{"schema_version": 1, "id": "racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-09", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 381, "label": "Racine, WI MSA", "slug": "racine-wi-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:29:36.859916+00:00", "headline": "Racine's finance hiring cools as national FP&A talent war intensifies.", "headline_summary": "Racine-area Financial Analyst pay fell to a metro median of $80,750 against a stable $94,782 nationally, even as 74% of finance leaders nationally plan to expand permanent headcount this half.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Racine MSA unemployment", "value": "5.2% (Feb.)", "context": "Eased to 3.3% by May 2026"}, {"label": "Financial Analyst advertised pay", "value": "$80,750", "context": "Down vs. stable $94,782 national median"}, {"label": "Wisconsin Financial Activities forecast", "value": "-0.6%", "context": "Projected employment decline through 2026"}, {"label": "National F&A hiring plans", "value": "74%", "context": "Of finance leaders plan headcount increases, H2 2026"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Local analyst pay is falling while national demand rises.", "body": "Financial Analyst advertised pay in Racine dropped to $80,750, a moderate decline, while the national median held stable at $94,782. A roughly $14,000 gap suggests local employers may be pricing against a thinner, less competitive candidate pool rather than true market softness."}, {"headline": "Tax Specialist pay is breaking out locally and nationally.", "body": "Metro Tax Specialist pay rose significantly to $62,370, tracking a comparable national increase to $65,842. Coordinated movement across both geographies is consistent with a genuine skills shortage rather than a local anomaly, and warrants closer benchmarking ahead of tax-season staffing decisions."}, {"headline": "Manufacturing disruption may be loosening the local talent pool.", "body": "UNFI's Sturtevant closure and Cree Lighting's 172-person layoff, both finalized by August, have pushed displaced workers into a county labor market where unemployment has already fallen back to 3.3%. Finance leaders in adjacent sectors may find modestly improved sourcing conditions for administrative and operations-finance hybrid roles over the next quarter."}, {"headline": "Controller and FP&A Manager pay signal stable senior-level demand.", "body": "Controller pay held steady at $118,770 locally against a moderately rising $113,754 nationally, while FP&A Manager pay rose moderately to $112,155 even as the national figure stayed flat. Senior finance leadership roles appear insulated from the volatility hitting analyst-tier positions, suggesting budget pressure is concentrated at mid-career levels."}], "local_conditions": "Racine-Mount Pleasant MSA labor conditions remain unsettled following a 5.2% unemployment spike in February that has since eased toward 3.3% by May, with manufacturing and logistics disruptions \u2014 including the UNFI Sturtevant closure and Cree Lighting's 172-person layoff \u2014 still working through the local labor pool. Wisconsin's broader Financial Activities sector is contracting, with state forecasts showing a projected -0.6% employment decline into 2026, even as statewide unemployment holds near a historically tight 2.7%.", "implications": "Local finance and accounting pay is diverging sharply from the national story: Racine's Financial Analyst and Credit Analyst advertised pay are both down against stable-to-rising national figures, suggesting metro employers are either underpricing scarce analytical talent or losing bidding power to remote and regional competitors. With national F&A hiring demand rebounding to a 134% Hiring Index and nearly half of organizations planning 4%+ direct labor rate increases, Racine finance departments risk falling behind on roles tied to forecasting, credit risk, and margin analysis precisely when that expertise is becoming scarcer nationally. Consider reviewing Financial Analyst and Credit Analyst advertised pay against national trendlines before the next budget cycle, rather than assuming metro softness reflects genuine local demand weakness.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "UNFI's Sturtevant layoffs concluded August 1 and Cree Lighting's cuts landed in March \u2014 watch whether finance, accounting, or operations-support talent from these filings surfaces in Racine's candidate pool over October and November."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Wisconsin's Financial Activities sector is forecast to shrink 0.6% through 2026 even as statewide unemployment sits at 2.7%, a combination that could tighten competition for the finance talent that remains rather than easing it."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National average hourly earnings growth decelerated to 3.0% year-over-year in September, below consensus \u2014 if that deceleration persists, it may ease FY2027 salary budget planning even as sector-specific roles like Tax Specialist continue climbing."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "National financial activities employment has shed 129,000 jobs since May 2025, concentrated in insurance carriers. Watch for second-order effects on Racine's insurance-adjacent finance and accounting talent pool as national contraction continues."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 99202.0, "metro_p50": 118770.0, "metro_p75": 124650.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 113754.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 64392.75, "metro_p50": 83922.0, "metro_p75": 83931.75, "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": 69395.0, "metro_p50": 80750.0, "metro_p75": 86817.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 94782.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 39261.0, "metro_p50": 43447.0, "metro_p75": 43680.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 49512.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 41135.0, "metro_p50": 62370.0, "metro_p75": 77820.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 65842.4, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 54006.0, "metro_p50": 66188.0, "metro_p75": 70054.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 71758.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 93057.25, "metro_p50": 112155.0, "metro_p75": 112155.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 128139.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [], "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": "October 2026", "files": {"html": "racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-09.html", "pdf": "racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-09.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T14:35:12.404202+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-09.pdf"}