NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Welcome to the April 2023 issue of Trends! How many South Carolinians work in hospitals? Turn to page 19 to find out.

On May 18, the U S Census Bureau released its new population estimates by municipality A new city entered the top ten largest in South Carolina, as Greer surpassed Florence for tenth place. This reflects the growth and dynamism of the Upstate region, but also the fact that this prosperity has not necessarily reached all parts of the state

To that end, DEW launched its SC@Work Road Trip last month Ashlyn Chastain and Wylondria Jefferson from LMI were on the bus as we visited six stops across the northeast part of the state, from a job fair at South of the Border to town halls in Clio and McColl We’re dedicated to helping match employers and jobseekers in all 46 counties, and the SC@Work Road Trip will be visiting rural communities all over the state throughout the year

In this month’s featured article, Leah Price provides a deep dive into the automotive industry From the day BMW broke ground in Spartanburg County through this year’s announcement that Scout Motors would be opening its new plant in Blythewood, building cars and trucks – and their parts – has been a major source of employment and wages throughout South Carolina Read on to learn more

You can reach me and my team via email at lmicustomerservice@dew.sc.gov No question is too big or too small for us to tackle … and you’re already paying our salaries anyway, so don’t hesitate to reach out!

Bryan P Grady, Ph D Assistant Executive Director for Labor Market Information SC Department of Employment and Workforce