Manufacturing is The Economic Backbone of our State
- The average salary for a manufacturing job is $71,123; the average salary for other jobs in the state of South Carolina is $43,939.
- The manufacturing sector employs 239,500 – approximately 12% of all South Carolinians.
- There are more than 5,000 manufacturing businesses in our state.
- Manufacturing’s share of South Carolina’s GSP (Gross State Product) is $35.16 Billion. That’s 16.8% of the state’s entire GDP.
- In 2016, South Carolina manufacturers exported $30.7 billion in total goods; that’s 97% of all exports.
- Nearly 48% of South Carolina goods go to neighboring NAFTA countries.
- Almost 29.9% of all manufacturing jobs in SC depend on exports for their jobs.
- Small businesses comprised 85% of all exporters in South Carolina in 2016.
Sources: The National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the South Carolina Department of Commerce.