The Big Picture

Key: Columbia MSA Peer Average U.S. Average

GDP Annual Growth Rate | 2006 - 2017

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

Household Income | 2006-2017

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.

Talent

A region’s ability to attract, develop and maintain a vibrant and skilled workforce

116

The Metrics

GDP per Worker: Measures a regional workforce’s productivity

7th/10

STEM Degrees:

Percentage of degrees awarded in science, technology, engineering and math

8th/10

STEM Salaries: Weighted average salaries in STEM occupations

9th/10

Knowledge Workers:

Percentage of population employed in knowledge-intensive occupations such as management, legal and STEM

5th/10

Educational Attainment:

Percentage of population with: Associate’s degree

7th/10

Bachelor’s degree or higher

Global Talent:

Percentage of population that is foreignborn

5th/10 7th/10

Observations

• Despite a ranking of 9th out of 10, STEM salaries in Columbia have trended positively over the past several years; a strong labor market should continue to drive improvement.

• Per capita GDP is moving in the wrong direction, likely tied to the increasingly high proportion of locally focused service jobs in sectors like retail and hospitality.

• Columbia’s proportion of knowledge workers has decreased steadily since the first report — not out of line with most of our peers, but also not growing in line with the national average as jobs across all sectors become increasingly tech-intensive.

• Columbia is already producing qualified talent (over 68,000 total higher education students), but we’re losing college graduates to positions outside the region. Meanwhile, our competitors are focusing on attracting those graduates to their regions to fill unmet workforce needs.

• Tennessee has made technical college free to qualifying in-state students, boosting Knoxville’s educational attainment ranking as well as their long-term pipeline.

Brag

The University of South Carolina is producing higherachieving talent than ever before. The Darla Moore School of Business, a key source for regionally important sectors such as financial services, supply chain and logistics management and professional services, achieved outstanding results in 2019.

1,086UNDERGRADS

84% Attained its highest job placement rate

Inspiration

Talent Development in Des Moines

In Iowa, the Greater Des Moines (DSM) Partnership serves as the primary regional development organization. Without a major research university to supply the region’s talent needs, the DSM Partnership has focused on talent attraction as a key part of its economic development strategy, taking a proactive approach to building Des Moines’ brand. Each year, the DSM Partnership travels to colleges and universities around the country to showcase opportunities and livability in the Des Moines region. It also provides resources such as intern retention and community engagement programs designed to keep talented employees in the region.

Opportunity

In an economic environment with high talent demand, we have the capacity to supply a greater number of businesses with educated employees. Columbia must develop a purposeful approach to retaining these graduates - and that strategy must include recruiting companies in desperate need of young talent. At the same time, we can engage these new graduates and early-career professionals by connecting them to each other and to the community through social and professional opportunities.

18-24 Ages 25-34

29,272

13,402

13,271

14,604

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $57,837 Received the highest avg. starting salaries to date

18,833

11,783

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In addition to our large base of college-age students, Columbia has been successful in attracting young professionals due to a high-value lifestyle, stable economy and wide array of diverse amenities. Source | Annual Migration Patterns, U.S. Census Bureau, 2017