Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Jacksonville, FL MSA — October 2026
Jacksonville finance headcount shrinks while FP&A pay surges.
Jacksonville nonfarm payrolls fell 1,600 in September even as FP&A Manager advertised pay climbed to $143,396 — 10% above the national median — while Financial Analyst pay slipped to $85,761.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Jacksonville payroll change: -1,600 jobs — Sept vs Aug, despite falling unemployment rate
- Florida finance & insurance jobs: -15,800 — Year-over-year, sharpest decline among high-wage sectors
- FP&A Manager advertised pay: $143,396 — Metro median, vs $130,000 national
- CFO turnover rate: 18.3% — 2026 projection, highest since pandemic (Crist|Kolder)
Key takeaways
FP&A pay is pulling away from the rest of finance.
Jacksonville's FP&A Manager advertised median of $143,396 sits roughly 10% above the national figure, even as Financial Analyst pay in the metro has softened to $85,761. Compensation budgets appear to be concentrating at the forecasting and planning layer while entry-to-mid analytical roles lose ground.
Statewide finance job losses have not shown up in local wage data yet.
Florida's finance and insurance sector shed 15,800 jobs over the year, the sharpest percentage decline of any high-wage industry, but Jacksonville Controller and Senior Accountant pay remain stable. A lag between headcount cuts and compensation resets may create temporary benchmarking distortion for roles tied to functions under pressure.
Tax Specialist pay is rising fast, likely ahead of filing season.
Metro Tax Specialist advertised pay rose significantly to $66,784, tracking a similar national move to $69,556. Demand appears tied to compliance and audit-readiness needs, making this a role to benchmark against current postings rather than prior-year data.
Recent WARN filings suggest cost discipline is reaching finance-adjacent functions.
Builders FirstSource (82 workers, effective December), Pitney Bowes (337 workers), and Enkei America (62 workers) have all filed Jacksonville WARN notices since August. These filings sit outside the finance department directly, but the pattern of corporate consolidation may extend into shared services and finance support roles tied to these operations.
Median advertised pay by role — Jacksonville, FL MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $88,500 | $115,000 | $125,807 | Stable | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant | $72,800 | $80,865 | $83,729 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $70,102 | $85,761 | $95,000 | Moderate decline | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $35,123 | $42,079 | $49,980 | Stable | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $40,583 | $66,784 | $77,584 | Significant increase | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst | $61,360 | $74,464 | $83,249 | Moderate increase | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager | $109,569 | $143,396 | $153,802 | Significant increase | $130,000 |
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
Jacksonville's unemployment rate eased to 4.5% in September from 4.8% in August, yet nonfarm payrolls actually contracted by 1,600 jobs, a divergence that points to labor force exits outpacing hiring momentum. Finance-sector headcount is contracting statewide — Florida financial activities lost 15,800 jobs over the year, concentrated in finance and insurance, a high-wage segment averaging over $130,000 annually — while recent Jacksonville WARN filings from Builders FirstSource, Pitney Bowes, and Enkei America signal broader corporate cost discipline touching adjacent functions.
What it means
Statewide finance and insurance contraction alongside flat-to-declining Jacksonville payrolls suggests employers are consolidating finance headcount even as national CFO turnover hits 18.3% — the highest since the pandemic — creating a mismatch between available senior finance talent and the specialized roles organizations are actually trying to fill. Advertised pay for FP&A Manager climbing to $143,396 locally (above the $130,000 national median) while Financial Analyst pay slips to $85,761 indicates budget is concentrating at the strategic planning layer specifically. Consider reviewing whether headcount reductions in transactional finance roles are being offset by investment in FP&A and forecasting capacity, since that reallocation appears to be where competitive pressure is building, independent of overall department size.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Jacksonville nonfarm payrolls fell 1,600 in September despite a declining unemployment rate — a signal the labor force may be shrinking faster than new hires are being absorbed. Watch whether October data shows payroll growth resuming or whether the gap widens, which would complicate headcount planning assumptions for 2027 budgets.
Emerging pressure point: Florida's finance and insurance sector lost 15,800 jobs statewide over the past year, the steepest decline among high-wage industries. Track whether Jacksonville-specific finance employers follow this pattern or whether local FP&A and controllership demand insulates the metro from statewide softening.
Expected: National CFO turnover is projected at 18.3% for 2026 with external hiring rates climbing to 37.5%, the highest in years. Jacksonville Finance leaders should expect increased competition for senior finance talent during Q4 and Q1 budget-cycle transitions, when turnover risk historically peaks.
Potential inflection point: 70% of finance and accounting leaders nationally report increasing contract talent use in H2 2026, a shift with direct implications for audit documentation and internal control continuity. Monitor whether this national trend shows up in Jacksonville postings data (job ads, a signal of hiring demand, with one ad often covering several openings) as a rise in contract or interim finance roles relative to permanent postings.
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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