Nonmetro South Carolina rides statewide gains, but thinly.
58.9%
SC labor force participation
Up from prior year, signals durable expansion
4.0% YoY
SC statewide wage growth
To $1,296/week, Q1 2026, vs national CPI 3.4%
3.0% vs 3.4%
National wage-inflation gap
First real-wage decline since May 2021
33 notices / 4,155 workers
SC WARN notices YTD
Manufacturing & food/hospitality hit hardest
This Month's Takeaways
01
Nonmetro growth is riding statewide coattails, not local catalysts.
South Carolina's 38,600 year-over-year job gains are led by leisure/hospitality, education/health, and government — sectors with meaningful nonmetro presence but without the wage acceleration seen in coastal finance and tech. Commerce leaders should treat statewide strength as a tailwind, not a guarantee of local momentum.
02
Wage growth statewide is outpacing inflation only modestly.
South Carolina's 4.0% average weekly wage growth compares to national CPI near 3.4%, leaving a thin real-wage cushion for nonmetro households whose wage levels already rank 37th nationally. Consumer spending capacity in nonmetro counties may be more fragile than the state's job-growth headline suggests.
03
Public-sector stability is doing heavy lifting for nonmetro payrolls.
Statewide government employment grew 5,900 jobs year-over-year even as national government payrolls shed workers for twelve straight months. Nonmetro counties with disproportionate public employment shares may be more insulated from national private-sector softness than metro peers.
04
Manufacturing and logistics layoffs warrant local tracking.
DP World's September 1 WARN filing affecting 205 workers in Spartanburg, alongside 10 statewide manufacturing WARN notices affecting 870 employees, signals the sector carries more volatility than its 'flat but present' statewide label suggests. Nonmetro counties with manufacturing concentration should watch whether this is isolated or part of a broader logistics-sector adjustment.
Local Economic Conditions
South Carolina's nonmetropolitan counties continue to operate within a statewide expansion that added 10,800 payroll jobs in August and pushed labor force participation to 58.9%, with growth concentrated in construction, education/health services, and government rather than metro-core finance or information sectors. Rural and nonmetro counties typically lag coastal growth leaders like Charleston (1.3% YoY employment growth) and track closer to flat performers like Richland and Lexington, suggesting nonmetro momentum is positive but more muted than the statewide headline implies.
Open Threads in the Data
Statewide sector momentum — construction, healthcare, and public-sector stability — appears to be the primary growth engine available to nonmetro counties, since information and finance gains are concentrated in metro cores. Government payroll additions (+5,900 statewide year-over-year) suggest public-sector employment remains a stabilizing force for nonmetro commerce activity even as private white-collar hiring stays metro-concentrated nationally. Local economic development leaders should consider tracking whether construction and healthcare project announcements materialize locally, since these are the sectors most likely to anchor nonmetro payroll growth through year-end.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA 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 |
$27,040 |
↓ Moderate decline |
6,265 |
| Retail Cashier |
$25,313 |
↓ Moderate decline |
3,015 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$34,472 |
↓ Moderate decline |
855 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$80,937 |
→ Stable |
10,644 |
| Delivery Driver |
$30,254 |
↓ Moderate decline |
5,880 |
| Warehouse Manager |
$78,053 |
↑ Moderate increase |
31 |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$36,138 |
→ Stable |
289 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$69,359 |
↑ Significant increase |
1,559 |
| HVAC Technician |
$66,796 |
→ Stable |
327 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$35,360 |
→ Stable |
633 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$36,756 |
→ Stable |
997 |
| Operations Manager |
$79,666 |
→ Stable |
77 |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$28,678 |
↓ Moderate decline |
259 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$37,440 |
↑ Moderate increase |
3,212 |
| Registered Nurse |
$94,791 |
↑ Significant increase |
13,966 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$38,480 |
→ Stable |
1,096 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$151,775 |
→ Stable |
1,002 |
| Data Engineer |
$139,408 |
↑ Moderate increase |
358 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$61,608 |
↓ Moderate decline |
746 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$72,730 |
→ Stable |
239 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$65,575 |
↑ Significant increase |
110 |
| Business Analyst |
$91,156 |
→ Stable |
414 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$86,799 |
↑ Moderate increase |
253 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$61,681 |
↑ Significant increase |
5,950 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$87,500 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,109 |
Industry Snapshot · SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
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 |
↑ +4.4% |
↓ −34.7% |
| Manufacturing |
→ +2.5% |
↓ −52.7% |
| Retail Trade |
→ +0.5% |
↓ −35.2% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↓ −7.0% |
↓ −22.6% |
| Information |
↑ +26.9% |
↓ −80.2% |
| Financial Activities |
↓ −6.0% |
↓ −74.5% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↓ −5.2% |
↓ −47.5% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +28.9% |
↓ −33.6% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −3.2% |
↓ −30.4% |
| Government |
↑ +28.5% |
↓ −16.5% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Worth watching
National payroll growth slowed sharply to 29,000 in September with downward revisions to July and August totaling 60,000 — a pattern that, if it reaches South Carolina's nonmetro counties with a lag, would first show up in construction and logistics given their national sensitivity to softening demand.
Emerging pressure point
Real wages nationally are no longer outpacing inflation (3.0% wage growth vs. 3.4% CPI), the weakest gap since May 2021. Nonmetro counties with wage levels already below state median are most exposed if this dynamic persists into Q4 consumer spending.
Potential inflection point
Thirty-three WARN notices have been filed statewide in 2026 year-to-date, concentrated in manufacturing and food/hospitality — two sectors with outsized nonmetro footprints. A cluster of additional filings in October would be a meaningful signal of broader nonmetro softening rather than an isolated event.
Expected
September's national jobs report (due with potential further revisions) and South Carolina's next state employment release will clarify whether August's 10,800-job gain was a one-month acceleration or sustained trend — directly relevant to whether nonmetro counties can expect continued government and healthcare hiring support.
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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