Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — October 2026
South Carolina's growth streak reaches seven months — does Greenwood share it?
South Carolina added jobs for a seventh straight month and posted 4.0% year-over-year wage growth, but Greenwood's nonmetro position means local confirmation won't arrive until the November 20 BLS release.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- SC unemployment rate: 4.0% — September 2026, 7th straight monthly decline
- SC wage growth (YoY): 4.0% — vs 2.4% national advertised-pay growth
- SC labor force size: 2.68 million — Record high, fastest-growing in U.S., Sept. 2026
- National CPI (Q3 2026): 3.7% — vs 1.5% median weekly earnings growth
Key takeaways
State wage growth is outrunning inflation, but just barely.
South Carolina's 4.0% year-over-year wage growth sits above the national advertised-pay gain of 2.4% and close to CPI's 3.7% clip, meaning real purchasing power in markets like Greenwood is holding close to flat. That narrows the cushion local consumer-facing businesses have counted on through 2026.
Greenwood's rural position means slower pass-through of metro gains.
More than 25.6% of South Carolinians live outside the state's eight major metro areas, and nonmetro wage levels (roughly $50,000–$53,000 mean) trail the faster-moving Charleston and Greenville corridors. Statewide headline momentum may overstate what's visible on the ground in Greenwood-area employment and spending.
Manufacturing's statewide shift favors places with durable-goods capacity.
Durable goods now make up 63% of South Carolina manufacturing employment, up from 36% in 1990, a structural shift toward higher-value production. Commerce and economic-development leaders in Greenwood may find this a useful data point when framing the metro's industrial positioning to prospective investors.
Labor force growth is outpacing the nation, a sign of structural strength.
South Carolina's labor force hit a historic high in September, growing even as national labor force growth has slowed from retirements and immigration policy effects. A metro riding that statewide tailwind is better positioned than one relying on net in-migration alone to sustain economic activity.
Median advertised pay by role — SC NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $21,857 | $27,040 | $30,615 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,360 | $25,430 | $27,283 | Moderate decline | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,220 | $36,400 | $38,480 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $57,158 | $81,732 | $92,500 | Stable | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,089 | $29,953 | $32,147 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $27,023 | $36,400 | $41,600 | Stable | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $53,040 | $65,520 | $73,037 | Moderate increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $29,119 | $35,360 | $40,000 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $31,050 | $35,906 | $40,420 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $26,430 | $28,976 | $31,200 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,240 | $37,440 | $41,234 | Moderate increase | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $32,244 | $38,732 | $41,751 | Moderate increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $59,475 | $67,567 | $75,920 | Stable | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $80,388 | $94,590 | $102,259 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $123,799 | $157,768 | $173,140 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $105,277 | $132,353 | $147,170 | Moderate decline | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $49,322 | $61,150 | $67,065 | Moderate decline | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $67,500 | $83,030 | $95,113 | Moderate decline | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $47,669 | $67,627 | $77,188 | Significant decline | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $44,628 | $56,560 | $88,095 | Moderate decline | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager | $79,665 | $82,540 | $82,540 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $46,173 | $64,312 | $72,236 | Significant increase | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $65,000 | $87,500 | $95,000 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $60,072 | $78,053 | $78,053 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $75,091 | $92,436 | $107,072 | 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 | $58,611 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Manufacturing | $79,348 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Retail Trade | $34,320 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $47,840 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Information | $129,132 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $69,372 | Significant decline | Significant decline |
| Professional & Business Services | $61,361 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Education & Health Services | $74,167 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,200 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Government | $63,408 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
Greenwood sits inside a South Carolina labor market posting its seventh consecutive month of job growth and a record 2.68 million-person labor force, yet the Piedmont and upstate nonmetro areas bordering Greenwood show softer local unemployment signals than headline Greenville-Anderson or Charleston figures suggest. Statewide wage growth of 4.0% year-over-year outpaces the national 2.4% advertised-pay gain even as CPI runs near 3.7%, meaning Greenwood's labor market momentum is real but households are still absorbing a gap between posted pay growth and the cost of living.
What it means
Statewide job growth concentrated in leisure/hospitality, education/health services and government signals where Greenwood's local economic base is likely to hold steadiest, while the state's only shrinking sector, information, is a smaller share of this metro's employment mix and therefore less of a local drag. Manufacturing's continued share gain statewide (durable goods now 63% of manufacturing jobs, up from 36% in 1990) is relevant to commerce leaders assessing whether Greenwood's industrial base is positioned to capture continued reshoring and durable-goods investment. Current conditions suggest local economic development and chamber leaders should track whether Greenwood's nonmetro wage and participation figures, due with the November 20 BLS release, converge toward or diverge from the Upstate's stronger numbers.
Looking ahead
Expected release: BLS publishes October nonmetro-area unemployment and wage data on November 20, the first chance to see whether Greenwood-area indicators are tracking the state's seventh straight month of improvement or lagging the Upstate metros.
Early indicator: Watch whether South Carolina's seven-month streak of unemployment declines (4.8% in April to 4.0% in September) continues or stalls, since a plateau would be the first sign the state's momentum is leveling off before it reaches nonmetro areas like Greenwood.
Worth watching: National WARN filings remain elevated (3,860 notices, over 340,000 workers through late October) concentrated in manufacturing, tech and retail; South Carolina's own WARN activity (51 notices, 7,206 workers) is modest by comparison but worth monitoring for any Upstate manufacturing spillover toward Greenwood.
Policy to track: Federal labor force effects from reduced immigration and an aging workforce are tightening national labor supply; state economists should watch whether that trend constrains labor availability in Greenwood's agricultural and manufacturing employment base, presented here as a factual trend.
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.
Free to read and cite with attribution to WageScape. Terms of use.