{"schema_version": 1, "id": "pascagoula-ms-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 322, "label": "Pascagoula, MS MSA", "slug": "pascagoula-ms-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:45:51.602785+00:00", "headline": "Pascagoula finance pay diverges sharply from national trend.", "headline_summary": "Controller pay fell to a metro median of $89,508 while the national figure climbed to $115,420, even as Mississippi's labor force participation dropped to 54.7% \u2014 its lowest since April 2024.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Jackson County unemployment", "value": "3.5%", "context": "Down 0.6 pts vs. July 2025"}, {"label": "MS labor force participation", "value": "54.7%", "context": "Lowest since April 2024; 2nd-lowest nationally"}, {"label": "Controller pay gap", "value": "$89,508 vs $115,420", "context": "Metro vs. national median, $26K gap"}, {"label": "MS Finance sector weekly wage", "value": "$1,019", "context": "Down 1.1% YoY vs. 5.1% national finance wage growth"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Controller pay is falling locally while rising nationally.", "body": "Metro advertised Controller pay dropped significantly to $89,508 even as the national median climbed to $115,420, a $26,000 gap that may signal employers aren't competing on cash comp for this role. Organizations budgeting for controller searches should expect candidates to benchmark against national postings."}, {"headline": "Senior Accountant and Financial Analyst pay are moving up locally.", "body": "Senior Accountant rose to $79,192 and Financial Analyst jumped significantly to $69,365 in the metro, even as national medians held stable. This divergence suggests local employers are repricing mid-level finance talent faster than the broader market \u2014 likely a response to shipbuilding-driven competition for general skilled labor pulling from the same regional workforce."}, {"headline": "Tax Specialist pay gap signals a specialized talent shortfall.", "body": "Metro Tax Specialist pay fell moderately to $33,606 while the national median rose significantly to $69,556 \u2014 a more than two-to-one gap. Current conditions suggest this role may be underpriced relative to the skill required, creating retention risk during close and filing cycles."}, {"headline": "A shrinking labor force is tightening the market.", "body": "Mississippi's labor force participation rate of 54.7% is the lowest since April 2024, even as unemployment stays low at 3.3% statewide and 3.5% in Jackson County. Finance leaders should treat this as a structural supply constraint on headcount planning that will persist without a cyclical self-correction."}], "local_conditions": "Jackson County's unemployment rate sits at 3.5%, down from a year prior, while Mississippi's statewide labor force participation has fallen to 54.7% \u2014 its lowest point since April 2024 \u2014 signaling a shrinking talent pool. Ingalls Shipbuilding and Bollinger's regional yards continue absorbing skilled trades capacity, including pipe welders earning $35-$40/hour plus overtime, which pulls general labor market attention and wage pressure toward manufacturing and away from back-office finance roles.", "implications": "Metro finance role pay is diverging sharply from national trends \u2014 Controller advertised pay is down significantly to $89,508 against a rising $115,420 national median, and FP&A Manager pay has fallen to $119,209 locally while climbing nationally to $130,000 \u2014 a gap consistent with a thin local finance talent pool and employers pulling back on posted rates. With CFO turnover nationally projected at 18.3% and 85% of CFOs reporting finance talent shortages, Pascagoula employers risk losing senior finance talent to remote or regional opportunities offering national-level pay. Consider reviewing whether current Controller and FP&A Manager offers reflect a shrinking local labor force or simply lag national repricing, particularly ahead of 2027 budget cycles.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "FP&A Manager and Controller advertised pay are both down significantly locally while rising nationally \u2014 watch whether this gap widens further as 2027 budget planning accelerates hiring for these roles."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Mississippi Finance & Insurance sector wages fell 1.1% year-over-year to $1,019 weekly even as national financial-role wages rose 5.1%, a divergence that may pressure retention of specialized finance staff ahead of year-end close."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Shipbuilding and skilled trades wage competition in Pascagoula \u2014 pipe welders earning $35-$40/hour \u2014 may continue pulling general labor market attention away from office and finance roles, compressing the candidate pool for entry-level finance positions."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National data shows 70% of finance and accounting leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026; watch whether Pascagoula employers follow given local Controller and FP&A pay softness, which could signal a shift toward interim staffing for senior finance roles."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 82440.25, "metro_p50": 89508.0, "metro_p75": 89508.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 73426.0, "metro_p50": 79192.0, "metro_p75": 90579.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 87731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 65095.0, "metro_p50": 69365.0, "metro_p75": 71227.0, "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": 32367.25, "metro_p50": 40234.0, "metro_p75": 41646.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 29227.5, "metro_p50": 33606.0, "metro_p75": 39528.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 69556.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 41677.25, "metro_p50": 53234.0, "metro_p75": 61839.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 71397.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 96751.0, "metro_p50": 119209.0, "metro_p75": 128330.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "USA Facts / Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Jackson County unemployment rate and year-over-year change"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Mississippi labor force participation rate decline"}, {"source_name": "Alliance Mechanical Solutions", "source_url": null, "statement": "Pipe welder advertised pay range in Pascagoula shipbuilding"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder / MAVI", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover and finance talent shortage figures"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Mississippi Finance & Insurance sector wage decline vs national finance wage growth"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Mississippi labor force participation ranking among states"}], "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": "pascagoula-ms-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "pascagoula-ms-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:28:05.028846+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/pascagoula-ms-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/pascagoula-ms-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}