{"id":707,"date":"2026-05-30T11:07:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T11:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=707"},"modified":"2026-05-30T11:07:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T11:07:18","slug":"sc-economy-is-no-slouch-new-federal-report-puts-it-above-all-but-2-other-states-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=707","title":{"rendered":"SC economy is no slouch. New federal report puts it above all but 2 other states. Here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Is South Carolina\u2019s economy thriving?<\/p>\n

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Many South Carolinians don\u2019t think so, at least not currently. In a recent Winthrop poll, which had over 1,400 respondents, the majority of people rated the economy as bad, with half saying that they are not as well off financially as they were a year ago.<\/p>\n

Read more This historic, $28M SC mansion for sale lets you live in Charleston in opulent luxury. Take a look<\/a><\/p>\n

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Increases in grocery prices, health care and housing costs were the main issues residents cited in the poll.<\/p>\n

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\u201cConsumer sentiment remains very low, and the primary reason for that is because of rising prices and high inflation,\u201d said Joseph Von Nessen, a research economist at UofSC.<\/p>\n

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Even though costs are up for the average consumer, SC\u2019s economy is currently experiencing stable growth, according to Von Nessen, a trend that has continued over the last several years.<\/p>\n

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And in a recently released study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state\u2019s economic activity in 2025 was shown to be even more impressive. SC was revealed to have one of the nation\u2019s highest growth rates in economic output, outpacing nearly every other state in the country.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s everything you should know about the report:<\/p>\n

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What is economic output?<\/h2>\n

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You might think that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and economic output are the same, but they are two different measures of economic activity.<\/p>\n

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GDP is the total economic value that\u2019s added at the national level from finished<\/b> goods and services, while economic output measures the value of all<\/b> sales of goods and services and is the sum of final purchases and intermediate inputs, resulting in the double counting of intermediate purchases.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s how much SC\u2019s economic output grew last year:<\/p>\n

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SC\u2019s 2025 output rank<\/h2>\n

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Output increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2025, but SC\u2019s growth rate was only outmatched by two other states, Alaska (3.8%) and Florida (3.7%).<\/p>\n

Read more This SC county\u2019s cops using private video under new program to solve crimes. How it works<\/a><\/p>\n

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SC had the 3rd<\/b> highest growth in output, increasing by 3.6% year-over-year.<\/p>\n

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What factors caused this growth?<\/h2>\n

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Von Nessen said that the main reason SC\u2019s economic output grew so fast last year was due to the state\u2019s boom in population. Multiple cities in SC, such as Greer and Columbia, had thousands of additional residents settle down in 2025.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPopulation growth has been both evidence of South Carolina\u2019s success and one of the forces driving it,\u201d he said. \u201cSouth Carolina was the number one state in terms of population growth in 2025, and that generates very positive upward gains for the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When more people move into a state, businesses see an opportunity to grow and expand, generating broad-based demand across most industry sectors, which in turn increases output growth.<\/p>\n

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For example, the state\u2019s export sales grew by 1.5% in 2025, reaching $38.5 billion, which is the highest recorded value in seven years, according to a report from the SC Department of Commerce and SC Ports.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSouth Carolina once again led the country in the export of passenger vehicles and tires, reflecting the strength of our manufacturing industry. Reaching the highest export value in seven years is the result of a skilled workforce and the confidence global markets place in products made in our state,\u201d Gov. Henry McMaster said in a press release.<\/p>\n

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SC\u2019s productivity and other stats<\/h2>\n

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SC\u2019s output growth was impressive, but there were other notable data points in the report.<\/p>\n

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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, SC\u2019s nonfarm sector employed 2,171,103 people in 2025, and labor productivity increased by 3.0% year-over-year. Labor productivity is a measure that \u201ccompares economic output against the amount of labor required to produce that output,\u201d according to Investopedia.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018He\u2019s got a gun!\u2019 Witness testifies about moments leading up to SC teen\u2019s death<\/a><\/p>\n

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Here are the other annual changes that happened in 2025, the report found:<\/p>\n

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