Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA — October 2026
Charleston's labor market outruns the nation on jobs and pay alike.
Charleston-North Charleston's 3.2% unemployment rate and 5.7%-6.0% county wage growth are running well ahead of the national 4.1% jobless rate and the roughly 2.4% national advertised wage gains tracked against 3.7% inflation.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.2% — vs 4.1% US, 4.0% SC, lowest among SC metros
- Charleston County wage growth: 5.7%-6.0% YoY — vs 4.0% SC average, 4.1% US avg hourly earnings
- Metro employment: 440,300 — up 8,600 YoY (+2.0%), Sept 2026
- SC statewide WARN activity: 51 notices / 7,206 workers — vs 3,860 notices / 340,316 workers nationally
Key takeaways
Charleston's labor market is tighter than the state and nation combined.
A 3.2% unemployment rate sits nearly a full point below the national 4.1% and South Carolina's 4.0%, with employment growth of 2.0% year-over-year outpacing the national pace. That combination signals a local economy still adding workers and jobs simultaneously, a rarer and more durable pattern than headline job growth alone.
Wage growth here is beating inflation while the nation falls behind.
Charleston County wages rose 5.7%-6.0% year-over-year in Q1 2026, well above the 3.5%-3.7% CPI readings cited nationally, even as national real wages have turned negative. That divergence may suggest Charleston's tight local labor supply is the primary driver of pay gains, a distinction useful when distinguishing cyclical from structural trends.
Manufacturing and aerospace remain the metro's enduring growth engine.
Continued expansion tied to Boeing's North Charleston presence and broader aerospace/manufacturing activity contrasts with the national information-sector contraction (-23,000 jobs) and flat retail and financial activity. Advertised pay for manufacturing production workers locally is down moderately even as the sector adds jobs, suggesting wage pressure may be concentrated in skilled trades and engineering roles.
Government employment offers the metro a stability buffer uncommon elsewhere.
Government jobs account for 17% of Charleston employment, with Joint Base Charleston a significant anchor, compared with federal employment nationally sitting near 1966-era lows. That concentration may insulate the regional economy somewhat from national public-sector contraction, though it also ties local stability partly to federal budget and defense-spending decisions beyond the metro's control.
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 | $25,667 | $31,558 | $35,360 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $24,960 | $29,424 | $31,730 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,381 | $37,440 | $40,560 | Moderate increase | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $52,294 | $73,637 | $85,000 | Stable | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $30,170 | $35,360 | $41,600 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $35,857 | $41,600 | $45,158 | Moderate increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $57,200 | $65,520 | $71,066 | Moderate increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $34,214 | $40,715 | $45,760 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $33,505 | $39,520 | $42,500 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $29,201 | $32,240 | $34,320 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $33,079 | $37,440 | $41,600 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $34,303 | $41,600 | $45,760 | Stable | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $62,230 | $70,000 | $72,800 | Stable | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $79,873 | $91,731 | $101,040 | Moderate increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $98,526 | $125,667 | $139,897 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $87,628 | $109,847 | $123,862 | Significant decline | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $58,956 | $70,767 | $78,250 | Moderate increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $66,856 | $80,519 | $86,050 | Stable | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $48,272 | $65,000 | $70,000 | Moderate increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $53,854 | $60,822 | $69,375 | Significant decline | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager | $74,879 | $86,013 | $86,014 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $36,418 | $62,085 | $71,682 | Significant increase | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $63,500 | $85,000 | $96,468 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $60,072 | $78,053 | $78,053 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $72,930 | $89,650 | $101,100 | Stable | $98,302 |
* 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 | $62,994 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $91,538 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $36,199 | Stable | Moderate decline |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $50,960 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Information | $73,410 | Significant increase | Moderate decline |
| Financial Activities | $53,520 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $70,000 | Significant increase | Moderate increase |
| Education & Health Services | $75,068 | Significant increase | Moderate decline |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $35,360 | Stable | Moderate decline |
| Government | $67,896 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
Charleston-North Charleston's unemployment rate fell to 3.2% in September, the lowest among South Carolina's metros and down half a point from August, as metro employment reached 440,300 — up 8,600 jobs year-over-year. Wage growth has outpaced the state average sharply, with Charleston County posting 5.7% to 6.0% year-over-year gains in Q1 2026 and average weekly wages hitting $1,492, driven by continued expansion in aerospace and manufacturing around North Charleston alongside steady government employment anchored by Joint Base Charleston.
What it means
Metro-level wage growth running well above the state's 4.0% average and ahead of the roughly 2.4%-4.1% national wage trackers suggests Charleston's labor market is tightening faster than its peers, a signal economic development officials should weigh when courting employers who may face a higher-cost, lower-slack hiring environment than other Southeastern metros. For commerce leaders, a 3.2% unemployment rate paired with population and labor-force growth points to a local economy still absorbing new entrants without slack building up, which historically supports continued consumer spending capacity even as national wage-inflation dynamics turn negative in real terms. Current conditions suggest local officials and chambers should track whether wage gains concentrated in manufacturing and advertised-pay increases for roles like registered nurses (up, moderate) and electricians (up, moderate) are broadening across the basket of metro employers or remaining confined to a few expanding sectors.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: South Carolina's seventh straight month of unemployment decline and record labor force size could flatten if national labor-force growth continues slowing due to demographic and immigration-related constraints cited at the federal level. Watch whether Charleston's labor force keeps growing in absolute numbers or begins to plateau alongside the statewide trend.
Worth watching: Charleston County's 5.7%-6.0% wage growth is a standout even within a state where wages rose in all ten major counties. Track whether Q2 2026 data confirms this is broadening across sectors or concentrated in aerospace/manufacturing and a handful of advertised-pay categories like registered nurses and electricians.
Early indicator: National WARN filings remain elevated (3,860 notices, 340,316 workers through late October) with South Carolina recording 51 notices affecting 7,206 workers concentrated in manufacturing, food/hospitality, and transportation. Monitor whether any Charleston-area filings emerge given the metro's manufacturing exposure, even as the broader trend here remains expansion-led.
Emerging pressure point: National real wages turned negative (nominal 3.6% vs. inflation) while Charleston's local wage growth still outpaces CPI, a gap that may narrow if inflation accelerates or local hiring demand cools. Commerce leaders weighing expansion or relocation incentives should track whether this metro's wage premium over national trends persists into Q2 2026 data.
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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