More companies, fewer workers, higher pay: Here’s the job scene in York, nearby counties
There still aren’t as many York, Lancaster and Chester county workers as there were before COVID-19, but there are more businesses for today’s workers to choose from and higher wages for the work.
The tri-county area mirrored those statewide trends shown with recently released job data for fourth quarter 2021. The most accurate numbers to date show how counties and industries have recovered from the pandemic in the past two years.
Here are several key takeaways:
What are these job numbers?
The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce reports economic data monthly. Those figures come from a survey of employers. Statewide estimates are determined for jobs, wages and industry participation totals. County or regional totals are updated, some monthly and some less often.
The workforce department and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also release quarterly figures. That data is an actual count and provides more accurate figures. The quarterly data is what now shows the economic climate in South Carolina and each of its counties, compared to the final quarter before COVID-19 hit.
Neither set of numbers includes contractors or people who are self-employed, since those workers don’t pay unemployment insurance taxes.
“It is worth noting that, if anything, these figures likely understate job creation in South Carolina,” said Bryan Grady, labor market information division director with the state workforce department.
Local area unemployment data estimates actually show about 50,000 more people at work statewide now than just prior to the pandemic, Grady said in a release with the new data. The official count figures from the state and federal labor offices don’t reflect that many workers.
“The volume of data produced by the (official count) program is simply immense, but it does not include data on people who decided to bet on themselves and work as a proprietor or contractor during the pandemic,” Grady said.
York, Lancaster, Chester job ranks
York County had 7,392 businesses at the end of 2021. Only Charleston, Greenville, Horry, Lexington and Richland counties had more. The 101,767 York County jobs was seventh highest in the state. The average weekly wage of $1,117 was ninth highest.
Lancaster County ranked No. 18 statewide in both businesses (1,778) and jobs (25,891), but came in ahead of York County and at No. 7 overall in average weekly wage at $1,137.
Chester County came in at No. 31 in businesses (593), No. 29 in jobs (9,737) and No. 18 in average weekly wage ($1,012).
Chester County was slightly below the state average weekly wage of $1,101 while York and Lancaster counties were above it.
Pandemic job recovery
Unemployment claims across South Carolina returned to pre-pandemic levels and have remained there, largely, since mid-2021. Claims spiked at the beginning of pandemic business closures, in spring 2020, to almost 50 times what they were before COVID, or are today. York, Lancaster and Chester counties saw roughly the same trends.
The new data shows Lancaster (17%) and York (13%) above the 10% state average in business growth from fourth quarter 2019 to fourth quarter 2021. Chester County businesses grew by 7%.
The number of workers in that time is down 1.7% in Chester County, 1.2% in Lancaster County and .4% in York County. The state is down .2%.
The average weekly wage in South Carolina increased 18% in those two years. York County is up 19%. Lancaster County is up 16%, and Chester County up 8%.
Every county in South Carolina saw average wage increases in that span. All but four saw total businesses increase.
“This is another indication that our state’s labor market is showing incredible strength as we enter the third year of economic recovery,” said state workforce department director Dan Ellzey. “South Carolina is a great place to start a business, as many thousands of owners have discovered, and our workers are benefiting from the prosperity that is being created.”
Job growth by industry
Statewide, the most businesses come in the professional/technical services, retail, healthcare and construction fields. The most jobs come in healthcare, retail, manufacturing and accommodation/food service. The highest average weekly wage comes in company management, utilities, professional/technical services, wholesale, finance/insurance and information.
The biggest gains in new business came in professional/technical services and healthcare. Hospitality, perhaps hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, employed about 268,000 workers before the pandemic. Arts, entertainment, recreation and related jobs dropped to about 155,000 workers when COVID unemployment spiked in April 2020.
“Today, nearly all those jobs have returned, and average weekly wages are up more than 20 percent,” said workforce department research and planning administrator Brandi Caldwell.
York, Chester, Lancaster employment
As of April, York County had an unemployment rate of 2.6%. Lancaster County sat at 3% and Chester County at 3.9%. The state rate was 3.3%.
The three-county region had an unemployment rate at 2.9% in 2019, then saw it jump to 6.2% in 2020 when the pandemic hit. It recovered somewhat in 2021 to 4%.
The three counties, listed as the Catawba region in workforce data, had almost 8,200 job openings in April. That total is the highest for a month in at least a year.
Manufacturing, administrative support/waste management and finance/insurance accounted for the most unemployment claims in the Catawba region in April. Yet more claims were listed as an unknown industry than any listed industry.
As of the end of last year, the Catawba region had 14 employers with 1,000 or more workers. Those companies combine for more than 24,000 workers. More than 6,200 companies in the Catawba region — two-thirds of all companies — employ four or fewer workers. More than 8,000 people work at those companies.
Retail, manufacturing, accommodation/food service and education are the largest employment fields in the three counties. The most job openings are for nurses, retail, retail supervisors and customer service representatives.
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 12:31 PM with the headline "More companies, fewer workers, higher pay: Here’s the job scene in York, nearby counties."
