How’s the SC economy faring?

Economists, stockbrokers, retailers and others will be watching later this week to see if the Federal Reserve Board will raise interest rates for the first time since 2006.

The Fed is scheduled to decide Thursday whether the nation’s economy is strong enough to raise rates above 0 percent. The board has hinted strongly that a rate hike is imminent, probably before the end of the year. But with the stock market’s recent volatility and with lingering questions about China’s economy, board members must decide if this is the week.

Before deciding, board members will rely on a wide range of economic data. While the deliberations will involve the national economy, here’s a look at five indicators of the South Carolina and Midlands economy.

Unemployment rate

South Carolina’s unemployment rate fell to 6.4 percent in July, which was 0.2 percentage points lower than June’s. That’s a lot better than December 2009, when the rate soared to 11.7 percent during the depths of the Great Recession. But it’s still higher than the national unemployment rate, which stood at 5.3 percent in July, according to the state Department of Employment and Workforce.

In the Midlands, Richland County’s unemployment rate in July was 6.4 percent and Lexington County’s was 5.3 percent. During the Great Recession, Richland’s rate rose to 10.1 percent in June 2011 and Lexington’s to 8.8 percent in January 2010.

Gross domestic product

South Carolina’s gross domestic product, which measures the goods and services produced by the state, rose to $190.3 billion in 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That ranked the state 27th nationally.

In 2009, the state’s gross domestic product was $161.6 billion. The 2009 figure was a decrease from 2008, marking the first time since at least 1997 that the state’s GDP declined from the previous year, according to bureau statistics. It’s been rising ever since.

Personal income

The average South Carolinian’s personal income was $36,934 in 2014, an increase of nearly 14 percent from 2009. Personal income measures wages, interest and all sources of income. The 2014 figure was 3 percent higher than the year before.

Total workers

The total number of non-farm workers in South Carolina was just over 2 million in July. In June 2009, the number of workers had fallen to just under 1.8 million.

Office vacancy rate

Finding an office to rent in Columbia is a bit harder these days. The office vacancy rate fell to 16.6 percent in the second quarter of 2015, a decrease from 17.3 percent in the first quarter, according to Colliers International. A year ago, the rate was 17.4 percent.

This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 10:30 PM with the headline "How’s the SC economy faring?."