{"schema_version": 1, "id": "scranton-wilkes-barre-pa-msa/finance/2026-08", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 480, "label": "Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA", "slug": "scranton-wilkes-barre-pa-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-08", "public_after": "2026-08-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T16:27:08.894744+00:00", "headline": "Scranton's finance labor pool loosens as state market tightens.", "headline_summary": "Scranton\u2013Wilkes-Barre unemployment held at 4.6% against Pennsylvania's 3.7% statewide rate, even as metro Credit Analyst pay jumped to a $92,500 median.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "4.6%", "context": "vs 3.7% PA statewide, 4.1% national"}, {"label": "Metro job growth (YoY)", "value": "1.0%", "context": "+2,600 jobs vs PA's stronger statewide gains"}, {"label": "PA labor force dropout", "value": "~15,000 workers", "context": "up from ~8,000 in early 2025"}, {"label": "PA finance sector employment", "value": "Record high", "context": "Finance & insurance +1,500 jobs in July"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Metro slack looks like an opportunity, not a warning sign.", "body": "A 4.6% metro unemployment rate versus 3.7% statewide suggests a deeper local candidate pool than state or national data implies. Finance leaders budgeting new headcount may find Scranton fill times and offer-acceptance economics more favorable than benchmarks assume."}, {"headline": "Credit Analyst pay is moving fast \u2014 and that is data-driven, not noise.", "body": "Metro advertised pay for Credit Analyst rose significantly to a $92,500 median, now running above the $72,000 national figure. That local premium is consistent with tightening demand for credit risk expertise even as broader metro hiring stays soft, and warrants a fresh look at internal equity for incumbents in that role."}, {"headline": "Tax Specialist pay collapse locally cuts against the national trend.", "body": "Metro Tax Specialist advertised pay fell significantly to $39,244, well below the $66,725 national median that itself is climbing. Divergence this wide suggests either a thin, unrepresentative local posting sample or a genuine local demand gap \u2014 either way it is not a number to anchor an offer against without validation."}, {"headline": "Statewide finance hiring is outrunning metro headline numbers.", "body": "Pennsylvania's financial activities supersector posted a record employment level in August with finance and insurance adding 1,500 jobs in July alone. Metro-level softness may reflect timing or industry mix rather than a genuine pullback in finance function demand \u2014 worth confirming before assuming reduced competition for local finance talent."}], "local_conditions": "Scranton\u2013Wilkes-Barre's unemployment rate sat at 4.6% in the most recent reading, holding well above Pennsylvania's 3.7% statewide rate even as the state posted record labor force and employment levels. Metro job growth remains soft at just 1.0% year-over-year, a sign that local labor supply is loosening relative to the state and national picture even as finance and insurance employment statewide hit record highs.", "implications": "Softer metro job growth alongside a stubbornly elevated local unemployment rate signals more available candidates than the state or national picture would suggest \u2014 a dynamic that changes the calculus on remote/hybrid sourcing radius, contractor mix, and whether premium pay is truly required to fill finance roles locally. Statewide finance and insurance employment hit a record high in July, indicating sector-level demand remains intact even where metro-level headline numbers look sluggish. Consider reviewing whether Scranton-based roles budgeted at national or state pay assumptions are over-calibrated given the metro's comparatively looser labor market.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Metro unemployment has drifted up three-tenths of a point year-over-year even as the state rate hit a two-year low. Track whether that gap closes or widens over the next two jobs reports before adjusting Scranton hiring-difficulty assumptions."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Pennsylvania's dropout rate from the labor force nearly doubled from roughly 8,000 to over 15,000 workers in Q3, which could tighten the effective candidate pool even where headline unemployment looks soft. Monitor whether this shows up in longer time-to-fill for finance roles in Scranton postings."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "AI-skill premiums are running as high as 56% nationally for finance and accounting roles, and 82% of F&A leaders report paying up for AI expertise. Watch whether Scranton postings for FP&A and technical accounting roles begin reflecting this premium or continue lagging national pay signals."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Pennsylvania WARN filings remain modest at 57 notices statewide in 2026, with no metro-specific Scranton filings surfacing this month. Absence of local WARN activity is a reasonable proxy for stable near-term finance headcount conditions, but confirm directly with regional workforce boards given data lag risk."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 94959.5, "metro_p50": 112806.0, "metro_p75": 124204.5, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 112500.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 66216.0, "metro_p50": 79147.2, "metro_p75": 80030.5, "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": 66974.5, "metro_p50": 75000.0, "metro_p75": 75574.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 82905.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 36400.0, "metro_p50": 42352.2, "metro_p75": 50000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 49700.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 33341.0, "metro_p50": 39243.8, "metro_p75": 44450.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 66725.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Credit Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 62210.0, "metro_p50": 92500.0, "metro_p75": 92500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 72000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 102539.0, "metro_p50": 125149.0, "metro_p75": 137500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 127341.0, "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": "September 2026", "files": {"html": "scranton-wilkes-barre-pa-msa/finance/2026-08.html", "pdf": "scranton-wilkes-barre-pa-msa/finance/2026-08.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T16:35:54.503177+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/scranton-wilkes-barre-pa-msa/finance/2026-08.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/scranton-wilkes-barre-pa-msa/finance/2026-08.pdf"}