{"schema_version": 1, "id": "wausau-wi-msa/finance/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 526, "label": "Wausau, WI MSA", "slug": "wausau-wi-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "finance", "slug": "finance", "label": "Finance"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T06:04:50.386794+00:00", "headline": "Wausau finance pay splits sharply as labor pool shrinks.", "headline_summary": "Senior Accountant pay jumped to $79,366 in Wausau while Controller pay slipped to $115,312, against a metro unemployment rate of just 3.1% and a labor force in demographic decline.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Wausau MSA unemployment", "value": "3.1%", "context": "Aug 2026, vs 4.1% national rate"}, {"label": "Wisconsin payroll change", "value": "-13,700", "context": "Sept 2026 month-over-month, despite rising employment"}, {"label": "CFO turnover rate", "value": "18.3%", "context": "2026 national projection, highest since pandemic"}, {"label": "Wisconsin real wage growth", "value": "-5.1%", "context": "Steepest decline among all states, YoY Sept 2026"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Finance pay is bifurcating across roles.", "body": "Senior Accountant advertised pay in Wausau climbed significantly to $79,366 while Controller pay fell to $115,312, nearly flat against the national median. Treating finance compensation as a single trend line risks misreading which roles actually face competitive pressure."}, {"headline": "Financial Analyst pay gap with national market is widening.", "body": "Metro Financial Analyst pay sits at $67,797 against a national median of $94,646 \u2014 a roughly 28% discount that moved down further this month. Organizations recruiting analyst talent locally may need to weigh relocation incentives or remote-hybrid structures against a shrinking regional labor pool."}, {"headline": "Labor force decline outpaces hiring demand signals.", "body": "Marathon County's labor force is contracting on demographic grounds even as unemployment holds at 3.0-3.1%, meaning low unemployment reflects a scarcity of workers against steady demand. Headcount planning built on assumptions of available local talent may require revisiting fill-time estimates for finance and accounting roles."}, {"headline": "FP&A Manager pay signals rising strategic weight.", "body": "Metro FP&A Manager advertised pay rose moderately to $116,859, now within striking distance of the $130,000 national median. Consistent with national reporting that retention is the dominant concern during close cycles, this looks like a defensive pay move to protect incumbents."}], "local_conditions": "Wausau MSA unemployment held near historic lows at 3.1% in August, but Marathon County's labor force continues to shrink under demographic pressure \u2014 an aging population and flat net migration are capping labor supply even as manufacturing and skilled-trades employers compete for a thinning candidate pool. Statewide, Wisconsin lost 13,700 nonfarm payroll jobs month-over-month in September even as employment ticked up, a split that is consistent with employers struggling to fill roles even as they hold onto existing staff.", "implications": "Metro advertised pay for Controller and Financial Analyst roles moved down significantly this month while Senior Accountant and Tax Specialist pay rose sharply \u2014 a divergence that suggests employers are recalibrating which finance functions carry scarcity premiums and applying targeted increases to those roles specifically. With CFO turnover nationally projected at 18.3% for 2026 and 70% of finance leaders expanding contract talent use, Wausau organizations face compounding risk: a shrinking local labor pool plus national-level finance leadership churn during close and audit cycles. Consider reviewing contingency staffing plans for finance leadership transitions against a metro labor market with limited bench depth to absorb sudden vacancies.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Watch whether Wisconsin's September payroll decline (-13,700) extends into October data; a second consecutive monthly drop would complicate headcount budget assumptions built on earlier-year stability."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "National CFO turnover at 18.3% and a 37.5% external-hire rate raise succession risk for finance leadership; Wausau's thin local candidate pool may extend search timelines beyond what national benchmarks suggest."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Contract and interim finance staffing usage is rising nationally (70% of leaders expanding it); track whether this trend reaches Wausau given the metro's smaller base of contract talent providers."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Real wage growth in Wisconsin fell 5.1% year-over-year, the steepest decline among states; if this persists into Q4, finance teams may see easing pressure on merit budgets even as retention risk stays elevated."}], "roles": [{"role": "Controller", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 102114.0, "metro_p50": 115312.0, "metro_p75": 117118.25, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 115420.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Senior Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 75955.0, "metro_p50": 79366.0, "metro_p75": 80424.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 87731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 63912.0, "metro_p50": 67797.0, "metro_p75": 74468.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 39094.75, "metro_p50": 46800.0, "metro_p75": 52000.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 42112.0, "metro_p50": 67550.0, "metro_p75": 74714.0, "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": 44720.0, "metro_p50": 44720.0, "metro_p75": 59322.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 100074.0, "metro_p50": 116859.0, "metro_p75": 126976.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 130000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Wausau MSA unemployment rate was 3.1% in August 2026"}, {"source_name": "BLS/Wisconsin DWD", "source_url": null, "statement": "Wisconsin lost 13,700 nonfarm payroll jobs month-over-month in September 2026"}, {"source_name": "Crist|Kolder Associates", "source_url": null, "statement": "CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic"}, {"source_name": "Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum", "source_url": null, "statement": "70% of finance and accounting leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Wisconsin real wage growth fell 5.1% year-over-year, steepest among states"}, {"source_name": "Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development", "source_url": null, "statement": "Marathon County labor force declining due to demographic trends"}], "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": "wausau-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "pdf": "wausau-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:32:11.905836+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/wausau-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/wausau-wi-msa/finance/2026-10.pdf"}