By Jessica Holdman
SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA – South Carolinians considering their career options should look into computer and math-focused jobs and health care support. Those are the fields the state employment agency predicts will dominate the next decade.
The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce expects employment in these fields to see the greatest rate of increase in employment —nearly 24% — in the state by 2032. That’s more than 31,600 new workers, according to a biennial analysis of federal labor data recently published by the agency.
National trends reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the health care sector and industries such as child care and social work are projected to grow the most rapidly of any in the nation, accounting for just shy of half of all job gains in the country.
In the Palmetto State, the state employment agency expects more than 100,000 people will be working in health care positions that include home health aides, nursing assistants, physical therapy aides and dental assistants.
The average wage for these jobs in South Carolina is just shy of $17 per hour, according to the agency’s latest data. Education requirements range from a high school diploma to an associate’s degree.
But as demand for these jobs grow, says Joey Von Nessen, an economist with the University of South Carolina, people should watch for those wages to rise, much like wages paid to restaurant and hospitality workers have gone up since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The bottom line is that certain employers are going to have the financial resources to raise, pay and attract and retain workers that way,” Von Nessen said.
For those employers that can’t afford wage hikes, it might require non-financial benefits, such as more flexible schedules.
There will also be higher demand for nurse practitioners and health services managers, who serve in a more administrative role, just not as high as other health care fields, according to state and national data.
Nurse practitioners require a master’s degree and earn $56 per hour on average in South Carolina. Health service managers need a bachelor’s degree and earn nearly $61 per hour on average.
When it comes to computer and math-related jobs, data scientists, statisticians and information security analysts are expected to be in the greatest demand, state and national reports show. The average wages for these jobs range from $37-$57 per hour.
State employment agency analysts expect computer and math-related companies to employ upwards of 63,000 people in the state by 2023.
Tapped by legislators to spearhead South Carolina’s workforce strategy, the state Department of Employment and Workforce recently launched a new career exploration website in hopes of increasing awareness among students, parents, educators and job seekers about job opportunities.
On the website, the agency shares the story of Calvin Gough, a 52-year-old information security analyst.
“It’s my job to protect our company’s computer systems and data from hackers and other cyber threats,” Gough’s story goes. “It’s almost the perfect combination of being a detective and playing a video game all day. It’s challenging because there are constantly new threats, and no one wants to be on the front page of the paper with a data breach.”
Where South Carolina faces issues is in keeping college graduates in these fields in the state, Von Nessen said. Only about half of these students are staying after graduation, he said.
Data on the number of students receiving diplomas from colleges in the state each year was not immediately available.
Von Nessen said one strategy South Carolina colleges and employers might try is opening up more internships earlier in students’ college career.
“The more that we can connect students with internships that can lead to job opportunities sooner in their education, the more likely we’re going to be able to keep them,” he said. “The employers that can provide opportunities for students. That’s going to be a win because we’re still experiencing a labor shortage … Many employers still are looking for workers and can’t find a sufficient number of them.”
South Carolina’s job market, like the national market, has cooled somewhat, Von Nessen said. The unemployment rate has gone from 3% at the beginning of 2024 to 3.9% in July, according to data published Friday.
But that’s not because people are losing their jobs due to layoffs, Von Nessen said. More people are coming to South Carolina looking for work. It’s just taking them longer to nail down a job.
In fact, South Carolina companies are employing more people than ever before — 2.4 million people were working in the state as of July.
Meanwhile, the state still has 167,000 job openings reported. That includes some 15,000 retail jobs, 9,500 food service jobs and more than 8,000 advertised openings for registered nurses among the industries in need of the largest number of workers.
Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the S.C. Daily Gazette, she was a business reporter for The Post and Courier.
S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
