Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · October 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — October 2026
SC nonmetro counties lag the state's record labor market.
Florence's 4.2% and Sumter's 4.8% unemployment rates trail far behind Charleston's 3.2%, while nonmetro wage averages near $50,000–$53,000 sit well below the statewide $1,296 weekly wage.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Florence unemployment: 4.2% — vs 4.0% statewide, 3.2% Charleston metro
- Sumter unemployment: 4.8% — Highest among reported SC nonmetro areas
- Northwestern SC nonmetro mean wage: $52,698 — vs $50,182 Southern SC nonmetro
- Statewide manufacturing WARN layoffs: 870 employees — Across 10 notices, concentrated in rural counties
Key takeaways
Nonmetro unemployment gap is a labor supply signal.
Florence's 4.2% and Sumter's 4.8% unemployment rates sit a full point or more above Charleston's 3.2%, suggesting nonmetro employers face a larger, less competitive-for-talent labor pool than metro peers. That gap may create near-term hiring leverage even as statewide wage growth pressures budgets.
Manufacturing layoffs are reshaping the nonmetro candidate pool.
Statewide manufacturing WARN notices (870 employees) and transportation/logistics cuts (539 employees) concentrate in rural counties where these sectors dominate local employment. HR teams hiring for adjacent technical roles should watch whether displaced workers enter local postings in the next 30-60 days.
HR Business Partner pay has fallen sharply against national trend.
Metro median advertised pay for HR Business Partner sits at $67,997, down significantly and nearly $16,000 below the national median of $83,900, which is rising. Nonmetro employers recruiting against regional or remote competitors risk losing candidates to markets offering a meaningfully wider total rewards package.
Payroll Specialist pay is climbing faster locally than nationally.
Metro median advertised pay for Payroll Specialist rose significantly to $60,433, nearly matching the national median of $61,103. Rising demand for payroll and compliance expertise may reflect the administrative burden of managing multi-site, nonmetro workforces alongside new independent contractor classification rules.
Median advertised pay by role — SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst | $76,671 | $97,511 | $104,615 | Moderate decline | $100,798 |
| HR Business Partner | $52,270 | $67,997 | $90,970 | Significant decline | $83,900 |
| Benefits Manager * | $70,350 | $105,695 | $121,500 | Stable | $118,618 |
| HRIS Analyst * | $81,341 | $95,758 | $104,375 | Moderate increase | $95,000 |
| HR Coordinator | $36,507 | $46,043 | $51,979 | Moderate decline | $50,460 |
| Recruiter | $43,141 | $57,797 | $61,770 | Moderate decline | $67,234 |
| Payroll Specialist | $48,078 | $60,433 | $65,000 | Significant increase | $61,103 |
* 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
Local market conditions
South Carolina's nonmetro counties sit outside the state's record-setting labor market momentum — Florence posted 4.2% unemployment and Sumter 4.8% in September, well above Charleston's 3.2% and the statewide 4.0% rate, signaling uneven access to the state's job growth. Wage data confirm the gap: Southern SC nonmetro's employment-weighted mean sits at $50,182 versus Northwestern SC nonmetro's $52,698, both trailing the statewide average weekly wage of $1,296, as manufacturing and logistics layoffs (870 and 539 jobs statewide, respectively) concentrate disproportionately in rural counties.
What it means
Nonmetro employers compete for talent against metro wage growth running 4.0% statewide while local labor pools show higher unemployment and lower compensation ceilings — a combination that typically signals underemployment and skills mismatch alongside limited labor slack. HR leaders in these counties should expect candidate pools to include workers displaced from manufacturing and transportation layoffs who may require reskilling before they fit direct role-matching, and retention strategy matters more than recruitment given the state's tight overall labor force growth. Consider benchmarking nonmetro compensation against the $52,698 Northwestern or $50,182 Southern SC nonmetro averages, since statewide or Charleston-metro figures overstate what nonmetro budgets can realistically match.
Looking ahead
Expected: October nonmetro unemployment data releases November 20 — watch whether Florence and Sumter narrow or widen the gap against the statewide 4.0% rate, a signal for how much wage pressure nonmetro employers will face into year-end.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide manufacturing and transportation WARN activity (870 and 539 affected employees) is concentrated in counties with limited alternative employers. Track whether displaced workers appear in nonmetro applicant pools for logistics, operations, or technical roles.
Worth watching: New DOL independent contractor rules (Core Factors test) take effect amid a nonmetro labor market where seasonal and contingent staffing is common in agriculture and hospitality. Review contingent workforce classifications before year-end benefits enrollment.
Potential inflection point: Statewide wage growth of 4.0% over the trailing 12 months may not reach nonmetro counties evenly. Watch whether Q4 wage data shows nonmetro areas catching up or falling further behind Charleston and Greenville-Anderson-Greer.
Sources
- Here Florence / SC Dept. of Employment and Workforce — Florence and Sumter nonmetro unemployment rates for September 2026
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — Statewide unemployment at 4.0%, Charleston metro at 3.2%
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Southern and Northwestern SC nonmetro employment-weighted mean wages
- SC WARN Act filings — Statewide manufacturing and transportation WARN notice totals
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — Statewide wage growth of 4.0% over trailing 12 months
- U.S. Department of Labor — DOL finalized independent contractor Core Factors test rule
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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