Charleston | SC | USA

Labor & Employment Stats

The Charleston region offers local employers a growing pool of 400,000+ skilled workers. The region’s education and workforce training system continues to build a solid base of technically-skilled workers in engineering, information technology and more.

Civilian Workforce

Civilian Workforce20112021% ChangeForecast 2022Forecast 2023
Labor Force337,386395,92317.4%407,801416,365
Employed308,175381,61023.8%393,936399,294
Unemployed29,21114,313-13,86517,071
Unemployment Rate (%)8.7%3.6%-3.4%4.1%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Forecast from Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, 11/2022

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Expanded Labor Pool

Expanded Labor Pool
Commuters into MSA68,300
Commuters out of MSA60,300
Military Retirees15,000
Annual Post-Secondary Degrees Conferred 8,500
Annual High School Graduates 6,500
Source: U.S. Census Bureau and S.C. Department of Education, 2022

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Employment by Industry

NAICS = North American Industry Classification System; Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (CES).

Unionization Rate

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