Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · October 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: Sumter, SC MSA — October 2026
Sumter jobs shrink even as unemployment falls to 4.8%.
Sumter MSA nonfarm payrolls dropped 1.8% year-over-year to 37,500 even as unemployment fell to 4.8%, while local wage growth of 1.1% monthly trails South Carolina's 4.0% annual pace.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Sumter unemployment rate: 4.8% — Down from 5.4% in June; SC statewide at 4.0%
- Sumter nonfarm employment: 37,500 — Down 700 jobs (-1.8%) year-over-year
- Sumter avg weekly wage: $944.46 — vs $1,296 SC statewide average
- SC labor force size: 2,679,964 — Fastest-growing labor force in the US, 2026
Key takeaways
Sumter's job count is shrinking while unemployment drops.
Nonfarm payrolls fell 1.8% year-over-year even as the unemployment rate dropped to 4.8%, a combination consistent with labor force exit. Workforce planning should treat this as a supply constraint.
Wage growth in Sumter lags the statewide pace.
Average weekly wages rose just 1.1% month-over-month to $944.46 in June, trailing South Carolina's 4.0% annual wage growth and the $1,296 statewide average. Compensation strategy built on state-level benchmarks risks overpricing Sumter-specific roles or underpricing talent at risk of commuting to higher-paying metros.
HR Coordinator pay is climbing fast in Sumter's own market.
Local HR Coordinator advertised pay rose significantly to a $43,751 median, even though it remains well below the $50,460 national median. Closing that gap may be necessary to retain early-career HR talent as regional competition for administrative and HRIS-adjacent skills intensifies.
Manufacturing hiring is holding steady against a soft headcount backdrop.
Eaton's continued postings (job ads, a signal of hiring demand; one ad often covers several openings) for panelboard coordinators and switchboard assemblers at roughly $25/hour suggest durable-goods manufacturing is insulated from the broader employment decline. Durable goods now account for 63% of South Carolina manufacturing jobs statewide, reinforcing that technical and production roles deserve separate compensation review from the general labor market trend.
Median advertised pay by role — Sumter, SC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst * | $67,168 | $101,431 | $110,390 | Significant increase | $100,798 |
| HR Business Partner | $49,867 | $63,693 | $75,043 | Stable | $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 | $41,617 | $43,751 | $44,895 | Significant increase | $50,460 |
| Recruiter * | $44,650 | $60,320 | $70,000 | Stable | $67,234 |
| Payroll Specialist | $49,337 | $57,013 | $58,169 | Moderate 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
Sumter MSA unemployment fell to 4.8% in September, down six-tenths of a point in a single month, yet nonfarm employment sits at 37,500 — down 700 jobs (-1.8%) year-over-year — signaling a labor force contracting faster than it's clearing. Manufacturing recruitment (Eaton's panelboard and assembly postings, job ads that signal hiring demand and often cover several openings each) and frontline retail hiring (GPM's sign-on bonuses) persist even as the broader headcount shrinks, consistent with employers backfilling specific skill gaps.
What it means
Falling unemployment alongside shrinking payrolls points to labor supply tightening from the exit side — workers leaving the labor force or relocating toward Columbia (3.6% unemployment) and Charleston (3.2%), a sign of a smaller local labor pool rather than added hiring capacity. That dynamic forces Sumter employers to compete on advertised pay and non-wage incentives for a smaller qualified pool, particularly in manufacturing and skilled trades where statewide shortages are acute. Consider benchmarking Sumter-specific advertised pay rates against neighboring Columbia and Charleston metros before finalizing 2027 merit budgets, since talent is increasingly mobile across the I-20/I-95 corridor.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: Watch whether Sumter's nonfarm employment stabilizes or continues its year-over-year decline in the next two monthly releases. A third consecutive month of contraction would suggest a structural shift in the metro's employment base.
Emerging pressure point: Monitor whether workers are commuting to or relocating toward Columbia and Charleston, where unemployment sits at 3.6% and 3.2% respectively. Sustained outflow would tighten Sumter's local labor pool further and intensify pressure on advertised pay for hard-to-fill manufacturing and healthcare roles.
Worth watching: Track Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital and other healthcare employer hiring activity, given statewide health services job growth of 7,900 positions over the past year. Healthcare compensation benchmarking may need more frequent updates if that statewide trend continues to show up in Sumter postings.
Expected: Federal benefits changes — the corrected $7,500 dependent care exclusion and higher 401(k) limits — take effect for 2027 plan years. Smaller Sumter employers should budget time to update plan documents and open enrollment communications ahead of year-end deadlines.
Sources
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — Sumter MSA unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in September 2026
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — Sumter nonfarm employment at 37,500, down 1.8% year-over-year
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Sumter average weekly wages at $944.46 in June 2026
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — South Carolina wages increased 4.0% over 12-month period
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — South Carolina labor force at record 2,679,964, fastest-growing nationally
- SC Department of Employment and Workforce — Durable goods comprise 63% of SC manufacturing employment
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.