SC has 76K more jobs now than a year ago. Here’s where hiring has grown the most
South Carolina has come a long way from the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, at least where jobs are concerned.
Ever since the height of the pandemic and slowdown of the U.S. economy in 2020, South Carolina has seen significant hiring across multiple sectors.
As of June, the state had 76,100 new seasonally-adjusted, non-farm jobs compared to the same month a year ago, the latest South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce data shows. However, ongoing inflation threatens to slow those gains in the state and the rest of the U.S., some economic experts say.
South Carolina had an 3.2% unemployment rate in June, lower than the national 3.6% rate. The national unemployment rate was 14.7% in April 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
South Carolina has seen job growth in a variety of industries over the last 12 months. Here are the industries with the most job gains from June 2021 to June 2022.
- Trade, transportation and utilities: 21,800
- Leisure and hospitality: 20,600
- Manufacturing: 11,200
- Financial activities: 7,000
- Professional and business services: 5,000
- Government: 4,200
- Information: 2,100
- Education and health services: 200
Inflation this year, which has caused skyrocketing prices for goods and services, could slow job gains across the country, experts say. The Federal Reserve began raising interest rates earlier this year to help curb inflation growth.
“Unfortunately, the most recent (June) jobs report showing even more job gains for the country is not necessarily good news for the economy as a whole. After the report was issued, the Fed announced it supported yet another rate hike in July,” Jill Gonzalez, analyst for WalletHub, said in a recent press release from the personal finance website. “Since the Fed raises rates due to inflation and lower unemployment just strengthens the case the economy is overheating, we will continue to see rate hikes and a shaky economy for the time being.”
Still, some other good news for the economy has been recent drops in gas prices following massive spikes earlier in the summer.
According to AAA South Carolina, regular gasoline cost $3.86 a gallon on average in South Carolina on Monday, down $0.59 from a month earlier.
William Heisler, professor at the Sorrell College of Business at Troy University, said in the press release that in the U.S. he expected contract and project work to continue to grow in 2022 and that there would be continued demand for fast food and hospitality workers because of labor shortages and low wages.
“With rising inflation, companies in these industries are likely to struggle to find an adequate number of full-time employees at minimum wage or even at $15 an hour to meet operating needs,” Heiser said. “We have already seen the effect of these factors in reduced operating hours for many types of organizations in the food and beverage industry.”
