Employment Projections: How many people will be working in South Carolina in 2032?
By Lainey Stalnaker, Data Analytics Writer
Every two years, the Labor Market Information division of DEW produces long term employment projections for South Carolina, an estimate of how many people will be employed in the state in the next ten years. These projections are made for the state as a whole and for each of the 12 Workforce Development Areas (WDA), and they are additionally broken down by industry and individual occupation. An analysis of national employment projections through 2033 is also available on the blog.
Every occupation has a unique code according to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System which is assigned based on typical job duties and activities. Similar jobs are classified into major occupation groups such as healthcare support or architecture and engineering. Individual jobs can also be categorized by industry, which is determined by an establishment’s business activities using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For example, a person may be employed in the stocker and order filler occupation within the warehousing and storage industry, which would fall under the transportation and warehousing sector.
Why is this important? Because this data allows the state to plan for expected employment growth, including the types of jobs and employers that are growing.
This blog is the first in a series which will examine employment projections for industries and occupations across South Carolina. We’ll get into the finer details in subsequent blog posts, but first let’s take a look at the level of growth we can expect to see in each region of the state.
In 2022, 2,352,837 people were employed in South Carolina, with nearly half concentrated in the Greenville, Midlands, and Trident WDAs, which comprise the state’s most populous regions. By 2032, we expect employment to reach 2,614,577, an addition of 261,740 people—or an 11.1 percent increase.
Over 50,000—or 20.1 percent—of these new workers are expected to be employed in the Trident WDA, which covers Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties. The Midlands region, comprising Richland, Lexington, and Fairfield Counties, is expected to add 45,000 workers, and 40,000 more people will be employed in Greenville County, which constitutes the Greenville WDA.
The fastest growth is expected in the Catawba region, made up of York, Lancaster, and Chester Counties, at 13.3 percent growth, followed by Trident at 12.7, and tied for third, Greenville and Pee Dee each with 12.1 percent growth.
Overall, these projections convey an optimistic vision of the future of the workforce in South Carolina. To learn more about which occupations we expect to drive this growth, return to our blog in the coming weeks for a deep dive on each region.