Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Florence, SC MSA — October 2026
Florence finance pay splits: senior roles tighten, support roles soften.
Florence MSA unemployment fell to 4.2% and weekly wages rose 10.6% year-over-year, yet advertised pay for Financial Analyst ($68,329) and FP&A Manager ($118,125) roles both declined against rising national medians.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Florence MSA unemployment: 4.2% — Down from 4.9% a year ago; 0.6pt drop from August
- Metro weekly wage growth: 10.6% YoY — vs 4.0% statewide wage growth
- FP&A Manager advertised pay: $118,125 metro — Down moderately vs $130,000 national (up)
- CFO turnover, national: 18.3% — Highest since pandemic; 37.5% filled externally
Key takeaways
Financial Analyst pay is falling locally while demand holds nationally.
Metro median advertised pay for Financial Analyst dropped significantly to $68,329, well below the stable $94,646 national figure. A gap this wide may reflect local employers filling analyst roles at lower seniority levels, or it may signal Florence is becoming harder to use as a cost-saving talent pool for finance support work.
FP&A Manager pay is softening here even as national demand rises.
Metro FP&A Manager advertised pay declined moderately to $118,125 while the national median climbed to $130,000 — a divergence worth flagging given FP&A's role in close-cycle and forecasting continuity. Retention risk for this function may be underpriced if compensation benchmarking relies on national figures alone.
Record metro employment is tightening the labor pool finance competes in.
Nonfarm payrolls hit 97,100 in September, up 600 jobs month-over-month, with Darlington County unemployment still elevated at 4.5% against Florence County's 4.1%. Finance functions recruiting administrative or support talent will increasingly compete with logistics and manufacturing employers absorbing the same labor pool.
Contract staffing trends nationally carry local audit-readiness implications.
70% of finance leaders are expanding contract talent use in H2 2026, a shift that creates documentation and internal-control gaps during close and audit periods. Metro-level wage compression in Billing Specialist and Financial Analyst roles may make contract conversion more attractive locally, but control design should keep pace.
Median advertised pay by role — Florence, SC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $90,737 | $93,457 | $113,812 | Stable | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant * | $69,709 | $82,500 | $87,634 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $59,985 | $68,329 | $71,289 | Significant decline | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $29,351 | $38,480 | $47,919 | Significant decline | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $37,510 | $42,291 | $66,860 | Moderate increase | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst * | $45,100 | $65,544 | $70,863 | Stable | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager * | $97,625 | $118,125 | $130,000 | Moderate decline | $130,000 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
Florence MSA unemployment fell to 4.2% in September, down 0.6 points from August as nonfarm employment reached a record 97,100 — a tightening pace that outstrips the national decline and reflects continued gains in logistics, manufacturing and health services. Average weekly wages in the metro rose 10.6% year-over-year through February, a pace well ahead of the 4.0% statewide wage gain, suggesting local labor supply constraints are pushing compensation faster than broader South Carolina trends.
What it means
Tightening local labor supply alongside sharply declining advertised pay for Financial Analyst (-significant) and Billing Specialist (-significant) roles points to a bifurcated market: senior finance talent is scarce and commanding premiums nationally, while entry-to-mid finance support roles in Florence are seeing advertised pay compress even as headline wages rise. That divergence complicates headcount cost planning — budget assumptions built on national finance salary trends may overstate what it costs to fill support-level roles locally while understating the premium needed to retain or replace Controller and FP&A-level talent amid 18.3% national CFO turnover. Consider reviewing role-level pay bands separately from blended departmental averages before finalizing 2027 headcount budgets.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Darlington County's 4.5% unemployment rate continues to run above Florence County's 4.1%, a gap worth monitoring for signs of uneven recovery that could affect where finance support roles are sourced.
Expected: BLS metro-level data for October releases in late November; watch whether the 0.6-point September improvement holds or reflects seasonal noise tied to logistics and distribution hiring.
Emerging pressure point: National CFO turnover at 18.3% and a 37.5% external hire rate raise vacancy risk during year-end close; metro employers should assess succession depth for controller and FP&A-level roles given visible local pay softening.
Worth watching: Advertised pay compression in Billing Specialist and Financial Analyst roles locally may widen further if logistics and manufacturing employers continue absorbing entry-level labor supply at competitive hourly rates.
Sources
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — Florence MSA unemployment at 4.2% in September, down 0.6 points
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — Florence average weekly wages up 10.6% year-over-year through February
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic
- Robert Half / AFP FP&A Forum — 70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — Darlington County unemployment at 4.5% vs Florence County 4.1%
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. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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