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Low Unemployment Rate in Greenville County

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This blurb in the Greenville News says it all about the economy in Greenville. A steady increase in the number of employed, and more diversity among the workforce. We already know Greenville County is the most populated in the state of South Carolina, and that it has grown more than any other county, except Horry, since 2000. I would say the job market here could easily be one of the best in the Southeast, not to mention one of the best places to relocate from other cities. What do you all think and is this trend going to continue? Are the GADC reports of "new projects" going to become a daily or weekly routine?
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Greenville City

Greenville

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What a depressing article! Based on this, Columbia, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach are creating all of these great jobs (more than twice the number Greenville has), with happy and satisfied workers. Meanwhile, Greenville supposedly has thousands of people who can't find work.

I don't buy it. At least not all of it. I do agree that Greenville is transitioning from an over-reliance on low-wage mill jobs and textiles to a more diversified and service-oriented economy. And that definitely takes time. However, I am not convinced that it is that hard to find a job in Greenville compared to Columbia, Charleston, or Myrtle Beach.

I would love to know more about the 4,000+ jobs that Columbia, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach have created. I would like to know the average wages of those jobs, as well as the education needed to be hired. I would also like to know more about the 1,800 Greenville created. Do the four metros have the same standards for reporting new jobs?

This is not a case of me blindly dismissing an unfavorable statistic regarding my hometown. If the numbers truly show that the article is as accurate as they portray it to be, I will accept it. But I simply have a hard time believing that a place like Charleston, with its heavy reliance on tourism, is a healthier economy than Greenville (even with the loss of textile jobs).

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GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

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http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...EWS01/605210342

-Reading from this article, I never realized how far Greenville was behind Charleston, Columbia, and Myrtle Beach until now. :blink:

But I believe that their numbers were to catch up with us, not pass us even more. If my source isn't old, then Charleston is barely ahead and Columbia is tied with us at 5.5. I don't know about the others.

Remember that a lot of the announcements of new jobs will be kicking in this year, so I expect a huge surge coming our way.

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krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

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What a depressing article! Based on this, Columbia, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach are creating all of these great jobs (more than twice the number Greenville has), with happy and satisfied workers. Meanwhile, Greenville supposedly has thousands of people who can't find work.

I don't buy it. At least not all of it. I do agree that Greenville is transitioning from an over-reliance on low-wage mill jobs and textiles to a more diversified and service-oriented economy. And that definitely takes time. However, I am not convinced that it is that hard to find a job in Greenville compared to Columbia, Charleston, or Myrtle Beach.

I would love to know more about the 4,000+ jobs that Columbia, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach have created. I would like to know the average wages of those jobs, as well as the education needed to be hired. I would also like to know more about the 1,800 Greenville created. Do the four metros have the same standards for reporting new jobs?

This is not a case of me blindly dismissing an unfavorable statistic regarding my hometown. If the numbers truly show that the article is as accurate as they portray it to be, I will accept it. But I simply have a hard time believing that a place like Charleston, with its heavy reliance on tourism, is a healthier economy than Greenville (even with the loss of textile jobs).

You make good points, and some of this was discussed in the "South Carolina's Economic Engine" thread in the SC forum. Firstly, I think that this graphic reflects the findings reported in the article:

jobs0405.gif

But if you look at the following graphic, it sheds some light on things:

investment2005.gif

It's important to note that both graphics define regions differently, and the second graphic doesn't take job losses into account.

As far as the types of jobs created in each region, I'm more than certain that as far as Myrtle Beach is concerned, the majority of the jobs are construction- and tourism-related. But there will also be an increase in the general service sector as the population of that area continues to swell.

I think Charleston still gets a lot of unneccessary flack over tourism. While it is undoubtedly the #1 money-maker down there, Charleston's economy is really diversified. Health care comprises a significant portion of the local economy, and as the metro area begins to grow, these services will be in much more demand. Let's also not forget the aerospace/biotech related industries, as well as manufacturing. As a matter of fact, in just about any economic-related ranking, Charleston usually ranks first in SC.

And while Columbia still gets beat up on about government jobs, the capital isn't moving anywhere. As a matter of fact, certain government-related aspects of local economies often cause them to rank pretty high in national rankings. I used to be perplexed about Knoxville's relatively high rankings in economic listings, but the Oak Ridge National Laboratory gives the city quite a bump. Also, take Huntsville, a city known for its high concentration of scientists and engineers. The govenment-related aerospace sector plays a huge role in that city's economy. So government, of whatever kind, gives a city great stability and a pretty good base from which to launch other industries.

As far as pay goes, that's hard to tell--however, per capita income could tell at least part of the story here.

I guess job losses are the biggest thing working against Greenville here. I hear more about that in Greenville and the Pee Dee than in the Midlands and the Lowcountry.

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distortedlogic Town

distortedlogic

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Don't lose too much heart. The article talks of job "growth" which is a net gain. All the losses plus all the gains. Don't underestimate the thousands of jobs that Gville metro (as well as Sptbg and Anderson) has lost over hte past 5 years. Given that it has lost so many jobs, it is a wonder we have a positive gain at all. I would say Gville has done a pretty good job at gaining considereing all the losses. Add to that all the people moving into the area means there are more people looking. So we have had a small net gain compared to our growth which would explain the frustrated seekers. I imagine not all areas of the nation that relied heavily on manufacturing have done as well. The other parts of the state did not have nearly the losses we have had so naturally their net gains would be much more. Also, most of the jobs announced, ICAR, South Fin., even Verdae will take years to fill, which means it will not happen fast. We need a few announcements that include some quick positions. I would expect this trend to continue for awhile as companies will continue to close and go overseas. :(

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