{"schema_version": 1, "id": "racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-10", "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": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:50:25.421612+00:00", "headline": "Racine wages climb as manufacturing jobs and headcount shrink.", "headline_summary": "Racine County unemployment rose to 4.1% even as weekly wages grew 3.8% year-over-year \u2014 the fastest pace among major Wisconsin counties \u2014 while FP&A Manager advertised pay jumped to $112,155 locally.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Racine County unemployment", "value": "4.1%", "context": "vs 3.2% Wisconsin, 4.2% national (Aug/Sep 2026)"}, {"label": "Racine weekly wage growth", "value": "3.8% YoY", "context": "Highest among major WI counties, Q1 2026"}, {"label": "FP&A Manager advertised pay", "value": "$112,155", "context": "Up significantly; national median $130,000"}, {"label": "CFO turnover, national", "value": "18.3%", "context": "Highest since pandemic per Crist|Kolder"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "FP&A talent is commanding a premium while transactional roles stall.", "body": "FP&A Manager advertised pay rose significantly to $112,155 locally while Senior Accountant and Controller pay held flat. Finance organizations competing for planning and forecasting talent should expect this gap to widen as budget cycles demand more scenario-modeling capacity."}, {"headline": "Racine's rising wages mask a shrinking labor pool.", "body": "County unemployment rose to 4.1% even as weekly wages grew 3.8% year-over-year, the fastest pace among major Wisconsin counties. That combination is consistent with employers bidding up pay for a narrower set of qualified candidates, a sign of targeted competition for scarce skills rather than broad-based wage inflation."}, {"headline": "CFO turnover nationally raises succession-planning stakes locally.", "body": "Projected 2026 CFO turnover of 18.3% and an external hiring rate of 37.5% nationally mean Racine-area finance leaders should assume any senior finance vacancy carries real risk of landing mid-close or mid-audit. Bench strength and interim coverage plans deserve a second look ahead of year-end close."}, {"headline": "Billing Specialist pay is dropping sharply against a stable national trend.", "body": "Metro Billing Specialist advertised pay fell significantly while the national median held steady at $49,000, a divergence that may reflect softening demand for transactional back-office roles locally. Organizations recruiting into this role may find more negotiating leverage than the national market suggests."}], "local_conditions": "Racine County unemployment climbed to 4.1% in August, the 8th-highest among Wisconsin's 72 counties and a full point above the state's 3.2% rate, while the metro's finance-relevant employers continue absorbing a manufacturing sector running 4% below pre-pandemic job levels statewide. Average weekly wages in Racine rose 3.8% year-over-year in Q1 2026, outpacing every major Wisconsin county, suggesting employers are paying up to hold talent even as overall headcount softens.", "implications": "Rising Racine wages amid falling headcount points to a market where employers are concentrating pay increases on roles they cannot afford to lose, leaving broader pay scales flat \u2014 a dynamic that complicates headcount cost forecasting built on blended average assumptions. FP&A Manager advertised pay is up significantly locally ($112,155) even as Controller and Senior Accountant pay sit flat, signaling that scarcity premiums are concentrating in forward-looking planning talent while transactional finance roles see little movement. Consider reviewing headcount budgets role-by-role instead of department-wide, since flat aggregate wage trends can mask significant premium pay pressure on specific finance functions.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected", "body": "Wisconsin's manufacturing sector remains 4% below pre-pandemic job levels, and Racine's finance teams tied to manufacturing clients or parent companies should watch for further WARN filings that could affect close-cycle staffing or audit scope."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "National finance talent shortages (85% of CFOs reporting shortages per MAVI) combined with rising contract-staffing use (70% of finance leaders per Robert Half survey) suggest Racine employers may increasingly rely on contract FP&A and accounting talent, raising documentation and internal-control questions ahead of audit season."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Racine County's unemployment gap versus the state (4.1% vs 3.2%) has widened over the past year; watch whether this reflects manufacturing-linked layoffs feeding into available finance and accounting talent pools."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "FP&A Manager pay is up significantly both locally and nationally, a trend that may continue if budget-cycle complexity keeps rising. Finance leaders planning 2027 headcount budgets should factor in continued premium pricing for planning talent and avoid assuming current levels hold flat."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 98465.25, "metro_p50": 120366.0, "metro_p75": 130425.0, "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": 64390.0, "metro_p50": 83922.0, "metro_p75": 83935.0, "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": 69395.0, "metro_p50": 86817.0, "metro_p75": 91429.5, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 94646.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 39187.0, "metro_p50": 43680.0, "metro_p75": 43680.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 38916.25, "metro_p50": 62369.0, "metro_p75": 67312.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "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": 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": "metro", "metro_p25": 105900.0, "metro_p50": 112155.0, "metro_p75": 112155.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "USAfacts/Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Racine County unemployment at 4.1% in August 2026, 8th-highest in WI"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Racine County wages grew 3.8% year-over-year in Q1 2026"}, {"source_name": "BLS/Wisconsin DWD", "source_url": null, "statement": "Wisconsin unemployment steady at 3.2% in September 2026"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic"}, {"source_name": "Marquette University/BLS", "source_url": null, "statement": "Wisconsin manufacturing jobs 4% below pre-pandemic levels as of July 2026"}, {"source_name": "Robert Half", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance 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": "racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:28:45.951258+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/racine-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}