Labor Market Pulse · Finance · September 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Hattiesburg, MS MSA — September 2026
Hattiesburg finance pay retreats as national scarcity builds.
Metro Controller pay fell to $94,689 while the national median climbed to $113,754, even as Mississippi's Finance and Insurance sector shed jobs and cut average weekly hours to 35.4.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro Controller advertised pay: $94,689 — Down significantly vs $113,754 national, up moderately
- MS Financial Activities weekly hours: 35.4 hrs — Down from 37.8 hrs year-ago
- MS Finance & Insurance employment: 34,200 jobs — Down 0.9% year-over-year, June 2026
- Hattiesburg MSA unemployment rate: 3.6% — June 2026, vs 4.1% national rate
Key takeaways
Controller pay is retreating locally while the national market tightens.
Metro Controller advertised pay sits at $94,689, down significantly, against a national median of $113,754 moving up moderately. That widening gap may signal local employers are underpricing a role facing a documented national shortage, risking retention exposure if candidates benchmark against national postings.
Reduced hours, not headcount, appear to be absorbing cost pressure.
Average weekly hours in Mississippi's Financial Activities sector fell from 37.8 to 35.4 year-over-year alongside a $62 drop in average weekly earnings. This is consistent with employers managing labor costs through scheduling rather than layoffs — a pattern Finance leaders should factor into overtime and accrual forecasting.
Tax Specialist pay signals a local market disconnected from national scarcity.
Metro Tax Specialist advertised pay fell significantly to $36,350 while the national median rose significantly to $65,842 — nearly double the local figure. Organizations recruiting against national remote competition for tax talent may find Hattiesburg postings structurally underpriced.
Financial Analyst demand is the one bright spot in local Finance hiring.
Metro Financial Analyst advertised pay rose significantly to $81,928, outpacing a stable national trend. That local divergence suggests pocketed demand — possibly tied to manufacturing or healthcare employers building analytical capacity — worth confirming before broad budget assumptions are set.
Median advertised pay by role — Hattiesburg, MS MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $72,985 | $94,689 | $112,213 | Significant decline | $113,754 |
| Senior Accountant * | $71,200 | $78,251 | $80,000 | Moderate increase | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst * | $63,605 | $81,928 | $88,464 | Significant increase | $94,782 |
| Billing Specialist * | $33,127 | $37,931 | $46,800 | Stable | $49,512 |
| Tax Specialist | $26,904 | $36,350 | $37,953 | Significant decline | $65,842 |
| Credit Analyst * | $44,692 | $59,904 | $62,585 | Moderate increase | $71,758 |
| FP&A Manager * | $96,751 | $119,059 | $128,330 | Significant decline | $128,139 |
* 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
Hattiesburg's finance workforce sits inside a metro that added 800 jobs year-over-year through July (1.2% growth), with gains concentrated in services while goods-producing employment contracted — a split that mirrors the statewide "no-hire, no-fire" posture Mississippi economists describe for 2026. Mississippi's Finance and Insurance sector lost 300 jobs month-over-month in June and 0.9% year-over-year, with average weekly earnings in Financial Activities falling $62 to $1,179.88 and average weekly hours dropping from 37.8 to 35.4 — signaling reduced overtime demand even as the metro's broader labor market holds steady at a 3.6% June unemployment rate.
What it means
Local Finance compensation is moving in two directions at once — Controller and FP&A Manager advertised pay are down significantly in Hattiesburg even as national postings for those same roles hold flat or climb, suggesting local demand has softened faster than the talent pool has shrunk. That divergence, paired with shrinking weekly hours in the state's finance sector, points to roles being absorbed through reduced overtime and workload redistribution rather than net new hiring, even as national F&A leaders report aggressive headcount plans. Consider reviewing whether current local pay postings for senior finance roles reflect genuine demand softening or a temporary lag against the national CPA and accountant shortage building across the broader market.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Mississippi's Finance and Insurance sector has now posted consecutive months of job and hours declines; a third consecutive month would confirm a trend rather than seasonal noise, with direct implications for local close-cycle staffing models.
Early indicator: National finance and accounting leaders report 74% planning headcount increases alongside a 2026 Talent Shortage Index of 77%. Watch whether that national hiring rebound reaches Hattiesburg postings in the next 60 days or whether the metro continues to lag.
Emerging pressure point: Hitachi Energy's state-level investment announcement and continued manufacturing WARN activity (8 of Mississippi's 12 2026 filings) could reshape local finance support roles tied to plant operations, particularly cost accounting and FP&A positions supporting manufacturing clients.
Potential inflection point: National average hourly earnings growth decelerated to 3.0% year-over-year in September, below forecast. If that national cooling persists, it may ease pressure on Hattiesburg employers currently facing below-national pay levels across several finance roles.
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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