Labor Market Pulse · Finance · October 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA — October 2026
Scranton finance pay splits: analysts rise, Controllers fall behind.
Scranton Controller pay is slipping below the $115,420 national median even as Financial Analyst and Credit Analyst advertised pay climb sharply, against a metro unemployment rate of 4.7% that remains well above Pennsylvania's 3.6%.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.7% — vs 3.6% PA, 4.1% national (July 2026)
- Controller pay gap vs national: -$8,761 — Metro $106,659 vs national $115,420
- PA finance/accounting postings: -1.7% YoY — Despite 2.0% YoY employment growth
- CFO turnover rate, national: 18.3% — Highest since pandemic, Crist|Kolder
Key takeaways
Scranton Controller pay is drifting below the national trend.
Local Controller advertised medians moved down while the national median climbed toward $115,420, widening the metro discount. Flight risk among incumbent controllers rises if succession candidates benchmark against national postings during a year of record CFO turnover.
Analyst-tier roles are where the real wage pressure sits.
Financial Analyst and Credit Analyst advertised pay both moved up significantly in the metro, outpacing stable national medians and in Credit Analyst's case exceeding the national figure by over $21,000. This looks like targeted competition for reporting and underwriting talent, concentrated in these roles rather than spread evenly across the finance function.
Tax Specialist pay gap signals a local sourcing problem.
Metro Tax Specialist advertised pay fell significantly to $42,781 against a national median of $69,556 that moved up. A gap this wide likely reflects thin local candidate depth or mis-leveled postings, worth checking job descriptions against scope before assuming low demand.
Contract staffing shift adds audit-readiness risk during close season.
Nationally, 70% of finance and accounting leaders report increasing contract talent use in H2 2026, and 61% of hiring managers call skilled finance hiring harder than a year ago. Metro-level postings softness suggests Scranton employers may be leaning on the same lever, which raises documentation and controls questions heading into year-end audits.
Median advertised pay by role — Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $90,966 | $106,659 | $113,398 | Moderate decline | $115,420 |
| Senior Accountant | $67,554 | $76,377 | $80,016 | Significant increase | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $75,000 | $96,469 | $120,000 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| Billing Specialist | $36,400 | $41,734 | $50,000 | Significant increase | $49,000 |
| Tax Specialist | $33,341 | $42,781 | $71,613 | Significant decline | $69,556 |
| Credit Analyst | $60,206 | $92,500 | $92,500 | Significant increase | $71,397 |
| FP&A Manager * | $105,500 | $126,090 | $141,867 | Moderate increase | $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
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre's labor market remains looser than the state and national picture, with the metro's July unemployment rate at 4.7% against Pennsylvania's 3.6% and a national rate of 4.1%, reflecting elevated joblessness in Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton specifically. Statewide finance and accounting postings fell 1.7% year over year even as finance employment grew 2.0%, consistent with employers filling roles selectively heading into Q4 budget cycles.
What it means
Metro-level softness alongside advertised pay gains in Financial Analyst (+significant) and Credit Analyst (+significant) roles suggests employers are competing hard for mid-level analytical talent even as overall labor demand cools — a bifurcation that complicates flat-rate headcount freezes. Controller pay moving down locally while rising nationally (+$8,761 gap to national median) signals Scranton employers may be under-leveling or under-pricing oversight roles just as CFO turnover nationally hits 18.3%, raising succession risk. Consider reviewing Controller and FP&A Manager compensation bands against national trajectories before year-end budget lock, given the national external-hire premium for finance leadership.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Comcast Technology Center's WARN filing for 634 workers effective December 31 sits just outside the immediate metro but may feed regional finance and shared-services candidate pools in northeastern Pennsylvania. Track whether displaced finance-adjacent talent appears in local applicant flow.
Emerging pressure point: Metro unemployment at 4.7% against the state's 3.6% suggests Scranton's labor slack is closing more slowly than Pennsylvania broadly. Finance leaders budgeting on state-level tightness assumptions may be overpricing talent risk for this specific metro.
Potential inflection point: National CFO external-hire rates climbing to 37.5% alongside 18.3% projected CFO turnover could pull senior finance talent out of smaller metros like Scranton toward larger markets. Watch whether local Controller and FP&A Manager postings start showing retention-driven pay adjustments in November and December.
Early indicator: Statewide finance and accounting postings down 1.7% year over year despite employment growth points to more selective requisition approval. If that pattern persists into Q1 budget planning, expect longer time-to-fill on specialized roles like tax and credit analysis.
Sources
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Scranton-Wilkes-Barre MSA unemployment rate at 4.7% in July 2026
- Lightcast / PA Dept. of Labor & Industry — Pennsylvania finance/accounting postings down 1.7% YoY despite 2.0% employment growth
- Crist|Kolder Associates — CFO turnover projected at 18.3% in 2026, highest since pandemic
- AFP FP&A Forum — 70% of finance leaders increasing contract talent use in H2 2026
- Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry WARN Notices — Comcast Technology Center WARN notice for 634 workers effective Dec. 31, 2026
- Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry — Pennsylvania unemployment rate at 3.6% in September 2026, lowest since 2023
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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