Lowcountry Has Spurred State's Job Growth Since Haley's Election

Since being sworn in as governor in January 2011, Nikki Haley has made no bones about the fact that her number one priority has been getting people in the Palmetto State back to work.

Halfway into her first term, now might be a good time to check how she is doing.

Right off the top, it must be pointed out that the state’s unemployment rate was 10.3 percent when she took over, and as of December 2012 it was 8.4. That’s significant improvement, but it still means that 1 in 12 people are looking for work. The latter figure, 8.4, seems almost certain to come down. Recent announcements in the Midlands and the Lowcountry will bring more than 700 jobs to the state.

***How has your county fared? Click the map above to see.***

One of the biggest challenges that Haley—and everyone else trying to turn South Carolina around—has faced is a gap between the rural and urban portions of the state. Broadly speaking, the Upstate, Midlands and Lowcountry have been able to turn things around faster than area like the PeeDee and Savannah River region. The reason for that, experts tell Patch, is a more skilled workforce; more college graduates make an area more attractive to employers. Even within the metro areas, however, there is a skill gap that can make high unemployment chronic.

That skill gap is almost certainly one of the reasons why Haley spent so much time emphasizing education during her State of the State Address last week.

Below is a county-by-county comparison of the Unemployment Rate, the Total Number of People in the Work Force, Unemployed and Employed.

A few figures stand out. 45 out of 46 counties have seen their unemployment rates and total number of unemployed people go down since February 2011—the first full month of Haley’s administration.

But one of the reasons an unemployment rate can go down is because people leave the work force or stop looking for work. Tellingly, in 24 of the 46 counties the workforce is less than it was when Haley took over. But statewide, there are more than 4,000 people in the workforce than there were two years ago.

The county that saw the biggest improvement to its unemployment rate is York in suburban Charlotte. Its rate has fallen from 15.5 to 10.2. York has added 3,500 jobs, but it’s also had more than 2,800 people leave the workforce.

***Click your county on the map above to see how your county has done.***

Of the three metro areas in South Carolina, the Lowcountry has been the clear leader in job growth. The region has expanded the workforce while reducing the number of unemployed, which means people aren’t leaving the workforce at the same rate as some other parts of the state. Beaufort and Horry Counties have both added more than 5,000 jobs in the last two years. Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester all have unemployment rates below the state average. Berkeley’s rate of 6.9 is the second best in the state. All in all, 48,366 more people have jobs in South Carolina than they did in February 2011. Of that total, nearly half have been in the counties that make up the Lowcountry.

Does Haley deserve all the credit for the (slightly) improved economy? Ultimately, the voters will decide the answer to that question. Some things to consider. Republicans like Haley and those who dominate the state legislature insist that business, not government, creates jobs. It’s the role of government to create the conditions for business to grow, they say.

Also, creating jobs requires creating partnerships across county lines, between cities, Chambers of Commerce, between public and private entities.

In the end, being the governor is kind of like being the quarterback on the football team—they get too much credit when things are going well and too much blame when they aren’t.

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NOTE: Figures provided by SC Department of Employment and Workforce

Rate (%) Feb. 11

Rate (%) Dec. 12

Plus/Minus

Abbeville

12.6

10.7

1.9

Aiken

9

8.7

0.3

Allendale

17.9

15.6

2.3

Anderson

10.5

8.4

2.1

Bamberg

14.8

13.4

1.4

Barnwell

15.5

13.9

1.6

Beaufort

9.4

7.2

2.2

Berkeley

9.2

7.6

1.6

Calhoun

10.9

9.3

1.6

Charleston

8.5

6.9

1.6

Cherokee

13.7

11.1

2.6

Chester

17

13.1

3.9

Chesterfield

14.4

11.7

2.7

Clarendon

16

13.5

2.5

Colleton

13.5

10.8

2.7

Darlington

12.1

9.9

2.2

Dillon

16.2

13.4

2.8

Dorchester

8.5

7.1

1.4

Edgefield

9.1

9.8

-0.7

Fairfield

14

10.7

3.3

Florence

11.9

9.4

2.5

Georgetown

12.8

9.5

3.3

Greenville

8.5

6.8

1.7

Greenwood

11.5

10.1

1.4

Hampton

14.8

11.6

3.2

Horry

14.4

11.1

3.3

Jasper

10.7

8.2

2.5

Kershaw

10.1

8.1

2

Lancaster

14.7

11.6

3.1

Laurens

11.3

8.9

2.4

Lee

13.7

11.1

2.6

Lexington

8

6.6

1.4

Marion

21.2

17.2

4

Marlboro

18.6

15.4

3.2

McCormick

15.9

12.7

3.2

Newberry

10.5

7.9

2.6

Oconee

10.9

9

1.9

Orangeburg

14.2

12.4

1.8

Pickens

9

7.5

1.5

Richland

9.1

8

1.1

Saluda

9.8

7.4

2.4

Spartanburg

10.8

8.4

2.4

Sumter

11.6

10.2

1.4

Union

16.8

13.4

3.4

Williamsburg

14.2

11.8

2.4

York

15.5

10.2

5.3

County

Labor Force Feb. 2011

Labor Force Dec. 2012

Net

Abbeville

11,100

10,849

-251

Aiken

76,209

73,849

-2,360

Allendale

3,270

3,297

27

Anderson

84,262

81,586

-2,676

Bamberg

6,345

6,201

-144

Barnwell

8,475

8,417

-58

Beaufort

60,537

64,927

4,390

Berkeley

82,808

83,529

721

Calhoun

6,630

6,630

0

Charleston

173,324

174,844

1,520

Cherokee

25,134

24,947

-187

Chester

14,881

14,554

-327

Chesterfield

18,780

18,870

90

Clarendon

12,457

12,384

-73

Colleton

16,903

17,116

213

Darlington

29,960

30,532

572

Dillon

13,238

13,276

38

Dorchester

67,156

67,907

751

Edgefield

11,218

10,994

-224

Fairfield

10,811

10,598

-213

Florence

61,672

62,644

972

Georgetown

28,963

29,715

752

Greenville

223,816

222,842

-974

Greenwood

31,037

31,083

46

Hampton

7,742

7,751

9

Horry

121,173

122,675

1,502

Jasper

9,892

10,569

677

Kershaw

29,430

29,328

-102

Lancaster

31,328

30,934

-394

Laurens

30,849

30,471

-378

Lee

8,096

8,075

-21

Lexington

131,518

132,015

497

Marion

12,107

11,876

-231

Marlboro

11,630

11,462

-168

McCormick

3,476

3,361

-115

Newberry

18,324

18,237

-87

Oconee

31,111

31,305

194

Orangeburg

41,310

41,202

-108

Pickens

57,548

57,473

-75

Richland

178,880

180,150

1,270

Saluda

9,023

8,952

-71

Spartanburg

131,492

134,296

2,804

Sumter

44,854

43,797

-1,057

Union

11,658

11,449

-209

Williamsburg

15,766

16,120

354

York

115,334

112,507

-2,827

Total

4,069

Total Unemployed Feb. 11

Total Unemployed Dec. 12

Net

Abbeville

1,402

1,165

237

Aiken

6,846

6,429

417

Allendale

585

515

70

Anderson

8,856

6,817

2,039

Bamberg

937

829

108

Barnwell

1,313

1,168

145

Beaufort

5,678

4,685

993

Berkeley

7,618

6,364

1,254

Calhoun

724

614

110

Charleston

14,731

12,086

2,645

Cherokee

3,443

2,774

669

Chester

2,535

1,913

622

Chesterfield

2,710

2,204

506

Clarendon

1,991

1,667

324

Colleton

2,285

1,840

445

Darlington

3,629

3,027

602

Dillon

2,149

1,776

373

Dorchester

5,677

4,813

864

Edgefield

1,019

1,081

-62

Fairfield

1,518

1,132

386

Florence

7,320

5,870

1,450

Georgetown

3,705

2,834

871

Greenville

18,951

15,053

3,898

Greenwood

3,570

3,125

445

Hampton

1,144

900

244

Horry

17,472

13,656

3,816

Jasper

1,059

869

190

Kershaw

2,967

2,371

596

Lancaster

4,602

3,600

1,002

Laurens

3,494

2,726

768

Lee

1,111

893

218

Lexington

10,491

8,728

1,763

Marion

2,569

2,047

522

Marlboro

2,160

1,765

395

McCormick

554

428

126

Newberry

1,916

1,442

474

Oconee

3,385

2,821

564

Orangeburg

5,855

5,126

729

Pickens

5,155

4,332

823

Richland

16,246

14,479

1,767

Saluda

883

660

223

Spartanburg

14,161

11,348

2,813

Sumter

5,215

4,450

765

Union

1,954

1,534

420

Williamsburg

2,245

1,904

341

York

17,849

11,522

6,327

Total

231,679

44,297

Total Employed Feb. 11

Total Employed Dec. 12

Net

Abbeville

9,698

9,684

-14

Aiken

69,363

67,420

-1,943

Allendale

2,685

2,782

97

Anderson

75,406

74,769

-637

Bamberg

5,408

5,372

-36

Barnwell

7,162

7,249

87

Beaufort

54,859

60,242

5,383

Berkeley

75,190

77,165

1,975

Calhoun

5,906

6,016

110

Charleston

158,593

162,758

4,165

Cherokee

21,691

22,173

482

Chester

12,346

12,641

295

Chesterfield

16,070

16,666

596

Clarendon

10,466

10,717

251

Colleton

14,618

15,276

658

Darlington

26,331

27,505

1,174

Dillon

11,089

11,500

411

Dorchester

61,479

63,094

1,615

Edgefield

10,199

9,913

-286

Fairfield

9,293

9,466

173

Florence

54,352

56,774

2,422

Georgetown

25,258

26,881

1,623

Greenville

204,865

207,789

2,924

Greenwood

27,467

27,958

491

Hampton

6,598

6,851

253

Horry

103,701

109,019

5,318

Jasper

8,833

9,700

867

Kershaw

26,463

26,957

494

Lancaster

26,726

27,334

608

Laurens

27,355

27,745

390

Lee

6,985

7,182

197

Lexington

121,027

123,287

2,260

Marion

9,538

9,829

291

Marlboro

9,470

9,697

227

McCormick

2,922

2,933

11

Newberry

16,408

16,795

387

Oconee

27,726

28,484

758

Orangeburg

35,455

36,076

621

Pickens

52,393

53,141

748

Richland

162,634

165,671

3,037

Saluda

8,140

8,292

152

Spartanburg

117,331

122,948

5,617

Sumter

39,639

39,347

-292

Union

9,704

9,915

211

Williamsburg

13,521

14,216

695

York

97,485

100,985

3,500

Total

48,366