SC manufacturing GDP rises as jobs decline, study shows

A new study shows that U.S. manufacturing has become more productive but less labor-intensive over the past two decades, including in South Carolina.

The report revealed that South Carolina experienced a 21% decrease in manufacturing jobs from 2020 to 2024, while its real manufacturing GDP grew by 36%. South Carolina shed over 71,000 manufacturing jobs during that timeframe.

In 2020, manufacturing accounted for 22% of the state’s workforce. In 2024, that number dropped to 14%.

Overall, the state ranks 25th in the US. in percentage change in manufacturing employment.

The report is from ETQ, a quality management platform for the manufacturing sector, which analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The report provided rational for the rise in production but decrease in jobs, with technology being a big factor with the rise in automation and artificial intelligence. Offshoring also plays a big role.

The majority of states increased their manufacturing GDP while shedding jobs, pointing to rising productivity and a shift toward advanced, less labor-intensive manufacturing, the report stated.

Overall in the U.S., despite a loss of over 4.5 million manufacturing jobs since 2000, real manufacturing GDP grew by 45%, revealing a sharp disconnect between employment and output, according to the report.

Food and beverage manufacturing were the only sectors to see net job growth; tech and printing sectors suffered the biggest losses, according to the report. More than 750,000 computer and electronics manufacturing jobs and over 450,000 printing jobs disappeared between 2000 and 2024.

Click here to view the full report.

The post SC manufacturing GDP rises as jobs decline, study shows appeared first on SC Biz News.