Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Florence, SC MSA — September 2026
Florence jobless rate falls as the job count quietly shrinks.
Florence MSA employment slipped to 96,200 in June, down 400 jobs year-over-year, even as the county unemployment rate tightened to 4.6% by July and average weekly wages swung from a 15.3% annual gain to a 1.2% monthly decline.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Florence MSA employment: 96,200 — Down 400 jobs YoY, 200 MoM (June 2026)
- Florence County unemployment: 4.6% — Down from 4.8% metro rate in June (July 2026)
- Florence avg weekly wage: $903.56 — Up 15.3% YoY, down 1.2% MoM
- SC statewide unemployment: 4.1% — vs Florence metro's 4.8-4.6% range
Key takeaways
Falling unemployment is not the same as job growth here.
Florence MSA employment fell by 400 jobs year-over-year even as the unemployment rate declined to 4.8% in June and 4.6% by July in Florence County, a combination that typically reflects labor-force contraction rather than hiring strength. Public statements built solely on the unemployment rate risk overstating the metro's momentum.
Wage data is sending two contradictory signals at once.
Average weekly wages jumped 15.3% year-over-year but fell 1.2% month-over-month, a gap wide enough to suggest compositional change (fewer, higher-paid workers, overtime swings, or industry mix shift) rather than a clean read on purchasing power. Treat the year-over-year figure cautiously until a longer run of data confirms direction.
Transportation and warehousing looks like the metro's structural growth bet.
Projections show the sector expanding from 9,116 to 13,030 jobs, a 42.9% increase that stands out against the metro's otherwise flat employment base. Economic development messaging has a defensible, specific growth story here even while headline job counts stagnate.
No major layoff or expansion announcements this month is itself a signal.
Outside the earlier Koppers Inc. WARN filing for 66 workers, the metro shows no fresh large-scale hiring or layoff news for September, consistent with a consolidation phase rather than active expansion or contraction. Commerce leaders should read this as a stable, low-volatility backdrop rather than either a risk or an opportunity signal.
Median advertised pay by role — Florence, SC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $21,663 | $26,877 | $28,516 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,380 | $25,038 | $27,040 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,636 | $36,400 | $37,392 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $57,158 | $78,188 | $88,400 | Significant decline | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,519 | $30,280 | $31,637 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $28,567 | $34,320 | $43,044 | Significant increase | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $53,657 | $64,896 | $70,866 | Moderate increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $28,851 | $33,499 | $37,440 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $32,131 | $36,687 | $37,348 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $26,411 | $27,333 | $27,438 | Moderate decline | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $31,200 | $35,438 | $38,813 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $33,280 | $42,569 | $42,750 | Significant increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $57,228 | $64,492 | $67,600 | Moderate increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $81,550 | $96,876 | $104,621 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer * | $117,000 | $153,047 | $169,420 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,196 | $139,736 | $157,843 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $54,222 | $56,670 | $56,670 | Moderate increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $59,395 | $67,657 | $70,623 | Moderate decline | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $52,500 | $56,341 | $68,932 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $44,021 | $58,918 | $70,334 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $75,000 | $82,540 | $82,954 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $36,342 | $55,743 | $61,610 | Moderate increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $54,484 | $85,000 | $106,840 | Moderate increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $55,661 | $78,053 | $78,053 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $72,870 | $90,182 | $102,577 | 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 | $61,888 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $77,490 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,275 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $63,850 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $44,200 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $57,599 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $77,532 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $76,418 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $29,120 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $67,646 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Florence MSA employment held essentially flat at 96,200 jobs through June 2026, down 400 positions year-over-year, even as the metro unemployment rate eased to 4.8% and Florence County's rate tightened further to 4.6% by July — a pattern consistent with a labor force gradually absorbing into a slowly shrinking job base rather than robust job creation. Average weekly wages in Florence rose a striking 15.3% year-over-year to $903.56 even as they slipped 1.2% month-over-month, a divergence that likely reflects compositional shifts (overtime, sector mix, or a smaller but higher-paid workforce) more than broad-based pay acceleration across the metro's basket of occupations.
What it means
Flat-to-declining headcount alongside falling unemployment suggests the Florence metro's labor market is tightening through attrition and labor-force exit rather than expansion, a dynamic commerce leaders should distinguish from genuine growth momentum when assessing the local business climate. Construction Laborer and Administrative Assistant pay both posted significant local gains even as Financial Analyst and HR-adjacent roles declined, pointing to uneven sector momentum rather than a uniform upswing. Current conditions suggest local economic development and chamber leadership should weight employment-count trends alongside unemployment-rate trends when characterizing the metro's trajectory publicly, since the two are sending different signals this month.
Looking ahead
Data lag watch: September 2026 official BLS metro data for Florence has not yet published as of this briefing; the next release should clarify whether the June-July tightening trend continued or reflects a seasonal blip.
Early indicator: Watch whether the 15.3% year-over-year wage spike in Florence persists or reverts once more months of data arrive — a reversion would support the compositional-shift explanation over genuine wage acceleration.
Worth watching: National wage growth has slipped to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, the weakest since May 2021; any similar erosion locally would pressure household spending power across Florence's retail and service sectors.
Potential inflection point: Transportation/warehousing employment projections point to sustained metro growth in logistics; any named-employer facility announcement in that sector over the next two months would be a concrete test of whether the projection is materializing on schedule.
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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