Labor Market Pulse · Finance · September 2026
Finance Labor Market Report: VT NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — September 2026
Nonmetro Vermont tightens as national finance sector contracts.
Vermont nonmetro unemployment holds near 2.3%-3.2% by county while national financial activities payrolls have shed 129,000 jobs since May 2025, a divergence that complicates headcount cost planning.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Nonmetro county unemployment range: 2.3%–3.2% — Addison/Caledonia low, Essex/Orleans high, vs 4.1% US
- National financial activities job losses: -129,000 — Since May 2025, concentrated in insurance carriers
- Vermont labor force contraction: -7,800 — Year-over-year, 2.2% decline, retirement-driven
- Inflation-adjusted wage growth: -3.1% — June 2026, despite 3.0% nominal weekly wage growth
Key takeaways
National finance contraction masks local scarcity.
Financial activities have lost 129,000 jobs nationally since May 2025, but Vermont's nonmetro labor force is shrinking independently through retirements, not layoffs. Budget models built on national finance-sector softening risk understating local hiring difficulty and time-to-fill for accounting and controller roles.
Tax Specialist pay signals a widening local-national gap.
Metro median advertised pay of $55,202 trails the national median of $65,842 by over $10,000, even as both are rising. Organizations benchmarking this role against national data risk under-pricing it locally, where thin nonmetro talent supply may demand faster convergence.
Controller pay softening locally while national demand firms.
Metro Controller median pay moved down/moderate this month to $115,000, just ahead of the rising national median of $113,754. A narrowing gap suggests nonmetro employers may be testing lower offers against a tight but small local candidate pool — worth validating against actual fill times before adjusting budgets downward.
Dairy and healthcare layoffs may loosen adjacent finance talent.
Franklin County dairy manufacturer layoffs and the pending UVM Health Network reduction in October could release finance, accounting, and billing staff into a market with very few active candidates. Watch whether this cohort shows up in applicant pools for Billing Specialist and Senior Accountant openings over Q4.
Median advertised pay by role — VT NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controller | $94,763 | $115,000 | $132,050 | Moderate decline | $113,754 |
| Senior Accountant | $71,700 | $80,000 | $85,159 | Stable | $87,731 |
| Financial Analyst | $74,792 | $95,771 | $109,156 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| Billing Specialist | $40,324 | $48,917 | $50,688 | Moderate increase | $49,512 |
| Tax Specialist | $33,748 | $55,202 | $60,983 | Moderate increase | $65,842 |
| Credit Analyst | $62,500 | $67,500 | $68,938 | Stable | $71,758 |
| FP&A Manager | $85,356 | $124,873 | $132,052 | Moderate increase | $128,139 |
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
Vermont's nonmetro counties continue to post unemployment rates well below the national 4.1% reading, ranging from 2.3% in Addison and Caledonia to 3.2% in Essex and Orleans, while the statewide labor force has contracted by roughly 7,800 workers year-over-year, largely tied to retirements. Dairy-sector layoffs in Franklin County and looming UVM Health Network cuts set for October are layered onto a labor supply already shrinking faster than demand, keeping nonmetro hiring conditions structurally tight despite national financial-sector job losses (-129,000 since May 2025).
What it means
National financial activities payrolls continue to contract, yet F&A leaders are hiring aggressively for permanent roles (74% planning headcount increases) against a nonmetro Vermont labor pool that is both shrinking and aging out, meaning open finance and accounting roles in this market face longer time-to-fill independent of national trend data. Headcount cost planning should account for a local labor scarcity premium that the national contraction narrative will understate; consider reviewing budget assumptions for finance and accounting roles against local labor force attrition rather than national job-loss headlines alone.
Looking ahead
Expected: UVM Health Network layoff impacts land in October and may surface finance, billing, and administrative talent into the nonmetro candidate pool for the first time this cycle. Track applicant flow for Billing Specialist and Senior Accountant roles for early signs of loosening.
Emerging pressure point: Vermont's collective bargaining amendment goes to vote November 3, 2026, with 65% support in September polling. A shift in public-sector bargaining rules could reshape labor cost exposure for Finance teams supporting state or municipal-adjacent entities.
Worth watching: Vermont's UI taxable wage base rose to $15,400 this year and inflation-adjusted wages fell 3.1% in June despite 3.0% nominal growth. Reconcile payroll tax accrual assumptions against this gap before Q4 budget close.
Potential inflection point: National F&A hiring indexes show a 77% Talent Shortage Index after a 2025 surplus reading of 108%, a sharp reversal that nonmetro Vermont's already-thin labor pool is positioned to feel first. Monitor whether advertised pay for Financial Analyst and FP&A Manager roles accelerates faster locally than nationally in Q4.
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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