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USC economist Doug Woodward says employment growth, not the unemployment rate, is the best indicator of economic progress. Columbia is in the state's top three metros this year in the category of total employment growth, at 1.9%. The area's retail employment growth is up by 7%.
More jobs, better pay, stronger home values predicted - Business - TheState.com (http://www.thestate.com/2011/12/08/2072827/2012-looking-pretty-good.html - broken link)
USC economist Doug Woodward says employment growth, not the unemployment rate, is the best indicator of economic progress. Columbia is in the state's top three metros this year in the category of total employment growth, at 1.9%. The area's retail employment growth is up by 7%.
More jobs, better pay, stronger home values predicted - Business - TheState.com (http://www.thestate.com/2011/12/08/2072827/2012-looking-pretty-good.html - broken link)
Since this is a South Carolina thread and not a city thread, I'll share the above article and an earlier post of mine from the Columbia thread. So far in 2011, Myrtle Beach, Anderson and Columbia have been hot as well. The attached article has stats from all S.C. metros for this year. Charleston has done very well over the past five years, as the Millken report shows, but some success in other S.C. metros seems to be kicking in now.
Metro Columbia gained 3,200 jobs from October to November and 8,700 jobs from November 2010 to November 2011. These gains mark the best performance of the state's three major metros by far. As stated by USC's economists at their annual assessment and predictions conference, the best measure of economic growth is total employment growth, not the unemployment rate, and Columbia is doing relatively well in total employment growth this year. I live in the here and now, so I'm good with this.
USC economist Doug Woodward says employment growth, not the unemployment rate, is the best indicator of economic progress. Columbia is in the state's top three metros this year in the category of total employment growth, at 1.9%. The area's retail employment growth is up by 7%.
More jobs, better pay, stronger home values predicted - Business - TheState.com (http://www.thestate.com/2011/12/08/2072827/2012-looking-pretty-good.html - broken link)
This is true.....many who move to the top cities for relocation looking for a job also bring their unemployment with them. Charlotte adds about 55k residents each year which keeps the unemployment rate higher than average. This also distorts the rankings that some on these boards love to advertise....this is what Brookings and others do not capture in the snapshot economic rankings.
The one metric that has to be addressed is educational attainment. Richland County is close to 40% (which correlates to the higher income levels relative to other SC cities) but, many other SC counties are way behind, some are still in the teens.....not good for the future.
...yet Columbia was rated as having one of the top 20 worst private sector job growth rates over the last 12 months. The main reason given was Columbia (like other metros on the list) is too dependent upon government jobs. Not bashing the area, just pointing out that Columbia needs a more diverse economy. Recent announcements indicate that a lot of decent and good jobs are coming your way.
Far as education attainment and pay rates, I'd argue that the over-inflated public employee wages for federal and many state employees there skews the numbers some.
...yet Columbia was rated as having one of the top 20 worst private sector job growth rates over the last 12 months. The main reason given was Columbia (like other metros on the list) is too dependent upon government jobs. Not bashing the area, just pointing out that Columbia needs a more diverse economy. Recent announcements indicate that a lot of decent and good jobs are coming your way.
Far as education attainment and pay rates, I'd argue that the over-inflated public employee wages for federal and many state employees there skews the numbers some.
What are you comparing state salaries with? This is the first time I have ever heard anyone talking about high government salaries. You will never hear a Duke MBA getting excited about the pay at a government job. Not that government jobs are bad, there are a lot of useless positions in the private sector, government positions just are not as lucrative.
Columbia has a large number of people working in the professional service sectors which would include lawyers. I see this as having a larger impact on
higher wages than governmental employees. I agree that Columbia needs
more diversity in employment, however the percentage of governmental
employees is dropping relative to other sectors.
As for job growth, one year is not a trend. YOY job growth has been very positive as pointed out in the links above. Many of the studies noted on this board had an IT component which can be cyclical unless you are Raleigh.
Multi year job growth has led the state in many instances, especially in the private sector. Charleston will lead the state for a few years, but the higher educational levels in Columbia give Columbia an advantage when recruiting new companies. It should do well in the coming years.
...yet Columbia was rated as having one of the top 20 worst private sector job growth rates over the last 12 months. The main reason given was Columbia (like other metros on the list) is too dependent upon government jobs. Not bashing the area, just pointing out that Columbia needs a more diverse economy. Recent announcements indicate that a lot of decent and good jobs are coming your way.
Far as education attainment and pay rates, I'd argue that the over-inflated public employee wages for federal and many state employees there skews the numbers some.
Link to your source, please. The 8,700 total employment gain was despite government cutbacks and was the most in the state, so where's your source saying private sector job growth was the one of the 20 worst?
Since there is some debate about Columbia's employment situation, here are the employment numbers straight from the Labor Bureau. In 1990, the labor force totaled 289.7k, in 2000 - 348.1k, 2005 - 359.2k, 2010 - 343.7k & November 2011 - 352.4k. Columbia gained 8,700 (2.53%) jobs between 2010 & 2011 (from a total employment base of 343.7 to 352.4). Since the government sector as a % of total declined in that period (2010 to 2011) from 22.84% to 22.22%, these positions were added in the private sector. It is worth noting that government positions as a % of total for Columbia has declined since 1990 (from 24.96 to 22.22) as the region diversifies. Since Howard is from Greenville, in 1990, the total labor force was 245.8k, 2000 - 313.7k, 2005 - 306.5k, 2010 - 298.4k & November 2011 - 301.3. Greenville gained 2,900 jos in the past year or .97%. The Government positions as a percent of total increased from 12.25% in 1990 to 13.77% in November 2011.
Thank you, GSP101. Does anyone have you on ignore? At any rate, South Carolina's cities and what makes them tick are an interesting study.
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