The Big Picture

Key: Columbia MSA Peer Average U.S. Average

Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

A Word from the Economists

As of September 2019, the United States remains in its longest economic growth cycle in recent history – more than 10 years and counting since the Great Recession. During this time, population migration trends have shifted south and west, and to some degree, businesses have followed. We also see a growing concentration of people and employment within major metropolitan areas. Although Columbia has grown in line with some of its peers, at a time when the national gap between high-growth and low-growth regions is expanding, Columbia remains well behind its in-state competitors and other high-growth areas across the Southeast.

Year-Over-Year Employment Growth Rate | 2006-2018

Source | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Household Income | 2006-2017

Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

This is perhaps most easily observed by comparing Columbia’s overall rate of employment growth to that of the other in-state major metropolitan regions – most notably Greenville and Charleston. Since 2010, Columbia’s annual employment growth has been approximately 1.7%, which falls significantly below both Greenville (2.2%) and Charleston (2.9%) over the same time period. Since 2016, this gap has increased – with Columbia’s employment growth slowing to 0.4% as compared with growth in Greenville and Charleston at 1.6% and 2.2%, respectively. More broadly, Columbia currently ranks last among its regional competitors in employment growth within traded clusters. Weak employment growth, in turn, limits both income and GDP growth.