at $127,341, a nearly $10,000 gap. This may reflect softer local demand rather than talent surplus, worth watching before assuming budget headroom on this role.

03

Manufacturing losses could reshape the local finance talent pool.

Missouri manufacturing shed 1,000 jobs in August while construction gained 2,200, a mix that plays out disproportionately in nonmetro industrial counties. Displaced plant-level accounting and controller talent may become available locally over the next quarter.

04

Tax Specialist pay is falling locally while rising sharply nationally.

Metro advertised pay for Tax Specialist sits at $45,728, down moderately, against a national median of $66,725 climbing significantly. Widening gap of this size suggests local demand has not caught up with the national repricing of tax compliance skills.

Local Labor Conditions

North-Central Missouri's nonmetropolitan counties show diverging labor conditions this month, with Daviess County tightening to 3.0% while Sullivan and Grundy climbed to 4.5% and 4.6% respectively, suggesting county-level talent pools are fragmenting rather than moving as a bloc. Statewide manufacturing losses of 1,000 jobs against a 2,200-job construction gain indicate goods-producing sector realignment that likely echoes in these rural counties' industrial and logistics employers.

Leadership & Talent Implications

Divergent county-level unemployment across this nonmetropolitan footprint means headcount cost planning cannot rely on a single regional assumption — a finance function drawing talent from Daviess (3.0%) faces materially tighter recruiting conditions than one anchored in Grundy (4.6%). Manufacturing softness paired with construction strength suggests payroll tax accrual and benefit cost assumptions may need county-specific sensitivity rather than a blended Missouri average, particularly for budget cycles finalizing Q4 assumptions. Consider reviewing headcount forecasts by county footprint rather than treating the nonmetropolitan region as a single labor market.

Advertised Pay Indicators

Role	P25	Median	P75	Local Trend	National	Nat. Trend
Controller	$86,338	$116,108	$119,844	→ Stable	$112,500	→ Stable
Senior Accountant	$74,986	$79,950	$84,801	→ Stable	$87,731	→ Stable
Financial Analyst	$67,041	$82,629	$93,243	↑ Moderate increase	$82,905	→ Stable
Billing Specialist	$35,143	$41,399	$47,772	↑ Moderate increase	$49,700	↑ Moderate increase
Tax Specialist	$31,951	$45,728	$57,995	↓ Moderate decline	$66,725	↑ Significant increase
Credit Analyst	$60,000	$60,000	$65,366	→ Stable	$72,000	↑ Moderate increase
FP&A Manager	$98,087	$117,397	$125,000	↓ Moderate decline	$127,341	→ Stable

Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days

Worth watching

Sullivan and Grundy counties' unemployment upticks (to 4.5% and 4.6%) warrant tracking over the next two reporting cycles to determine whether this reflects seasonal noise or a genuine softening trend in those labor pools.

Emerging pressure point

Statewide manufacturing job losses, concentrated alongside Transportation & Logistics and Manufacturing as the top WARN-notice sectors in Missouri, may surface displaced finance and accounting talent from industrial employers in this footprint.

Potential inflection point

Missouri's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance of $1.27 billion as of August 31 supports stable near-term UI rate assumptions, but nonmetro counties with rising unemployment could see localized claims pressure worth monitoring into Q4 budget cycles.

Data caution

July Missouri payroll figures were revised downward by 1,300 jobs after initial release, a reminder that monthly county-level unemployment reads in this nonmetro footprint may shift materially on revision — treat single-month swings cautiously in forecasting.

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