{"schema_version": 1, "id": "sc-nonmetropolitan-area/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 330, "label": "SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA", "slug": "sc-nonmetropolitan-area"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:50:57.121728+00:00", "headline": "SC nonmetro finance pay slips as national medians climb.", "headline_summary": "Controller pay in SC nonmetro areas sits at $109,596 against a national median of $115,420, while Tax Specialist pay has fallen to $41,796 locally even as the national figure rose to $69,556.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Florence unemployment", "value": "4.2%", "context": "vs 4.0% statewide, 3.2% Charleston metro"}, {"label": "Sumter unemployment", "value": "4.8%", "context": "Highest among tracked SC nonmetro areas"}, {"label": "Tax Specialist advertised pay (metro)", "value": "$41,796", "context": "vs $69,556 national median, down significantly"}, {"label": "CFO turnover rate (national)", "value": "18.3%", "context": "Highest since pandemic, Crist|Kolder 2026"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Nonmetro finance talent is cheaper to hire, but harder to find.", "body": "Florence (4.2%) and Sumter (4.8%) unemployment run well above Charleston's 3.2%, yet advertised pay for Controller ($109,596) and FP&A Manager ($118,125) in this metro trails national medians by 5-9%. Tight local labor combined with below-market pay is a retention risk once remote finance roles become viable alternatives for skilled staff."}, {"headline": "Tax Specialist pay has fallen out of step with the national market.", "body": "Metro advertised pay for Tax Specialist sits at $41,796, down significantly, while the national median climbed to $69,556 on rising demand. Gap this wide signals local employers may struggle to retain tax talent heading into year-end close and 1099/W-2 season."}, {"headline": "CFO turnover nationally raises succession stakes in thin nonmetro talent pools.", "body": "Projected 18.3% CFO turnover and a 37.5% external hire rate nationally (Crist|Kolder) compound the risk in nonmetro SC, where the local finance leadership bench is shallower to begin with. Succession planning gaps here carry outsized exposure during close and audit cycles compared to metro peers with deeper candidate pools."}, {"headline": "Contract staffing growth complicates audit readiness in smaller finance teams.", "body": "70% of finance and accounting leaders are increasing contract talent use in H2 2026, a shift that can strain documentation and internal control consistency for nonmetro teams already running lean. Smaller finance departments in this metro may feel this more acutely given fewer FTEs to backstop contractor transitions."}], "local_conditions": "South Carolina's nonmetropolitan areas trail the state's record-setting labor market \u2014 Florence posted 4.2% unemployment and Sumter 4.8% in September, well above Charleston's 3.2% and the statewide 4.0%, signaling a two-speed economy where rural finance teams compete for talent without the wage leverage of metro peers. Employment-weighted mean pay in Southern SC nonmetro ($50,182) and Northwestern SC nonmetro ($52,698) sits meaningfully below statewide averages, even as 70% of finance leaders nationally shift toward contract talent to manage fixed costs amid persistent skills shortages.", "implications": "Wider unemployment gaps between SC nonmetro counties and the state's major metros mean finance leaders in these areas face a shallower local talent pool for controller, FP&A and senior accounting roles, increasing reliance on remote hiring or regional commuting patterns to fill skilled positions. Falling advertised pay for Controller, Senior Accountant, FP&A Manager and Tax Specialist roles in this metro \u2014 even as national medians hold steady or rise \u2014 suggests local employers may be underpricing finance talent relative to the national market, risking turnover into remote or metro-based roles that pay more. Consider reviewing advertised pay for finance leadership and analyst roles against both national and regional medians before the next hiring cycle.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected", "body": "October nonmetro-level unemployment data releases November 20 \u2014 watch whether Florence and Sumter continue tracking above the state's 4.0% rate, which would confirm the local talent pool is tightening slower than metro peers."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Falling advertised pay for Controller, Senior Accountant and FP&A Manager roles in this metro, against rising or stable national medians, may accelerate attrition to remote finance roles \u2014 monitor exit interview data for compensation-cited departures over the next two cycles."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "51 WARN notices have hit South Carolina through October, concentrated in manufacturing and food/hospitality sectors; worth tracking whether displaced administrative or accounting staff from these filings enter the nonmetro candidate pool."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National CFO external hiring rate of 37.5% suggests finance leadership searches increasingly look outside current organizations; nonmetro SC employers should expect longer search timelines and consider whether local compensation structures can compete with metro and remote offers."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 91704.0, "metro_p50": 109596.0, "metro_p75": 114118.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 115420.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 62002.5, "metro_p50": 74735.4, "metro_p75": 82039.25, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 87731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 67500.0, "metro_p50": 83030.0, "metro_p75": 95113.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 94646.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 34896.75, "metro_p50": 40899.0, "metro_p75": 47591.5, "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": 30702.0, "metro_p50": 41796.4, "metro_p75": 43844.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "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": 45100.0, "metro_p50": 65544.0, "metro_p75": 70862.75, "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": 97625.0, "metro_p50": 118124.8, "metro_p75": 130000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Here Florence / SC Dept. of Employment and Workforce", "source_url": null, "statement": "Florence and Sumter nonmetro unemployment rates for September 2026"}, {"source_name": "O*NET Online / BLS OES", "source_url": null, "statement": "Employment-weighted mean wages for SC nonmetro areas"}, {"source_name": "Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3%, external hire rate 37.5%"}, {"source_name": "South Carolina WARN Act tracker", "source_url": null, "statement": "51 WARN notices filed in South Carolina through October 2026"}, {"source_name": "SC Department of Employment and Workforce", "source_url": null, "statement": "South Carolina statewide unemployment rate at 4.0% in September"}], "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": "sc-nonmetropolitan-area/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "sc-nonmetropolitan-area/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:30:00.937566+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/sc-nonmetropolitan-area/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/sc-nonmetropolitan-area/finance/2026-10.pdf"}