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South Carolina jobs and job market: layoffs, colleges and workforce help

South Carolina’s unemployment rate is 4.0%. 2,379 open professional jobs are listed here. Employers filed 48 layoff notices in the last 12 months. Choose a county or city for the same picture closer to home.

Independent page. Not from or affiliated with the State of South Carolina.

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South Carolina economy

  • 4.0%

    unemployment, Sep 2026

    4.7% the month before

  • 2,679,964

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 5,212,774

    people in South Carolina

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $66,818

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 38%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

South Carolina outlook: Building

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

  • Private-sector jobs up 4.4% from 2022 to 2025
  • Population up 8.5% from 2020 to 2025
  • Unemployment 3.7%, down 0.8 points from a year ago
  • Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+32,115 jobs), construction (+12,228 jobs)
  • Sectors losing the most jobs: admin & staffing (−10,670 jobs), transportation & warehousing (−3,232 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in South Carolina. Each link goes to the publisher.

Learn and get funded in South Carolina

South Carolina layoffs

  • 48

    Layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 5,552

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 41

    employers

Layoff notices filed in South Carolina, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
Family EndeavorsTakes effect Dec 31, 2026Statewide - Multiple Counties 40 County16LayoffState record
FosterTakes effect Oct 25, 2026Horry County16ClosureState record
Hudson-BW GSP JVTakes effect Dec 14, 2026Greenville 38 County68ClosureState record
Hudson-BW GSP JVTakes effect Dec 14, 2026Greenville County68ClosureState record
Grunt StyleTakes effect Nov 30, 2026Horry County7—State record
DP WorldTakes effect Oct 31, 2026Spartanburg County205—State record
The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & SpaTakes effect Nov 3, 2026Beaufort County157—State record
Healthcare SC, LLCTakes effect Aug 28, 2026Fairfield County254—State record
PepsiCoTakes effect Oct 18, 2026Richland County105—State record
Electrolux Consumer Products, Inc.Takes effect Dec 22, 2026Anderson County10—State record

All layoff notices in the state

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Employers hiring most in South Carolina

Employers with the most open professional roles on our job board right now.

  1. Vertiv Holdings76 open roles
  2. Scout Motors45 open roles
  3. Westinghouse Electric36 open roles
  4. The Nuclear Company30 open roles
  5. Eaton26 open roles
  6. Scientific Research25 open roles
  7. State of South Carolina23 open roles
  8. Mcleod Health22 open roles
  9. Veterans Health Administration22 open roles
  10. Trane U.s.21 open roles
  11. Medical University of South Carolina20 open roles
  12. United Community Banks20 open roles

Higher education in South Carolina

  • 36

    public and private non-profit colleges

    Source: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education

  • about 269,000

    students enrolled

    Estimated from size bands

Largest colleges in South Carolina

Largest colleges in South Carolina
CollegeCityTypeStudents
Clemson UniversityClemsonPublic 4-year20,000+
University of South Carolina-ColumbiaColumbiaPublic 4-year20,000+
Coastal Carolina UniversityConwayPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
College of CharlestonCharlestonPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Anderson UniversityAndersonPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Benedict CollegeColumbiaPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Bob Jones UniversityGreenvillePrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Charleston Southern UniversityCharlestonPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Citadel Military College of South CarolinaCharlestonPublic 4-year1,000–4,999
Claflin UniversityOrangeburgPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Coker UniversityHartsvillePrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Columbia CollegeColumbiaPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999

All 36 South Carolina colleges

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving South Carolina. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in South Carolina? How to file for unemployment in South Carolina (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

39 American Job Centers in South Carolina

Job fairs and business events in South Carolina

Hiring events, career workshops, small-business counseling and startup events from chambers, job centers, workforce boards, colleges and economic-development groups in South Carolina.

Conferences in South Carolina

Industry conferences and trade shows held in South Carolina, the ones worth a trip for hiring managers and job seekers. 11 with dates announced.

All conferences

South Carolina counties

Each county page has its own unemployment, layoffs, job openings, employers, colleges and job centers.

Show all 46

South Carolina cities

Cities with open jobs, layoff notices, a job center or a college.

Show all 87

Laid off or looking for work in South Carolina?

See what to do first, what South Carolina unemployment benefits pay, and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS for population, income and unemployment; layoff notices from South Carolina’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. South Carolina unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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