Charleston S.C. MSA Workforce & Employment Profile

Workforce Statistics
Civilian Workforce1	2000	2009	% Change	Forecast 2010	Forecast 2011
Labor Force	268,196	322,308	20.2%	323,000	324,500
Employed	259,792	290,964	12.0%	290,900	293,000
Unemployed	8,404	31,344	-	32,100	31,500
Unemployment Rate (%)	3.1%	9.7%	-	9.9%	9.7%
Expanded Labor Pool2	2000		2009
Commuters into MSA	10,778		-
Commuters out of MSA	8,360		-
Underemployed Workers, expanded labor shed3	-		112,900
Annual High School Graduates	-		4,277
Annual Post-Secondary Degrees Conferred	-		6,255

Employment by Industry
NAICS Sectors4	2009 Total Employment	2009 % of Total Employment	% Change 2000-2009	% Change 1999-2009
Natural Resources, Mining & Construction	15,600	5.5%	-20.8%	-18.8%
Manufacturing	21,000	7.4%	-8.3%	5.4%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities	53,000	18.6%	-2.9%	0.2%
Information	5,400	1.9%	17.4%	38.5%
Financial Activities	12,800	4.5%	14.3%	15.3%
Professional & Business Services	39,600	13.9%	23.8%	34.2%
Education & Health Services	32,300	11.4%	36.9%	40.4%
Leisure and Hospitality	35,900	12.6%	15.8%	17.7%
Other Services	10,800	3.8%	13.7%	11.3%
Government	58,100	20.4%	15.7%	16.2%
Total Nonagricultural Employment	284,400	100.0%	9.6%	12.9%

Employment & Wages by Occupation
Occupation Title5	2009 Total Employment	2009% Total Employment	% Change 2000-2009	2009 Avg Hourly Wage ($)	2009 Median Hourly Wage ($)
All Occupations	280,880	100.0%	19.8%	18.57	14.86
Management	12,890	4.6%	-19.3%	44.29	38.84
Business and Financial Operations	10,500	3.7%	48.5%	27.93	26.15
Computer and Mathematical Science	4,790	1.7%	51.6%	29.54	28.34
Architecture and Engineering Occupations	7,110	2.5%	69.3%	31.22	29.16
Life, Physical, and Social Science	1,800	0.6%	-2.2%	25.71	23.82
Community and Social Services	3,280	1.2%	25.7%	16.76	15.09
Legal	2,070	0.7%	31.0%	37.01	24.90
Education, Training and Library	14,340	5.1%	-3.6%	20.02	19.43
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media	2,930	1.0%	56.7%	20.42	17.03
Healthcare Practitioner & Technical	18,880	6.7%	47.0%	32.11	27.38
Healthcare Support	7,490	2.7%	35.4%	12.59	11.56
Protective Service	7,230	2.6%	26.2%	15.62	14.79
Food Preparation and Service Related	28,220	10.0%	24.4%	9.71	8.39
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	11,350	4.0%	15.3%	10.58	9.44
Personal Care and Service	7,620	2.7%	58.4%	11.42	9.55
Sales and Related	30,010	10.7%	24.4%	14.91	11.02
Office and Administrative Support	48,960	17.4%	37.3%	14.61	13.77
Farming, Fishing and Forestry	260	0.1%	0.0%	13.47	12.68
Construction and Extraction	12,390	4.4%	-13.2%	17.34	16.38
Installation, Maintenance and Repair	12,810	4.6%	12.7%	18.69	18.28
Production	16,430	5.8%	5.1%	16.55	15.84
Transportation and Material Moving	19,500	6.9%	5.7%	14.54	12.77

Notes & Sources:
(1) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Forecast data from Center for Business Research, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce 5/2010
(2) 2000 Census, U.S. Census Bureau (latest available); S.C. Dept of Education; S.C. Commission on Higher Education, 2010.
(3) Pathfinders study 2009; Charleston S.C. labor shed includes metropolitan counties of Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester plus neighboring Colleton, Clarendon and Orangeburg, and portions of Georgetown and Williamsburg.
(4) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (CES); NAICS = North American Industry Classification System, 5/2010.
(5) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wages & Employment By Occupation Survey 2009, released 5/2010.

Highly Skilled & Available

Charleston area businesses draw upon a diverse and ever-deepening pool of talent comprised of:

• New skilled labor. Steady streams of new workers are relocating to the region.
• Local college graduates. Nearly 7,000 degrees are awarded locally each year.
• Commuters. Nearly 11,000 residents from surrounding counties commute into the Charleston region to work.
• The military. More than 18,000 military retirees live in the area, with most continuing their careers in the private sector.

Civilian Workforce Growth Rates 2000-2009

	Charleston MSA	South Carolina	United States
Labor Force Growth Rate	20.2%	9.6%	8.1%
Employment Growth Rate	12.0%	0.4%	2.2%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 5/2010

Underemployment

According to a 2009 workforce assessment study, conducted by an independent national consultant group, approximately 112,900 workers in the Charleston region can be defined as "underemployed." Contact Heyward Horton at the Charleston Regional Development Alliance for the full report.

2008 Charleston S.C. MSA Wages by Occupation

Occupation Title	Hourly Average	Annual Average	Hourly Median	Annual Median
All Occupations	$18.04	$37,523	$14.57	$30,306
Architecture & Engineering	$31.51	$65,541	$30.14	$62,691
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports & Media	$20.14	$41,891	$15.39	$32,011
Building & Grounds Cleaning / Maintenance	$10.45	$21,736	$9.44	$19,635
Business & Financial Operations	$27.14	$56,451	$25.26	$52,541
Community & Social Services	$16.63	$34,590	$15.39	$32,011
Computer & Mathematical	$28.26	$58,781	$26.27	$54,642
Construction & Extraction	$16.75	$34,840	$15.76	$32,781
Education, Training & Library	$19.89	$41,371	$19.29	$40,123
Farming, Fishing & Forestry	$12.59	$26,187	$11.16	$23,213
Food Preparation & Serving Related	$9.11	$18,949	$7.80	$16,224
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical	$30.59	$63,627	$26.49	$55,099
Healthcare Support	$12.17	$25,314	$11.40	$23,712
Installation, Maintenance & Repair	$18.17	$37,794	$17.59	$36,587
Legal	$33.79	$70,283	$24.47	$50,898
Life, Physical & Social Science	$25.14	$52,291	$23.21	$48,277
Management	$43.10	$89,648	$38.10	$79,248
Office & Administrative Support	$14.38	$29,910	$13.50	$28,080
Personal Care & Service	$10.91	$22,693	$9.33	$19,406
Production	$16.30	$33,904	$15.37	$31,970
Protective Service	$15.38	$31,990	$14.47	$30,098
Sales & Related	$14.86	$30,909	$11.00	$22,880
Transportation & Material Moving	$13.87	$28,850	$11.93	$24,814
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4/2009.

Workforce Training / Development

South Carolina helps fund workforce training needs through three major options:

Customized training through readySC

• A state-funded program, readySC is provided at little or no cost to companies creating new jobs with competitive wages and benefits.
• The program offers customized recruitment, assessment, training development, management and implementation services to qualifying companies.
• An integral part of the S.C. Technical College System, readySC provides a pre-trained and productive workforce from the first day of operations.

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) employment and training services

• Provided through the Trident One-Stop Career System, a public-private partnership offering employment-related services to both job seekers and employers.
• The System operates one-stop centers in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties, and has facilities and meeting spaces available to area businesses to assist with training sessions, recruitment events, business seminars, small to medium conferences, career fairs, and pre-hire and post-hire testing sessions.
• The System also provides services to help eliminate or reduce the costs of employee recruitment, screening and testing, such as WorkKeys®.
• Both on-the-job and classroom programs are available.

Existing industry retraining funds

• South Carolina supports existing companies by offsetting a portion of the cost associated with the retraining of qualifying employees.
• The retraining must be approved and coordinated by our local technical college under the jurisdiction of the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education.
• Companies may be reimbursed up to $500 per employee per year (not to exceed $2,000 per employee over five years).
• To qualify, companies must match on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
• An application to the Coordinating Council for Economic Development is required for consideration ($500 application fee).