{"schema_version": 1, "id": "tampa-st-petersburg-clearwater-fl/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 453, "label": "Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL", "slug": "tampa-st-petersburg-clearwater-fl"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T05:57:59.534408+00:00", "headline": "Tampa finance pay holds steady as Florida's sector contracts.", "headline_summary": "Florida lost 15,800 finance and insurance jobs over the year, yet Tampa's Controller median advertised rate of $120,142 still outpaces the $115,420 national figure.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Florida finance sector employment", "value": "-15,800 jobs", "context": "Year-over-year loss, concentrated in finance/insurance"}, {"label": "Tampa division job growth share", "value": "15,100 of 16,200", "context": "Nearly all regional payroll gains, per BLS data"}, {"label": "CFO turnover rate", "value": "18.3%", "context": "Highest since pandemic, per Crist|Kolder 2026"}, {"label": "Tampa-St. Petersburg unemployment", "value": "4.3%", "context": "Vs 4.4% Florida, 4.1% national rate"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Florida's finance sector is shrinking while Tampa pay holds firm.", "body": "Statewide finance and insurance employment fell by 15,800 positions over the year, yet Tampa's Controller median of $120,142 remains above the national figure of $115,420. Scarcity appears to be keeping senior finance pay elevated locally even as headcount contracts elsewhere in the state."}, {"headline": "CFO turnover nationally adds urgency to Tampa succession planning.", "body": "Crist|Kolder's 18.3% CFO turnover projection for 2026 \u2014 the highest since the pandemic \u2014 combined with an external hire rate of 37.5% signals that vacancies are increasingly filled from outside organizations. Tampa's concentrated job growth in its metropolitan division suggests finance leadership talent may be harder to backfill locally than headline job counts imply."}, {"headline": "Tax Specialist pay is moving sharply in both directions of the comparison.", "body": "Tampa's Tax Specialist median advertised rate climbed to $67,009, a significant year-over-year gain that tracks the national move to $69,556. Compliance and tax-season staffing plans should treat this as a structural repricing, distinct from a temporary spike tied to filing-season demand."}, {"headline": "Contract staffing is reshaping finance headcount cost models.", "body": "70% of finance and accounting leaders report increasing contract talent use in H2 2026, per Robert Half, while 61% say finding skilled professionals is harder than a year ago. Tampa Controllers managing fixed-cost forecasts should factor in documentation and audit-readiness gaps that contract arrangements can introduce before close cycles tighten."}], "local_conditions": "Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater payrolls grew 1.1% year over year to roughly 1.56 million jobs in September, but nearly all of that gain concentrated in the Tampa metropolitan division, which captured 15,100 of the region's 16,200 added jobs. Financial activities remain a statewide drag \u2014 Florida lost 15,800 finance and insurance jobs over the year, a high-wage sector averaging over $130,000 annually \u2014 even as Tampa unemployment held at 4.3%, below the metro-area Tampa division's 4.5% rate and still inside the state's elevated 4.4% reading.", "implications": "Statewide finance-sector contraction alongside Tampa's uneven job growth points to a market where Finance talent is consolidating, raising the stakes on retention during close and audit cycles when backfilling skilled roles takes longer than budget calendars allow. Controller pay in Tampa sits at a metro median of $120,142 \u2014 above the national median of $115,420 \u2014 suggesting local employers are still paying a premium for scarce senior finance talent even as the broader sector sheds headcount. Consider reviewing retention budgets for Controller and FP&A-level roles ahead of year-end close, before turnover forces a reactive search.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Tampa's metropolitan division absorbed nearly all of the region's job growth this year, leaving St. Petersburg-Clearwater comparatively flat. Watch whether finance hiring follows the same concentration pattern, which would tighten the Tampa core candidate pool further."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Florida's finance and insurance sector lost 15,800 jobs statewide even as Tampa Controller and FP&A pay held at or above national medians. If the sector contraction reaches Tampa's core employers, expect compensation pressure to show up first in retention counteroffers, ahead of new postings."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National CFO turnover at 18.3% and an external hire rate of 37.5% suggest finance leadership searches will increasingly pull from outside organizations. Tampa Controllers should monitor whether local executive search activity accelerates heading into Q1 budget season."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Florida's minimum wage rose to $15.00 on September 30, compressing pay differentials for entry-level finance support roles like Billing Specialist, whose Tampa median of $49,440 is already up moderately. Watch whether this compression pushes more organizations to adjust pay bands for junior accounting staff."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 90000.0, "metro_p50": 120142.2, "metro_p75": 130000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 115420.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 77319.0, "metro_p50": 85456.0, "metro_p75": 91520.0, "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": 71736.0, "metro_p50": 90000.0, "metro_p75": 98839.75, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 94646.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Billing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 39182.0, "metro_p50": 49440.0, "metro_p75": 58477.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 49000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Tax Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 43717.0, "metro_p50": 67009.0, "metro_p75": 77200.0, "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": "metro", "metro_p25": 42848.0, "metro_p50": 71757.6, "metro_p75": 77500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 71397.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "FP&A Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 105750.0, "metro_p50": 119643.0, "metro_p75": 154350.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Tampa Bay Business Journal", "source_url": null, "statement": "Tampa division captured 15,100 of region's 16,200 added jobs"}, {"source_name": "Florida Department of Commerce", "source_url": null, "statement": "Florida financial activities fell 15,800 jobs over the year"}, {"source_name": "Florida Department of Commerce", "source_url": null, "statement": "Finance and insurance averages over $130k annually in Florida"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3% for 2026, external hire rate 37.5%"}, {"source_name": "Robert Half", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Tampa-St. Petersburg unemployment rate for September 2026"}], "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": "tampa-st-petersburg-clearwater-fl/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "tampa-st-petersburg-clearwater-fl/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:31:14.219779+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/tampa-st-petersburg-clearwater-fl/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/tampa-st-petersburg-clearwater-fl/finance/2026-10.pdf"}