Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Monroe, LA MSA — October 2026
Monroe payrolls shrink as controller and tax pay surge.
Monroe MSA shed 200 jobs in September even as advertised pay for Controllers ($122,500) and Tax Specialists ($78,478) climbed sharply, diverging from Louisiana's record 2.01 million statewide employment.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Monroe MSA nonfarm payrolls: 92,900 — Down 200 jobs (-0.21%) month-over-month, Sept. 2026
- Louisiana statewide employment: 2.01M — Record high, unemployment at 4.0%
- CFO turnover rate (national): 18.3% — Highest since pandemic, Crist|Kolder 2026
- Louisiana average weekly wage growth: 6%+ YoY — Outpacing 3.7% national CPI inflation
Key takeaways
Controller pay in Monroe is outrunning the national market.
Metro advertised median of $122,500 versus a national $115,420 reflects a significant local increase against only moderate national movement. Scarcity at this level, combined with record-high national CFO turnover, suggests Monroe employers should benchmark controller openings against current advertised rates, updating last year's internal bands.
Tax Specialist pay signals a tightening niche.
Monroe's Tax Specialist median jumped to $78,478, trailing the national figure of $69,556 by a wide margin yet both are moving up sharply. A shrinking local labor pool combined with audit-season demand makes this a role worth tracking for retention risk ahead of year-end filings.
Metro job losses coincide with a state-level hiring boom.
Monroe shed 200 jobs in September while Louisiana overall hit record employment, pointing to a local labor market that is only partially sharing in the state's construction and transportation-driven expansion. Finance leaders in Monroe should treat statewide headlines about labor tightness with caution when modeling local hiring costs.
FP&A and Financial Analyst pay has gone flat while other roles move.
FP&A Manager and Financial Analyst advertised medians in Monroe are stable month over month, a contrast with the sharp movement in Controller and Tax Specialist pay. Flat demand signals in these roles may create room to hold compensation steady through the next budget cycle, deferring front-loaded increases.
Median advertised pay by role — Monroe, LA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $97,481 | $122,500 | $127,500 | Significant increase | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant * | $72,500 | $87,497 | $88,299 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst * | $71,592 | $89,402 | $101,546 | Stable | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $29,982 | $33,680 | $38,421 | Moderate increase | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $39,545 | $78,478 | $79,864 | Significant increase | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst * | $55,537 | $69,944 | $71,058 | Stable | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager * | $100,539 | $127,500 | $138,231 | Stable | $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
Monroe MSA nonfarm employment slipped to 92,900 in September, down 200 jobs month-over-month, even as Louisiana posted record statewide employment of 2.01 million and unemployment fell to 4.0%. Local softness appears concentrated away from the construction and transportation gains driving state growth, leaving Monroe's finance and professional services employers competing for talent in a metro labor pool that is shrinking at the margin while advertised pay for key finance roles continues to climb.
What it means
Controller and Tax Specialist advertised pay in Monroe are both rising at a rate the national data would call significant, a signal that local employers are bidding aggressively for scarce senior finance talent even as overall metro headcount contracts. With CFO turnover nationally projected at 18.3% for 2026 and 85% of CFOs reporting finance talent shortages, Monroe employers should expect vacancy risk to extend beyond the C-suite into controller and tax functions that carry close and audit responsibility. Consider reviewing succession depth for controller-level and tax roles now, before a departure collides with a quarter-close or audit cycle.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Monroe's September payroll dip extends into October data, expected in late November. A second consecutive monthly decline would suggest the metro is diverging from the state's job growth trend, not merely lagging it temporarily.
Emerging pressure point: National finance and accounting leaders report 70% increasing use of contract talent in H2 2026. Monitor whether Monroe employers follow suit for controller and tax roles, which would ease fixed headcount costs but complicate audit documentation and control continuity.
Worth watching: Louisiana wage growth is running above 6% year-over-year statewide, outpacing the metro's slower average weekly wage gains. A widening gap between state and metro pay trends could accelerate talent migration toward higher-growth parishes.
Potential inflection point: CFO external hiring rates have climbed to 37.5% nationally, the highest in recent years. Local succession and retention planning for senior finance leadership should account for the elevated odds of an external search mid-cycle.
Sources
- Louisiana Workforce Commission — Monroe MSA nonfarm employment at 92,900, down 200 jobs month-over-month
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Louisiana record employment of 2.01 million, unemployment at 4.0%
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic
- MAVI — 85% of CFOs report finance talent shortages affecting operations
- AFP FP&A Forum — 70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026
- Louisiana Workforce Commission — Louisiana wage growth over 6% year-over-year
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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