{"schema_version": 1, "id": "sumter-sc-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 419, "label": "Sumter, SC MSA", "slug": "sumter-sc-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:58:53.680462+00:00", "headline": "Sumter unemployment falls as its job base shrinks.", "headline_summary": "Sumter MSA unemployment dropped to 4.8% even as nonfarm payrolls fell 1.8% year-over-year, while local Financial Analyst pay slid to $76,878 against a stable $94,646 national median.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Sumter unemployment rate", "value": "4.8%", "context": "Down 0.6 pts month-over-month, Sept. 2026"}, {"label": "Sumter nonfarm payrolls", "value": "37,500", "context": "Down 700 jobs (-1.8%) year-over-year"}, {"label": "Sumter avg. weekly wage", "value": "$944.46", "context": "vs $1,296 SC statewide average"}, {"label": "CFO turnover rate (national)", "value": "18.3%", "context": "Highest since pandemic, Crist|Kolder 2026"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Sumter's falling unemployment rate masks a shrinking job base.", "body": "Nonfarm payrolls declined 1.8% year-over-year even as the unemployment rate dropped to 4.8%, consistent with workers exiting the local labor force rather than a strengthening hiring market. Headcount planning built on the unemployment rate alone risks overstating local labor supply."}, {"headline": "Financial Analyst pay is diverging sharply from national trend.", "body": "Metro advertised pay for Financial Analysts sits at $76,878, down significantly and 18.8% below the stable national median of $94,646. Organizations recruiting against national postings may be underpricing the role locally or losing candidates to remote opportunities paying national rates."}, {"headline": "Controller pay is climbing while FP&A Manager pay softens.", "body": "Metro Controller advertised pay rose to $120,055, outpacing the national median of $115,420, while FP&A Manager pay fell to $118,125 against a rising national figure of $130,000. Divergent trajectories within the finance leadership tier suggest employers are prioritizing oversight and compliance roles over forward-planning functions this cycle."}, {"headline": "CFO turnover risk compounds a thin local talent bench.", "body": "National CFO turnover is projected at 18.3% for 2026, the highest since the pandemic, with 85% of CFOs reporting finance talent shortages. In a metro already showing payroll contraction, backfilling senior finance leadership may take longer and cost more than national benchmarks suggest."}], "local_conditions": "Sumter MSA unemployment fell to 4.8% in September, down 0.6 points month-over-month, yet nonfarm payrolls sit at 37,500 \u2014 700 jobs (-1.8%) below year-ago levels, a signal that fewer workers in the labor force rather than hiring strength is driving the rate improvement. Average weekly wages of $944.46 remain well below the state's $1,296 average, reflecting Sumter's manufacturing and healthcare-weighted base against Charleston and Columbia's higher-wage professional services concentration.", "implications": "Local Financial Analyst advertised pay has dropped sharply to $76,878 against a stable national median of $94,646 \u2014 an 18-point gap that complicates headcount cost planning if Sumter-based finance teams benchmark against national data rather than metro-specific intelligence. Payroll shrinkage alongside falling unemployment points to a thinner, more selective labor pool for finance support roles even as broader state wage growth (4.0%) outpaces the metro figure, raising retention exposure during close and audit cycles. Consider reviewing whether Financial Analyst and FP&A Manager compensation bands reflect Sumter's actual advertised pay trajectory rather than statewide or national benchmarks before the next budget cycle.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Nonfarm payrolls have declined year-over-year for multiple months despite falling unemployment. Track whether the October/November jobs reports show labor force re-entry or continued contraction, which would materially change hiring timelines for finance support roles."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "South Carolina's average weekly wage growth (4.0%) continues to outpace Sumter's metro figure. Widening divergence may force a compensation correction for Controller and senior finance roles to retain talent against Columbia and Charleston competition."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "National shift toward contract finance talent (70% of leaders increasing contractor use in H2 2026) has not yet shown clear signal in Sumter postings. Watch local job ad composition for contract/interim finance postings as a leading indicator of budget-driven headcount flexibility."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "State WARN activity remains concentrated in manufacturing and logistics, sectors with meaningful presence in Sumter. A local WARN filing would test whether released talent includes finance and accounting staff that could ease the current pay pressure on analyst-level roles."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 76199.0, "metro_p50": 120055.0, "metro_p75": 124761.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 69709.0, "metro_p50": 82500.0, "metro_p75": 87634.0, "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": 56931.0, "metro_p50": 76877.6, "metro_p75": 90000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 94646.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 36054.75, "metro_p50": 45000.0, "metro_p75": 47840.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 36086.25, "metro_p50": 58781.0, "metro_p75": 70720.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "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": "SC Department of Employment and Workforce", "source_url": null, "statement": "Sumter MSA unemployment rate and payroll figures"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Sumter average weekly wage figure for June 2026"}, {"source_name": "SC Department of Employment and Workforce", "source_url": null, "statement": "South Carolina statewide wage growth of 4.0%"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3% for 2026"}, {"source_name": "MAVI", "source_url": null, "statement": "85% of CFOs report finance talent shortages"}, {"source_name": "Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use"}], "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": "sumter-sc-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "sumter-sc-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:31:07.860846+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/sumter-sc-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/sumter-sc-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}