Employment and Workforce Executive Director William Floyd’s Statement

September 2024 Employment Situation

Columbia, S.C. – “South Carolina continues to enjoy one of the highest rates of payroll growth in the country with positive employment growth across most industries in September,” said the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) Executive Director William Floyd. “South Carolina experienced positive employment growth in many sectors including Construction; Retail Trade; Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities; and Wholesale Trade.”

“In addition to this positive payroll growth, the state also saw another strong month-over-month increase in the size of the labor force. The result of this inflow of workers was a slight uptick in the unemployment rate from 4.3% in August to 4.5% in September as jobseekers are taking longer to connect with the right employment opportunity,” said Floyd.

“The state is continuing to see people join the labor force, looking for work,” continued Floyd. “We know that there are currently more than 68,000 openings in a variety of industries all over the state, with businesses moving here or ramping up hiring in the next several months. The focus remains on engaging the jobseekers and employers and helping them connect through job fairs, hiring events, recruiting efforts, or education and training.”

“While September was a month to recognize the workforce efforts in the state, those initiatives continue all year. With Senior Business Consultants who customize employer plans for the state’s businesses, the SC@Work Rural Connections team out in the smaller communities helping individuals find work, Regional Workforce Advisors who support the education-to-workforce pipeline, as well as the collaborative efforts in the SC Works centers, our agency is actively promoting and supporting South Carolina’s workforce,” stated Floyd.

“Because the state’s employers are actively experiencing significant job gains across diverse sectors, we also encourage jobseekers to visit our Explore SC@Work webpage. The page features dozens of job spotlights that include salary estimates, education requirements, and other important details. It also has a section about Priority Occupations, those jobs that will have high demand and career growth in the next several years, as well as videos and other resources,” said Floyd. “Materials are added to the site every week so that South Carolinians can continue to equip themselves with workforce information to help them match their skills with the state’s available jobs.”

Note: Because the employment data is collected each month during the week that contains the 12th, any potential impact from Hurricane Helene will be reflected in the October numbers, which are released in November.