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Labor Market Pulse
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Edition
Focus: FINANCE
Scranton finance pay outruns the metro's soft labor market.
5.0%
Luzerne County unemployment
vs 4.7% metro-wide, July 2026 reading
$1,863
PA financial sector avg weekly wage
Highest of any PA sector, Aug 2026
74%
National F&A hiring intent
Share of F&A leaders planning headcount growth, 2026
-129,000
National financial activities job losses
Since May 2025, mostly insurance carriers
This Month's Takeaways
Senior Accountant pay is converging toward national levels fast.
Metro advertised pay rose significantly to $73,530, still below the $87,731 national median but closing the gap sharply. Budget planners relying on last year's local figures risk underpricing offers in a market where accounting talent is newly scarce nationally.
Credit Analyst pay in Scranton now exceeds the national rate.
Metro median of $92,500 sits above the $71,758 national figure, a reversal from typical sub-metro discounting patterns. This may reflect concentrated local demand from distribution, logistics and healthcare employers competing for underwriting and risk talent against a thin labor pool.
Tax Specialist pay is diverging from the national trend.
Metro median fell significantly to $42,589 even as the national figure rose significantly to $65,842. The gap suggests local tax talent is being priced well below what national demand signals would predict — worth testing before assuming the role is easy to fill at current rates.
Financial sector strength statewide is not translating into metro-wide labor tightness.
Pennsylvania's financial activities sector hit a record high and posted the state's top average weekly wage at $1,863, yet Luzerne County unemployment rose to 5.0%. Finance headcount planning should treat local labor softness and finance-specific talent scarcity as two separate forecasting inputs, not one.
Local Labor Conditions
Scranton–Wilkes-Barre's metro unemployment held near 4.7% in the most recent reading while Luzerne County ticked up to 5.0% in September, even as Pennsylvania's financial activities sector hit a record employment high and posted the state's highest average weekly earnings at $1,863.That divergence — soft overall metro labor conditions against a strengthening finance sector — reflects national dynamics where insurance and back-office roles contract while F&A hiring accelerates, leaving local finance employers competing for a smaller, higher-skilled talent pool even as headline unemployment looks stable.
Leadership & Talent Implications
Record financial-sector employment statewide, paired with national data showing 74% of F&A leaders planning permanent headcount growth and a swing to a 77% Talent Shortage Index, signals that Scranton-area Finance functions should expect sustained competition for accountants and analysts even if broader metro hiring stays flat. Advertised pay for Senior Accountant and Financial Analyst roles locally is already up significantly while national medians hold stable, suggesting Scranton employers are bidding up scarce local talent faster than the national market requires — a dynamic that directly affects headcount cost forecasts for the next budget cycle. Consider reviewing Senior Accountant and Financial Analyst offer ranges against current advertised rates before finalizing Q4 hiring budgets, since historical benchmarks may already understate what the local market requires.
