Myrtle Beach unemployment outpaces the state as tourism cools
4.2%
Metro unemployment rate
vs 3.2% SC statewide, matches 4.2% U.S. rate
+29,000 jobs YoY
Metro nonfarm payroll growth
Broad-based but little monthly change by industry
4.0% YoY
SC statewide wage growth
To $1,296/week, Q1 2026, ranks 17th nationally
3.0% wages vs 3.4% CPI
National wage-vs-inflation gap
Lowest wage growth pace since May 2021
This Month's Takeaways
01
Metro unemployment gap with the state keeps widening.
Myrtle Beach's 4.2 percent unemployment rate sits a full point above South Carolina's 3.2 percent and matches the national rate, a reversal from earlier 2026 months when the metro led the state in job growth. This is consistent with seasonal tourism cooling rather than a structural downturn, but it bears watching as the leading indicator for Q4 consumer spending capacity.
02
Wage softness clusters in the metro's largest employment base.
Food service pay is down significantly and retail-adjacent categories like customer service representative and marketing specialist are down moderately to significantly, even as national figures for the same roles hold stable or rise. Given leisure and hospitality's outsized share of local employment, this divergence may constrain real local purchasing power more than state or national wage data alone would suggest.
03
Healthcare and skilled trades are the metro's wage-growth outliers.
Registered nurse pay rose moderately and electrician pay rose moderately locally, tracking the statewide pattern of education/health services and construction leading job growth. This suggests the metro's wage momentum is concentrating in sectors tied to population growth and infrastructure rather than its traditional tourism base.
04
Labor force participation trends statewide outpace what's visible locally.
South Carolina's labor force grew by over 73,400 people over the past year, lifting participation to 58.9 percent, a sign of durable statewide expansion. Myrtle Beach-specific participation data lags in availability, making this a gap worth flagging for local economic development tracking rather than a confirmed local trend.
Local Economic Conditions
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach unemployment stood at 4.2 percent in September, a full point above South Carolina's 3.2 percent reading, even as the metro added 29,000 nonfarm payroll jobs over the year and continued to outpace statewide employment growth in earlier months of 2026. Tourism-season normalization appears to be driving the gap, with leisure and hospitality, the metro's dominant sector, showing seasonal cooling after a summer peak that pushed Horry County unemployment to 4.4 percent in July.
Open Threads in the Data
Metro unemployment running above the state and near the national 4.2 percent rate, paired with wage softness in consumer-facing categories like food service and retail (down significantly and down moderately, respectively), is consistent with a local economy still anchored to seasonal, lower-wage tourism activity rather than diversifying into higher-wage sectors at state-level pace. Commerce leaders weighing expansion or investment timing should note that healthcare and skilled trades, registered nursing up moderately and electricians up moderately in advertised pay, are the metro's clearest signals of durable demand, while consumer-facing sectors show more fragility. Current conditions suggest economic development priorities may benefit from tracking which sectors are adding wage momentum locally versus simply adding headcount seasonally.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC MSA metro — median advertised pay, its recent trend, and the number of active postings behind each figure. Jobs are grouped for readability and are not the same as the 10 sector classifications on the next page. For additional job detail contact WageScape.
Retail Trade
| Retail Sales Associate |
$28,947 |
→ Stable |
2,406 |
| Retail Cashier |
$26,257 |
→ Stable |
917 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$34,320 |
→ Stable |
350 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$67,142 |
→ Stable |
760 |
| Delivery Driver |
$32,796 |
↓ Significant decline |
1,288 |
| Warehouse Manager |
$78,053 |
↑ Moderate increase |
31 |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$37,440 |
↓ Moderate decline |
63 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$62,530 |
↑ Moderate increase |
211 |
| HVAC Technician |
$67,600 |
↓ Moderate decline |
136 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$29,892 |
→ Stable |
151 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$35,407 |
↓ Moderate decline |
412 |
| Operations Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$27,462 |
↓ Significant decline |
40 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$36,400 |
→ Stable |
609 |
| Registered Nurse |
$87,500 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,626 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$36,561 |
→ Stable |
357 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$141,536 |
↓ Moderate decline |
12 |
| Data Engineer |
$139,736 |
↑ Moderate increase |
4,071 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$57,919 |
→ Stable |
111 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$58,372 |
→ Stable |
24 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$53,860 |
↓ Significant decline |
21 |
| Business Analyst |
$90,182 |
→ Stable |
5,353 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$72,974 |
↑ Moderate increase |
39 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$55,050 |
↑ Significant increase |
1,016 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$84,114 |
→ Stable |
102 |
Industry Snapshot · Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC MSA
Advertised pay and job-posting trends across the whole metro economy, rolled up by employer industry — not just the bellwether roles above.
| Sector |
Median Pay Change |
Job Postings Change |
| Construction |
↑ +7.7% |
↑ +109.7% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +25.8% |
↑ +149.4% |
| Retail Trade |
↑ +4.2% |
↑ +74.7% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↓ −12.2% |
↑ +174.5% |
| Information |
↑ +4.1% |
↓ −11.6% |
| Financial Activities |
↑ +8.1% |
↑ +102.5% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↑ +19.9% |
↑ +124.3% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +7.7% |
↑ +123.4% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −4.2% |
↑ +51.8% |
| Government |
↑ +100.7% |
↑ +1136.4% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Worth watching
Watch whether Myrtle Beach's unemployment rate narrows back toward the state's 3.2 percent level as the metro exits peak tourism season, or whether the gap persists into Q4, which would suggest softer year-round labor demand beyond normal seasonality.
Emerging pressure point
Food service and retail-adjacent advertised pay are falling locally while holding stable nationally. Sustained divergence would signal consumer-facing business margins are being protected at labor's expense, a dynamic relevant to any local retail or hospitality investment decision.
Policy-relevant signal
National wage growth has slipped to its lowest annual pace since May 2021 (3.0 percent) against 3.4 percent inflation, meaning real wages are no longer keeping pace nationally. Local economists should track whether South Carolina's stronger 4.0 percent statewide wage growth is enough to keep Horry County households ahead of inflation.
Early indicator
DP World's September 1 WARN filing in Spartanburg affecting 205 workers is the most recent of 33 statewide notices this year; none to date are metro-specific, but continued monitoring of WARN activity in coastal counties would flag early signs of commercial real estate or logistics-sector stress.
Sources & Methodology
Pay and hiring data provided by WageScape. See every source cited in this report, with links →
Advertised pay reflects the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro, not survey or payroll data. Pay trends compare the current period with the prior period for the same metro and role. Sector figures group postings by the employer's industry classification; sectors with limited classified postings are marked as such rather than estimated. This briefing is independent of, and complements, official statistics from the BLS and state labor market information offices.
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