Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA — September 2026
Charleston keeps outpacing a cooling national economy.
Charleston's 3.7% unemployment rate and 5.7% Charleston County wage growth continue to outperform both the 4.2% national unemployment rate and a national wage-inflation gap where U.S. pay (3.0%) now trails inflation (3.4%).
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.7% — vs 4.1% SC, 4.2% US (July–Sept 2026)
- Charleston County wage growth: 5.7% — vs 4.0% statewide, Q1 2026
- Metro employment growth rank: 6th nationally — 4.1% YoY growth, tied with peer metros
- National wage-inflation gap: 3.0% wages vs 3.4% CPI — US pay growth trailing inflation, Sept 2026
Key takeaways
Charleston is outrunning both the state and the nation.
The metro's 3.7% unemployment rate and 4.1% annual job growth rate (sixth-fastest nationally) stand in contrast to a U.S. labor market that added just 29,000 jobs in September with sizable downward revisions. For commerce leaders, this suggests the local expansion story remains intact even as national headlines turn cautious.
Wage growth here is a strength, not a warning sign.
Charleston County's 5.7% year-over-year wage growth outpaces the state's 4.0% average and significantly exceeds the national wage-inflation gap, where U.S. wages (3.0%) are now trailing inflation (3.4%). Locally, this appears consistent with real income gains rather than the erosion in purchasing power showing up in national data.
Named capital investment is still flowing into the metro.
Stöbich Fire Protection's $2.53 million Dorchester County expansion and continued Boeing-linked aerospace activity in North Charleston signal that site-selection decisions are still favoring the region. This is a more durable economic momentum signal than monthly job counts alone.
Public-sector and healthcare growth are anchoring the broader base.
Statewide, government and education/health services added a combined 13,800 jobs year-over-year, offsetting the national trend of government payroll contraction (down 216,000 over the past year). Locally, MUSC and Charleston County School District remain among the area's largest employers, suggesting public-sector stability is cushioning the metro against national public-payroll softness.
Median advertised pay by role — Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $25,965 | $31,289 | $35,360 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $24,960 | $29,146 | $31,751 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,166 | $37,436 | $40,173 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $52,034 | $72,800 | $84,516 | Moderate decline | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $30,112 | $35,360 | $41,142 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $35,360 | $40,560 | $45,000 | Stable | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $57,200 | $65,520 | $71,024 | Moderate increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $34,011 | $41,413 | $46,800 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $33,505 | $39,520 | $42,120 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $29,201 | $32,640 | $35,360 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $33,264 | $37,440 | $41,600 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $34,233 | $41,600 | $45,760 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $62,230 | $70,720 | $73,840 | Stable | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $80,168 | $93,600 | $103,975 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $96,142 | $124,802 | $137,500 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $87,668 | $109,621 | $127,500 | Significant decline | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $59,000 | $70,888 | $78,641 | Moderate increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $69,555 | $83,068 | $87,318 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $48,246 | $63,643 | $69,774 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $54,155 | $61,300 | $81,440 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager | $74,970 | $82,955 | $86,013 | Stable | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $36,400 | $61,562 | $71,446 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $63,119 | $85,640 | $96,464 | Significant increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $55,661 | $78,053 | $78,053 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $72,901 | $89,159 | $99,482 | Stable | $98,279 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $62,400 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $90,644 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $36,558 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $51,000 | Moderate increase | Stable |
| Information | $72,500 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $51,666 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $66,941 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $75,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $35,360 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $68,308 | Significant increase | Moderate decline |
Local market conditions
Charleston-North Charleston's 3.7% unemployment rate (July 2026) sits well below both the state's 4.1% and the national 4.2%, with the metro's 4.1% annual employment growth rate tying for sixth-fastest among U.S. metros as aerospace, logistics, and healthcare expansion continue to pull in workers faster than the labor force can absorb them. Charleston County's 5.7% wage growth leads South Carolina, outpacing the statewide 4.0% average and suggesting the metro's tight labor conditions are translating into real purchasing-power gains even as national wage growth has cooled to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation.
What it means
Charleston's economic trajectory diverges meaningfully from the national picture this month — while U.S. payroll growth slowed sharply to 29,000 in September with downward revisions to prior months, Charleston's labor market shows no comparable softening, reinforcing the metro's position as a coastal growth outlier within a state where inland counties like Richland and Lexington are essentially flat. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion timing should weigh that local wage growth (5.7% in Charleston County) is running well ahead of the statewide and national trend, meaning labor costs here are rising faster than the broader slowdown would suggest. Current conditions suggest monitoring whether aerospace and logistics investment commitments (such as the Stöbich Fire Protection expansion in Dorchester County) continue at pace, as these serve as a leading indicator of whether the metro's momentum is broadening or concentrating in a few large projects.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: National payroll growth has slowed to 29,000 with downward revisions, a pattern not yet visible in Charleston data. Watch whether the metro's 4.1% employment growth rate holds through the next BLS metro release or begins converging toward the national slowdown.
Worth watching: DP World's September 1 WARN filing in Spartanburg (205 workers) is the most recent and largest in the state this year, concentrated in logistics. Charleston's port-dependent logistics sector warrants monitoring for similar notices given its shared exposure to trade and tariff-related freight volume shifts.
Early indicator: South Carolina's labor force participation rose to 58.9%, reflecting sustained in-migration and workforce re-entry rather than one-time hiring surges. Confirm whether Charleston's participation rate is tracking the state's gain or diverging, as this shapes how tight the local labor supply will remain into 2027.
Expected: Manufacturing and food/hospitality account for 17 of South Carolina's 33 WARN notices year-to-date. Given the metro's aerospace and hospitality exposure, local economic development officials should track whether any new filings touch Charleston-area facilities directly.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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