Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · August 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — August 2026
Nonmetro SC job growth outruns its own labor supply.
South Carolina added 38,600 jobs over the year and unemployment fell to 4.1 percent, but nonmetro labor force participation stayed flat at 58.8 percent, leaving healthcare and manufacturing employers competing for a pool that isn't expanding.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of August 2026.
Key indicators
- SC unemployment rate: 4.1% — Down from 4.6% a year ago; tied 1st in US job growth
- Labor force participation: 58.8% — Flat month-over-month; limits nonmetro hiring pipeline
- Statewide weekly wage growth: 4.0% (Q1) vs -0.1% (Aug) — Conflicting signals across BLS reporting periods
- Healthcare share of job growth: 57% — 9,053 jobs added statewide over the year
Key takeaways
Rural talent pools aren't growing even as jobs are.
Labor force participation sat flat at 58.8 percent while the state added 38,600 jobs over the year, meaning nonmetro employers are drawing from the same fixed pool. Workforce planning should account for longer time-to-fill and consider upskilling incumbent workers rather than assuming new entrants will appear.
Healthcare hiring pressure is statewide, not just urban.
Healthcare and social assistance accounted for 57 percent of South Carolina's annual job growth, a signal that nonmetro facilities are competing against Charleston and Columbia health systems for the same clinical and support talent. Compensation strategy for healthcare roles may need metro-adjacent benchmarking rather than pure rural comparisons.
Manufacturing wage competition is intensifying, not cooling.
Construction added 5,497 jobs and manufacturing remains a structural backbone of the state economy even as national manufacturing showed little movement. Nonmetro plants recruiting production and technical talent should expect wage pressure to track statewide trends rather than assume rural discounts still apply.
Transportation losses may loosen a narrow talent segment.
Transportation and warehousing shed 2,996 jobs statewide, or 3.7 percent of the sector, which could ease hiring pressure for logistics and driving roles in nonmetro counties reliant on distribution work. Watch whether this displaced talent shows up in adjacent sectors like manufacturing or retail rather than assuming it disappears from the labor pool.
Median advertised pay by role — SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst | $76,452 | $99,798 | $110,179 | Stable | $101,055 |
| HR Business Partner | $56,555 | $78,500 | $92,976 | Significant increase | $83,180 |
| Benefits Manager | $96,071 | $129,503 | $138,674 | Significant increase | $120,000 |
| HRIS Analyst | $78,393 | $94,470 | $114,486 | Significant increase | $95,665 |
| HR Coordinator | $40,656 | $49,585 | $54,250 | Significant increase | $50,095 |
| Recruiter | $47,956 | $65,157 | $76,590 | Significant increase | $67,643 |
| Payroll Specialist | $45,542 | $51,912 | $60,084 | Significant increase | $58,266 |
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
South Carolina's nonmetro counties are riding a statewide expansion that added 10,800 jobs in August and pushed unemployment down to 4.1 percent, but rural labor markets remain structurally tighter than urban peers — labor force participation held flat at 58.8 percent, meaning job growth is drawing from a pipeline that isn't expanding. Healthcare and social assistance drove 57 percent of the state's annual job gains while manufacturing added jobs even as transportation and warehousing contracted 3.7 percent, a mix that favors employers in caregiving and production roles over logistics-heavy nonmetro operations.
What it means
Flat participation combined with continued job growth means nonmetro employers are competing for a labor pool that isn't refilling itself, particularly acute for healthcare and skilled manufacturing roles where statewide demand is concentrated. Weekly wages in nonmetro South Carolina likely lag the $1,296 statewide average given rural leisure/hospitality and lower-density service concentrations, widening the gap employers must close to compete with Charleston and Columbia recruiting radii. Consider reviewing whether current pay structures for healthcare and production roles reflect statewide wage growth of 4.0 percent, or risk losing candidates to commuting distance into metro labor markets.
Looking ahead
Emerging pressure point: Statewide WARN filings remain modest at 33 notices affecting 4,155 workers, but the Electrolux Anderson notice of 1,255 jobs represents nearly a third of the year's total and sits near several nonmetro counties. Track whether displaced manufacturing workers enter nonmetro applicant pools over the next quarter.
Worth watching: Statewide average weekly wages fell 0.1 percent year-over-year in the August reading even as Q1 2026 showed 4.0 percent growth, an inconsistency that may reflect seasonal or industry-mix effects rather than a genuine slowdown. Nonmetro employers should watch the next quarterly QCEW release before adjusting compensation budgets based on either figure alone.
Early indicator: Skills gaps in engineering, advanced manufacturing, and cybersecurity are described as structural statewide, a constraint likely more binding in nonmetro counties with smaller technical talent pipelines. Consider whether apprenticeship or community college partnerships need to expand before Q4 hiring plans firm up.
Potential inflection point: National contract and temporary staffing rates jumped from $37 to $44.48 per hour amid senior-role demand, while temp job orders fell 4 percent in August as employers shift toward permanent hires. Nonmetro employers relying on contingent labor for seasonal or production surges should reassess whether permanent conversion now costs less than continued temp reliance.
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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