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April unemployment numbers are out and of the states three large, urban centered counties, both Charleston and Greenville are tied at 5.8. Richland, for some reason, continues to lag at 7.0. Link below:
Don't forget Lexington County, with its lowest-in-the-state unemployment rate and 44% of its workers commuting into Richland County. And don't overlook that Richland County's unemployment rate is falling, and that it is a percentage point below the state's and half a percentage point below the nation's, despite the fact that about 45% of its residents historically have had a high unemployment rate in most places across the nation. It's all about MSAs anyway, and Columbia's unemployment rate is only half a percentage point above Greenville and Charleston's and has added more jobs in the past year. My correspondence with Clemson University's top economist may help you understand. Here it is.
Dear Dr. XXXXXX:
I follow the monthly unemployment reports and anything that has to do with South Carolina and its metros' economies. I notice that the Columbia area hardly gets a mention in discussions about the state's improving unemployment rate or gains in jobs.
I also notice that despite a lot of in-migration to the Columbia area from counties that have high unemployment, the Columbia MSA seems to be keeping pace with the other MSA's in lowering its unemployment rate, and its year-to-year job gains as reflected in the monthly reports seem to be consistently greater than in the state's other metros. Yet it's always all about Greenville and Charleston and BMW and Boeing in the newspaper articles I read.
The report that was just released shows that from last April to last month, the actual employment numbers in the counties that make up the Charleston MSA dropped. Was this despite the Boeing effect? I'm looking out for Columbia because I live here and want it to do well, and an occasional encouraging word about the area would be nice to go along with what I think I'm seeing in the reports.
While Richland County's unemployment rate remains higher than Lexington, Greenville or Charleston County's, it's dropping steadily, despite the fact that a larger percentage of its population has historically suffered from much higher unemployment.
I would believe Columbia doesn't get its due from Clemson economists because of its government and Gamecocks image, but USC economists seem to usually leave Columbia out of the discussion as well. Am I missing something? What do I know? My degree is in English.
Thank you.
Matt--
Thank you for your note. You make a useful point, one that should be taken to heart by people who make comments about the economy. Just this Thursday, I was in Columbia speaking to a meeting of CPAs on the economic outlook. I showed them data for all S.C. MSAs and then for all counties. I pointed out the three pools of prosperity in the state: Low Country, Central Midlands, and Upstate. But noted that the Upstate was the weaker of the three.
Richland/Lexington's private sector doesn't get much attention due to a lack of a dominant industrial facility, such as Boeing or BMW, and due to a large public sector. But the data show that the Central Midlands does indeed have a major manufacturing/knowledge economy sector.
I will include some of this in my next Carolina Digest.
Best wishes to you.
Last edited by Charlestondata; 05-18-2013 at 06:28 PM..
Unemployment in South Carolina's big three counties rose slightly in August:
For the big 3 counties in August 2013:
Charleston County / 6.6
Greenville County / 6.8
Richland County / 8.1
None are great, but the fact that Richland is back over 8% and 1.3 behind Greenville / 1.5 behind Charleston should be of some concern. Not sure if it is government layoffs or what the issue is in Richland? In the link below are the unemployment numbers by county for all South Carolina counties:
Unemployment in South Carolina's big three counties rose slightly in August:
For the big 3 counties in August 2013:
Charleston County / 6.6
Greenville County / 6.8
Richland County / 8.1
None are great, but the fact that Richland is back over 8% and 1.3 behind Greenville / 1.5 behind Charleston should be of some concern. Not sure if it is government layoffs or what the issue is in Richland? In the link below are the unemployment numbers by county for all South Carolina counties:
The issue is that more people are looking for jobs in the metro that has added the most jobs in the state in the last year. As jobs are added and people become encouraged to look for employment again, the unemployment rate ticks up. That's economics 101. And as I've said many times, in a county that's around 45% black, with unemployment being much higher nationally for that demographic, Richland County must be doing something right to have only that much more unemployment than Greenville or Charleston County. And wages in Richland County are still higher than in the other two. And for the Columbia MSA to have added the most jobs out of the three in the last year despite cutbacks in state government, the place you love to hate just keeps on keeping on in a confounding way in the eyes of the haters. And the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley-Anderson MSA's GDP is still smaller than the Columbia MSA's. And last month Greenville County's unemployment rate rose by a greater percentage than Richland County's did; and the Greenville-etc-etc MSA's unemployment rate rose by a greater percentage than the Columbia MSA's did.
Last edited by Charlestondata; 09-22-2013 at 07:56 PM..
The issue is that more people are looking for jobs in the metro that has added the most jobs in the state in the last year. As jobs are added and people become encouraged to look for employment again, the unemployment rate ticks up. That's economics 101. And as I've said many times, in a county that's around 45% black, with unemployment being much higher nationally for that demographic, Richland County must be doing something right to have only that much more unemployment than Greenville or Charleston County. And wages in Richland County are still higher than in the other two. And for the Columbia MSA to have added the most jobs out of the three in the last year despite cutbacks in state government, the place you love to hate just keeps on keeping on in a confounding way in the eyes of the haters. And the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley-Anderson MSA's GDP is still smaller than the Columbia MSA's. And last month Greenville County's unemployment rate rose by a greater percentage than Richland County's did; and the Greenville-etc-etc MSA's unemployment rate rose by a greater percentage than the Columbia MSA's did.
You know the game by now. Don't feed into it. Let folks have their OCD with cities they have some strange, unfounded dislike of.
The issue is that more people are looking for jobs in the metro that has added the most jobs in the state in the last year. As jobs are added and people become encouraged to look for employment again, the unemployment rate ticks up. That's economics 101. And as I've said many times, in a county that's around 45% black, with unemployment being much higher nationally for that demographic, Richland County must be doing something right to have only that much more unemployment than Greenville or Charleston County. And wages in Richland County are still higher than in the other two. And for the Columbia MSA to have added the most jobs out of the three in the last year despite cutbacks in state government, the place you love to hate just keeps on keeping on in a confounding way in the eyes of the haters. And the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley-Anderson MSA's GDP is still smaller than the Columbia MSA's. And last month Greenville County's unemployment rate rose by a greater percentage than Richland County's did; and the Greenville-etc-etc MSA's unemployment rate rose by a greater percentage than the Columbia MSA's did.
I think gsupstate forgot that Columbia is spread across two counties, one of which continues to boast the lowest unemployment in the state! Also boasts one of the highest HHI and some of the best school districts as well.
I think gsupstate forgot that Columbia is spread across two counties, one of which continues to boast the lowest unemployment in the state! Also boasts one of the highest HHI and some of the best school districts as well.
I posted, if you want to read again, about SC's three core counties. If you want to add counties, you are now talking unemployment for metropolitan areas. Feel free to add those numbers. I haven't seen the unemployment numbers by metropolitan area for August.
I posted, if you want to read again, about SC's three core counties. If you want to add counties, you are now talking unemployment for metropolitan areas. Feel free to add those numbers. I haven't seen the unemployment numbers by metropolitan area for August.
Well actually because the county line runs directly through the heart of the city and the City of Columbia sits in both counties, it is actually is considered one of our core counties as well. It would be like id the Reedy River was the county line and everything south of it was in Anderson County.
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