Fastest-growing jobs in SC expected to be in home health, data scientists and cybersecurity • SC Daily Gazette

COLUMBIA — South Carolina residents considering their career options should look for occupations that focus on computers and math, as well as jobs in health care. Those fields will dominate the next decade, according to the state's unemployment agency.

The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce projects that employment in these fields will see the highest job growth in the state, at nearly 24%, through 2032. That's more than 31,600 new workers, according to a recent biennial analysis of federal labor data released by the agency.

According to national trends from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the health care sector, as well as industries such as child care and social work, are expected to be the fastest growing sectors nationwide, accounting for nearly half of all job growth in the country.

In the Palmetto State, the state unemployment agency expects more than 100,000 people to work in health care jobs, including home health aides, nursing assistants, physical therapy assistants and dental assistants.

The average wage for these jobs in South Carolina is just under $17 an hour, according to the agency's latest data. Education requirements range from a high school diploma to an associate degree.

But as demand for these jobs increases, people should look for rising wages, says Joey Von Nessen, an economist at the University of South Carolina – similar to how wages for restaurant and hospitality workers have increased since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The bottom line is that this will provide certain employers with the financial means to recruit, pay, attract and retain employees,” Von Nessen said.

Employers who cannot afford wage increases may need to resort to non-financial benefits such as more flexible working hours.

Demand for trained nurses and health care managers, who perform more of an administrative role, will also increase, according to state and federal data, but not as much as in other areas of health care.

Nurses require a master's degree and earn an average of $56 per hour in South Carolina. Healthcare managers require a bachelor's degree and earn an average of nearly $61 per hour.

When it comes to computer and math jobs, data scientists, statisticians, and information security analysts are expected to be in the highest demand, according to state and national reports. Average wages for these occupations range from $37 to $57 per hour.

Analysts at the state employment agency expect that companies in the computer and mathematics industry will employ more than 63,000 people in the state by 2023.

The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, appointed by lawmakers to lead the workforce strategy, recently launched a new careers website to increase awareness of employment opportunities among students, parents, educators and job seekers.

On the website, the agency tells the story of Calvin Gough, a 52-year-old information security analyst.

“My job is to protect our company's computer systems and data from hackers and other cyber threats,” says Gough. “It's almost the perfect combination of detective work and video games. It's challenging because there are new threats all the time and no one wants to be on the front page of the newspaper with a data breach.”

South Carolina has trouble retaining college graduates in these fields, Von Nessen said. Only about half of those students stay after graduation, he said.

Data on the number of students graduating from colleges in the state each year was not immediately available.

Von Nessen said one strategy colleges and employers in South Carolina could try is to offer students more internships earlier in their college careers.

“The more we can provide students with internships that can get them a job earlier in their education, the more likely we are to be able to retain them,” he said. “The employers that can provide opportunities to students. That will be a win because we still have a labor shortage… A lot of employers are still looking for workers and can't find enough of them.”

The South Carolina job market has cooled somewhat, as has the national market, Von Nessen said, with the unemployment rate falling from 3% at the beginning of 2024 to 3.9% in July, according to data released Friday.

But that's not because people are losing their jobs due to layoffs, says Von Nessen. More and more people are coming to South Carolina in search of work. It's just taking longer for them to find a job.

In fact, South Carolina businesses employ more people than ever before—2.4 million people were employed in the state in July.

At the same time, there are still 167,000 job openings reported in the state. This includes about 15,000 retail jobs, 9,500 food service jobs and more than 8,000 advertised positions for registered nurses, which are among the industries with the greatest need for workers.