{"schema_version": 1, "id": "mount-vernon-anacortes-wa-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 350, "label": "Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA MSA", "slug": "mount-vernon-anacortes-wa-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:40:43.079464+00:00", "headline": "Mount Vernon finance pay climbs as the labor pool shrinks.", "headline_summary": "Skagit County's jobless rate fell to 3.7% on a shrinking labor force, even as local Senior Accountant ($101,414) and Financial Analyst ($108,724) pay moved up significantly against flat national medians.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Skagit County unemployment", "value": "3.7%", "context": "Down from 4.7% in August; WA statewide at 4.8%"}, {"label": "Senior Accountant advertised pay", "value": "$101,414", "context": "vs. $87,731 national median, up significantly locally"}, {"label": "PeaceHealth regional layoff", "value": "150 workers", "context": "Effective Nov. 20 across Skagit, Clark, Whatcom counties"}, {"label": "CFO external hiring rate", "value": "37.5%", "context": "Up from 35% in 2025, raising close-cycle vacancy risk"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Falling unemployment here reflects a shrinking labor force.", "body": "Skagit's labor force shrank alongside the rate drop to 3.7%, echoing Washington's statewide pattern of job losses (-15,400 in September) paired with declining unemployment. Treat the improved headline rate with caution when forecasting recruitment timelines or close-cycle staffing."}, {"headline": "Metro finance roles are repricing faster than the nation.", "body": "Senior Accountant, Financial Analyst, and Tax Specialist pay are all up significantly locally while national medians for the same roles sit flat. Budget cycles built on national compensation trend lines may understate what it now takes to fill these seats in Mount Vernon."}, {"headline": "PeaceHealth's layoff could be a near-term talent release valve.", "body": "150 positions cut across Skagit, Whatcom, and Clark counties effective November 20 may put finance-adjacent administrative and billing talent into circulation. Watch whether displaced workers surface in local applicant pools before assuming continued scarcity at current advertised rates."}, {"headline": "Contract staffing trend offers a hedge against local scarcity.", "body": "70% of finance and accounting leaders nationally are increasing contract talent use in H2 2026, a lever particularly relevant where FTE pipelines are thin, as in Mount Vernon. The tradeoff is documentation and control gaps during audit periods that call for deliberate planning."}], "local_conditions": "Skagit County's unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in September, a full point improvement that coincides with a shrinking labor force, consistent with the statewide pattern of declining unemployment paired with net job losses. PeaceHealth's announced 150-worker reduction across Skagit, Clark, and Whatcom counties, effective November 20, adds healthcare to a metro employment base already concentrated in lower-wage office, food service, and retail roles with limited finance-function depth.", "implications": "A tightening headline unemployment rate masks a contracting labor pool, which for Finance leaders means the candidate shortage driving national CFO turnover (18.3% projected for 2026) and an 85% finance talent shortage rate likely compounds locally. Metro advertised pay for Senior Accountant ($101,414), Financial Analyst ($108,724), and Tax Specialist ($101,015) is up significantly even as national benchmarks for these roles hold stable, signaling Mount Vernon employers are bidding harder for a thinner finance talent pool. Consider reviewing close-cycle staffing contingencies now, given PeaceHealth's November layoff could release some finance and accounting talent into a market still priced well above national norms.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Whether the PeaceHealth reduction effective November 20 releases finance and administrative talent into the Skagit County applicant pool, or whether displaced workers exit the labor force entirely given the county's shrinking participation trend."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Advertised pay for Senior Accountant, Financial Analyst, and Tax Specialist roles has moved up significantly this month; another month of acceleration would confirm sustained local repricing."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Statewide CFO external hiring rate has climbed to 37.5%, up from 35% in 2025. A vacancy at the finance leadership level during Q4 close carries elevated risk given how thin the regional candidate pool appears."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Washington's minimum wage rises to $17.73 on January 1, compressing the gap between entry-level and skilled finance support roles like Billing Specialist. Expect downward pressure on differentials that Finance leaders use to justify internal pay ladders."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 110000.0, "metro_p50": 119886.0, "metro_p75": 120359.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 115420.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 74526.0, "metro_p50": 101414.0, "metro_p75": 136125.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 87731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 98239.5, "metro_p50": 108724.4, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 42342.5, "metro_p50": 53488.0, "metro_p75": 61352.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 39145.0, "metro_p50": 101015.0, "metro_p75": 101015.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 69556.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 62726.0, "metro_p50": 72500.0, "metro_p75": 77211.0, "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": 111482.25, "metro_p50": 132700.0, "metro_p75": 139625.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Washington State Employment Security Department", "source_url": null, "statement": "Skagit County unemployment fell to 3.7% in September 2026"}, {"source_name": "Washington State Employment Security Department Monthly Economic Report", "source_url": null, "statement": "PeaceHealth layoff of 150 workers across three counties, effective Nov. 20"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3% for 2026, highest since pandemic"}, {"source_name": "MAVI", "source_url": null, "statement": "85% of CFOs report finance talent shortages affecting operations"}, {"source_name": "Washington Department of Labor & Industries", "source_url": null, "statement": "Washington minimum wage rising to $17.73 on Jan. 1, 2027"}, {"source_name": "AFP FP&A Forum / industry survey", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance/accounting leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026"}], "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": "mount-vernon-anacortes-wa-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "mount-vernon-anacortes-wa-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:26:34.528937+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/mount-vernon-anacortes-wa-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/mount-vernon-anacortes-wa-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}