{"schema_version": 1, "id": "rome-ga-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 439, "label": "Rome, GA MSA", "slug": "rome-ga-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:50:05.552755+00:00", "headline": "Rome's Financial Analyst pay jumps past the national median.", "headline_summary": "Rome's Financial Analyst advertised pay climbed to $106,860 against a national $94,646, even as metro unemployment edged up to 3.4% and a 792-worker manufacturing WARN filing reshapes the local talent pool.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Rome unemployment rate", "value": "3.4%", "context": "Up from 3.3%, vs 4.1% national"}, {"label": "Financial Analyst advertised pay (Rome)", "value": "$106,860", "context": "Exceeds $94,646 national median"}, {"label": "Rome labor force growth", "value": "+1,089 YoY", "context": "Jobs flat at 47,000, unchanged YoY"}, {"label": "International Paper WARN filing", "value": "792 workers", "context": "Largest recent Rome-area manufacturing layoff"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Financial Analyst pay in Rome now beats the national figure.", "body": "Advertised median pay for Financial Analysts in Rome reached $106,860, surpassing the $94,646 national median and marking a significant increase locally. This inversion of the usual metro discount suggests FP&A and analytical talent is scarce enough locally that employers are bidding past national norms to secure it."}, {"headline": "FP&A Manager pay is softening locally while the national market firms.", "body": "Rome's FP&A Manager advertised median fell to $118,411 even as the national figure climbed to $130,000, widening the metro-national gap. Controllers benchmarking FP&A leadership roles should weigh whether this reflects a thinner local candidate pool accepting lower offers or a real softening in demand before setting offer ranges."}, {"headline": "Manufacturing layoffs could reshape the local finance talent pool.", "body": "International Paper's 792-worker WARN filing adds to a regional pattern of manufacturing contraction, following Hillshire Brands' 168-worker reduction earlier in 2026. Displaced workers with plant-level cost accounting or operations finance experience may enter the Rome candidate pool over the next quarter, offering a sourcing opportunity for Controllers building out plant or shared-services finance functions."}, {"headline": "Tax Specialist pay has jumped, but Rome still trails the nation by half.", "body": "Rome's Tax Specialist advertised median rose significantly to $36,400, yet remains far below the $69,556 national median, which also climbed significantly. Organizations recruiting tax talent in Rome should expect continued difficulty attracting experienced hires without closing a gap this wide, particularly as national CFO turnover (18.3%) raises competition for tax and compliance expertise broadly."}], "local_conditions": "Rome's unemployment rate ticked up to 3.4% in September, still well below the 4.1% national rate, while the metro's labor force grew to 49,265 \u2014 an increase of 767 over the month and 1,089 year over year \u2014 even as total nonfarm employment held flat at 47,000 jobs. International Paper's WARN filing for 792 workers in the region, layered on top of Hillshire Brands' 168-worker reduction earlier this year, signals manufacturing-sector contraction even as healthcare and professional services continue absorbing labor force growth.", "implications": "Flat job growth against a rising labor force suggests Rome employers are gaining leverage in some segments while skilled finance and accounting roles remain difficult to fill \u2014 a dynamic consistent with the 61% of national finance hiring managers reporting more difficulty finding skilled professionals than a year ago. Manufacturing displacement from International Paper may create a near-term pool of finance and operations support talent with industrial-sector experience, relevant for Controllers planning headcount around close-cycle staffing or shared services buildouts. Consider reviewing contingency staffing plans for close and audit periods against the local Financial Analyst market, where advertised pay has moved up significantly to $106,860 \u2014 now exceeding the national median \u2014 a signal of tightening competition for analytical talent.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Rome's labor force grew faster than job counts in September, a pattern that typically precedes softer wage growth if it persists. Finance leaders should watch whether October data shows job growth catching up or unemployment drifting higher, with the 3.4% mark becoming a multi-month trend."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "International Paper's 792-worker WARN notice is among the largest in the region this year. Watch whether finance and accounting staff with manufacturing-sector experience surface in the local candidate pool, and whether severance timing creates a near-term hiring window for cost accounting or plant controller roles."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National CFO turnover at 18.3% and a 37.5% external hiring rate for CFO vacancies suggest Rome employers competing for finance leadership may face longer, costlier searches heading into Q4 budget cycles. Organizations with finance leadership vacancies should model extended time-to-fill against close and audit calendar pressure."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Financial Analyst advertised pay moving above the national median is unusual for this metro and worth tracking over the next two reporting cycles. If the trend holds through November, it may indicate structural scarcity in analytical finance talent beyond a one-month statistical anomaly."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 103268.0, "metro_p50": 103279.0, "metro_p75": 103279.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 74650.0, "metro_p50": 83847.0, "metro_p75": 87464.0, "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": 88090.0, "metro_p50": 106860.0, "metro_p75": 106860.0, "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": 35886.5, "metro_p50": 45202.4, "metro_p75": 51565.0, "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": 25552.0, "metro_p50": 36400.0, "metro_p75": 38917.0, "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": 53840.0, "metro_p50": 67800.0, "metro_p75": 76165.0, "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": 107481.0, "metro_p50": 118411.0, "metro_p75": 130605.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "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": "November 2026", "files": {"html": "rome-ga-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "rome-ga-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:29:16.563032+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/rome-ga-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/rome-ga-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}