Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — September 2026
Nonmetro South Carolina rides statewide gains, but thinly.
South Carolina added 10,800 jobs in August and pushed labor force participation to 58.9%, but nonmetro counties lean on government and healthcare growth while national wage growth (3.0%) now trails inflation (3.4%) for the first time since 2021.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- SC labor force participation: 58.9% — Up from prior year, signals durable expansion
- SC statewide wage growth: 4.0% YoY — To $1,296/week, Q1 2026, vs national CPI 3.4%
- National wage-inflation gap: 3.0% vs 3.4% — First real-wage decline since May 2021
- SC WARN notices YTD: 33 notices / 4,155 workers — Manufacturing & food/hospitality hit hardest
Key takeaways
Nonmetro growth is riding statewide coattails, not local catalysts.
South Carolina's 38,600 year-over-year job gains are led by leisure/hospitality, education/health, and government — sectors with meaningful nonmetro presence but without the wage acceleration seen in coastal finance and tech. Commerce leaders should treat statewide strength as a tailwind, not a guarantee of local momentum.
Wage growth statewide is outpacing inflation only modestly.
South Carolina's 4.0% average weekly wage growth compares to national CPI near 3.4%, leaving a thin real-wage cushion for nonmetro households whose wage levels already rank 37th nationally. Consumer spending capacity in nonmetro counties may be more fragile than the state's job-growth headline suggests.
Public-sector stability is doing heavy lifting for nonmetro payrolls.
Statewide government employment grew 5,900 jobs year-over-year even as national government payrolls shed workers for twelve straight months. Nonmetro counties with disproportionate public employment shares may be more insulated from national private-sector softness than metro peers.
Manufacturing and logistics layoffs warrant local tracking.
DP World's September 1 WARN filing affecting 205 workers in Spartanburg, alongside 10 statewide manufacturing WARN notices affecting 870 employees, signals the sector carries more volatility than its 'flat but present' statewide label suggests. Nonmetro counties with manufacturing concentration should watch whether this is isolated or part of a broader logistics-sector adjustment.
Median advertised pay by role — SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $21,954 | $27,040 | $30,475 | Moderate decline | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,188 | $25,313 | $27,175 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,120 | $34,472 | $37,440 | Moderate decline | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $55,757 | $80,937 | $92,500 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,089 | $30,254 | $32,251 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $27,023 | $36,138 | $41,133 | Stable | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $54,557 | $69,359 | $79,996 | Significant increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $28,941 | $35,360 | $38,272 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $30,680 | $36,756 | $40,560 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $26,353 | $28,678 | $31,200 | Moderate decline | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,240 | $37,440 | $41,363 | Moderate increase | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $31,200 | $38,480 | $41,625 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $59,349 | $66,796 | $75,570 | Stable | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $80,436 | $94,791 | $102,871 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $110,068 | $151,775 | $167,823 | Stable | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $99,151 | $139,408 | $157,321 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $48,503 | $61,608 | $68,376 | Moderate decline | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $67,378 | $86,799 | $100,043 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $54,080 | $72,730 | $91,485 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $43,411 | $65,575 | $75,267 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager | $79,665 | $79,666 | $82,540 | Stable | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $46,014 | $61,681 | $70,763 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $62,500 | $87,500 | $98,702 | Moderate increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $55,661 | $78,053 | $78,053 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $75,521 | $91,156 | $105,588 | 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 | $58,654 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Manufacturing | $79,996 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Retail Trade | $34,882 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $46,446 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Information | $128,450 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $82,873 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Professional & Business Services | $61,798 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Education & Health Services | $73,712 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,200 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Government | $66,691 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
South Carolina's nonmetropolitan counties continue to operate within a statewide expansion that added 10,800 payroll jobs in August and pushed labor force participation to 58.9%, with growth concentrated in construction, education/health services, and government rather than metro-core finance or information sectors. Rural and nonmetro counties typically lag coastal growth leaders like Charleston (1.3% YoY employment growth) and track closer to flat performers like Richland and Lexington, suggesting nonmetro momentum is positive but more muted than the statewide headline implies.
What it means
Statewide sector momentum — construction, healthcare, and public-sector stability — appears to be the primary growth engine available to nonmetro counties, since information and finance gains are concentrated in metro cores. Government payroll additions (+5,900 statewide year-over-year) suggest public-sector employment remains a stabilizing force for nonmetro commerce activity even as private white-collar hiring stays metro-concentrated nationally. Local economic development leaders should consider tracking whether construction and healthcare project announcements materialize locally, since these are the sectors most likely to anchor nonmetro payroll growth through year-end.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: National payroll growth slowed sharply to 29,000 in September with downward revisions to July and August totaling 60,000 — a pattern that, if it reaches South Carolina's nonmetro counties with a lag, would first show up in construction and logistics given their national sensitivity to softening demand.
Emerging pressure point: Real wages nationally are no longer outpacing inflation (3.0% wage growth vs. 3.4% CPI), the weakest gap since May 2021. Nonmetro counties with wage levels already below state median are most exposed if this dynamic persists into Q4 consumer spending.
Potential inflection point: Thirty-three WARN notices have been filed statewide in 2026 year-to-date, concentrated in manufacturing and food/hospitality — two sectors with outsized nonmetro footprints. A cluster of additional filings in October would be a meaningful signal of broader nonmetro softening rather than an isolated event.
Expected: September's national jobs report (due with potential further revisions) and South Carolina's next state employment release will clarify whether August's 10,800-job gain was a one-month acceleration or sustained trend — directly relevant to whether nonmetro counties can expect continued government and healthcare hiring support.
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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