Taking a drive through town you can’t miss the “now hiring” signs. They appear to be everywhere. The Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce is hearing from our members about the labor shortage from nearly every sector and industry. 

Wednesday, the Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber hosted its monthly Morning Power Hour with Jacki Renegar, Director of Research & Business Intelligence for the Charleston Regional Development Alliance.

We wanted to know where the workforce has gone and what we can expect of our future employees.  The answers Wednesday were surprising.

The data on national and state-wide quit rates show that more and more people are leaving their jobs.  But the higher quit rate doesn’t mean people are leaving the labor pool, according to Renegar.

While the nation hasn’t recovered to pre-COVID levels of employment, South Carolina has. 

“We are experiencing a “great reshuffle” in the tri-county region”, Renegar explained. 

The number of people working in 2018 compared to November 2021 is 5,000 people larger. Put simply, more people are working than before the pandemic in South Carolina.  So technically we don’t have a labor shortage.

Then why is it so difficult to hire?  There are three key issues facing employers. 

We are experiencing an entrepreneurial boom.  More and more people are becoming self-employed. 

“The driving reason there appears to be less employable people is that more people are beginning their own businesses,” Renegar explained.

 Data on new business applications shows major jumps. For example, there was a 40% increase in 2020 in EIN number applications, and we’re trending to see similar records in 2021. 

 But there is a major portion of our workforce that is leaving employment.

 Baby boomers are leaving the workforce in droves. A record number of boomers left the workforce in 2020. Experts predict that some of these older workers will return to the workforce with time.  But right now, their absence is being felt in dramatic ways.

 There is also a major increase in remote work applications. Surveys show workers prefer the flexibility of working remotely. Charleston ranked #2 in the nation for job applications for remote work, according to a LinkedIn analysis. The prevalence of remote work nationwide is 3 to 4 times higher than it was before COVID.  The appeal of working remotely is making it hard for local employers to secure employees.

 Ways to address retention and hiring:

• Wage increase for new hires and current employees
• Bonuses
• Lower education requirements
• Increased training
• Offering flexibility
• Recruitment of new demographics

Predictions for the future workforce are bright.

Unlike much of the nation, South Carolina has a strong workforce over the age of 16.  The state also has a strong demographic of people under 16 years old. That means there will be a strong future workforce.  What’s more, the state has a more educated workforce than the national average.  This makes the state attractive to new companies to establish or relocate to the region. Thus, the outlook for our economy is strong.

 We also need migration.

 Since birth rates are declining in the state and nationally, we will need a continuous stream of people moving to South Carolina. Currently, 33 people migrate to the Charleston region per day.  These educated, young people relocating to the region are a big plus for companies looking to set up shop.

About our speaker: 

Jacki Renegar Jacki is Director of Research & Business Intelligence for the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. She has worked in economic development and community research for more than 30  years and is one of about fifty Certified Economic Research Professionals nationwide. In this role, she helps compile economic, demographic and business data that demonstrate that the Charleston region is a great place to live, work and do business. Originally from Wilson NC, Jacki holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a market research concentration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.