Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Macon, GA MSA — October 2026
Macon finance headcount contracts as metro unemployment climbs to 4.1%.
Financial activities employment in Macon fell 9.6% in Q1 2026 even as metro unemployment rose to 4.1%, a looser local labor pocket than Georgia's record-tight 3.3% statewide rate.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Macon unemployment rate: 4.1% — Up from 3.9% a year ago; vs Georgia's 3.3%
- Financial activities employment: -9.6% — Macon Q1 2026, vs -7,000 jobs nationally in Sept
- Macon labor force: 100,703 — Up 1,775 over the year; employment at 96,568
- CFO turnover rate: 18.3% — Highest since pandemic; national (Crist|Kolder)
Key takeaways
Local finance headcount is shrinking faster than the nation's.
Macon's financial activities employment fell 9.6% to 5,773 jobs in Q1 2026, well outpacing the national financial activities decline of -7,000 jobs in September. This divergence suggests metro-specific restructuring or consolidation pressure that broader labor market data would not capture.
Financial Analyst pay is rising while Controller pay sits flat.
Metro Financial Analyst advertised pay moved up significantly to $88,016, while Controller pay held stable at $164,790 — both against a backdrop of national CFO turnover at 18.3%, the highest since the pandemic. Demand appears concentrated at the analytical layer, with the executive suite showing comparatively less movement, which may warrant retention focus on mid-career talent before turnover migrates upward.
FP&A Manager pay is softening against a rising national trend.
Metro FP&A Manager advertised pay moved down moderately to $118,411 even as the national median rose to $130,000, a gap that did not exist a year ago. Divergence from the national trajectory may reflect localized demand softness, but it also raises retention risk if Macon-based FP&A talent benchmarks against national postings.
Metro unemployment rising alongside record state-level tightness is a split signal.
Macon's 4.1% unemployment rate sits well above Georgia's 3.3% statewide rate, which hit a ninth consecutive month of record employment in September. Finance leaders budgeting headcount costs should treat Macon as a distinct, looser labor pocket, with statewide tightness not assumed to apply locally.
Median advertised pay by role — Macon, GA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $164,789 | $164,790 | $164,790 | Stable | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant | $71,707 | $71,707 | $71,707 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $67,380 | $88,016 | $96,099 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $31,942 | $48,048 | $54,377 | Significant increase | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $39,221 | $67,500 | $82,998 | Significant increase | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst * | $53,840 | $67,800 | $76,165 | Moderate decline | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager * | $107,481 | $118,411 | $130,606 | 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
Macon-Bibb's unemployment rate climbed to 4.1% in September, up from 3.9% a year ago, even as the labor force grew to 100,703 and employment rose 977 over the month — a sign that labor supply is expanding faster than firms are absorbing it. Financial activities employment in the metro fell 9.6% to 5,773 jobs in Q1 2026, a sharper contraction than the national financial activities decline (-7,000 jobs in September), pointing to localized headcount pressure within finance functions specifically.
What it means
Contracting financial activities headcount locally, against a national backdrop of 18.3% CFO turnover and 85% of CFOs reporting finance talent shortages, suggests Macon finance leaders face a tighter internal talent pool even as the broader metro labor market loosens. Advertised pay for Financial Analyst roles is up significantly locally ($88,016 median) while Controller pay holds flat ($164,790), indicating employers are competing hardest for mid-level analytical talent, with senior leadership positions seeing less pay pressure. Consider evaluating whether contract or interim staffing models, already adopted by 70% of finance leaders nationally in H2 2026, could bridge coverage gaps during close and audit cycles without committing to permanent headcount in a contracting local finance labor segment.
Looking ahead
Emerging pressure point: Financial activities employment has already contracted 9.6% locally this year; watch whether Q4 WARN filings or Georgia Department of Labor data show further sector-specific losses concentrated in Macon, distinct from statewide averages.
Worth watching: Macon's diffusion index has slipped below the expansion line (33), a late-cycle signal that historically precedes broader job growth deceleration. Finance leaders modeling 2027 headcount budgets should watch whether this translates into further softening in FP&A and analyst hiring demand.
Potential inflection point: National CFO turnover at 18.3% and 37.5% external hiring rates create vacancy risk during close and audit cycles; watch whether Macon's smaller finance talent pool makes backfill timelines longer than in larger Georgia metros like Atlanta or Savannah.
Early indicator: H-1B labor condition applications in Macon rose 180% in FY2026 Q1, a signal employers may be turning to specialized visa talent where local supply for technical finance and analytical roles falls short. Track whether this trend extends into finance-adjacent technical hiring.
Sources
- Macon Chamber of Commerce — Macon-Bibb unemployment rose to 4.1% in September 2026, up from 3.9% a year ago
- Georgia Department of Labor — Financial activities employment fell 9.6% to 5,773 jobs in Q1 2026
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic
- Robert Half — 70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026
- Georgia Department of Labor — Georgia unemployment at 3.3% with record labor force for ninth month
- H1BScope — H-1B labor condition applications in Macon rose 180% in FY2026 Q1
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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