Charleston Metro Economy Update August 23, 2017 Prepared by: Ariel Benton, Research Assistant

Transcription

1 Charleston Metro Economy Update August 23, 2017 Prepared by: Ariel Benton, Research Assistant Unemployment As illustrated by the graph below, the unemployment rate for the Nation (civilian unemployment rate), the Charleston Metro Region, and the State of South Carolina have all fallen significantly since the peak of the recession in Over the summer months, unemployment for the three regions remained relatively flat with exception of an increase in the Charleston Metro Region unemployment rate from 3.1% in May to 3.6% in June. Otherwise, the unemployment rates fell marginally. As of month-end June 2017, the civilian unemployment rate was reported to be 4.4%, the State unemployment rate was reported to be 4.0%, and the Charleston Metro Region unemployment rate was reported to be 3.6%. As a whole, the unemployment rates of both the state of South Carolina and the Charleston Metro Region, are considerably lower than the national rate although all are trending downward. Seasonally Adjusted Data 1

2 Date Metro (%) SC (%) US (%)

3 Job Growth The Charleston Metro region has seen steady job growth since the pitfalls of the recession in 2010, with the total non-farm employees rate in the Charleston Metro Region surpassing the pre-recessionary peak rate in The total civilian labor force rate in the Charleston Metro Region has also seen steady growth following 2010, likely due to the influx of large corporations throughout the area that have bolstered job creation. Both total non-farm employees and the civilian labor force in the Charleston Metro Region are highly positively correlated. Seasonally Adjusted Data 3

4 In comparison to the total non-farm employees in the State, the total non-farm employees in the Charleston Metro region has tracked its movement for the last decade, suggesting a positive relationship between the two, but with the Charleston Metro region having almost always performed better than the State as a whole. Beginning in 2008, the percent change in both of these metrics fell to sharp lows of - 5% and -6%, before breaking even again in Both metrics have since remained at/around their prerecessionary values with a few peaks and troughs here and there. Most recently in June, total non-farm employees in the Charleston Metro region was up 1.92% from the year before, while total non-farm employees in the State up was up 1.65% from the year prior. Both appear to be slowing down in terms of year/year growth, however the Charleston area continues to outperform the rest of the State. Seasonally Adjusted Data 4

5 Date Metro (%) SC (%)

6 Charleston Airport Traffic Deplanements Charleston Int'l Air Deplanements Year The Charleston International Airport continues an upward trend in airport traffic activity over the last 25 years. This general upward trend is fueled by both tourism and business travel into/out of the Charleston area. Since 2011, the number of annual deplanements from the Charleston International Airport has grown by almost 50%, from 1,260,125 to 1,853,161 deplanements per year. 6

7 Charleston Home Price Index The Charleston Metro Region housing market has seen steady price appreciation in homes since Q1 2012, with the index having surpassed in 2015 the level observed at the peak of the housing bubble in Strengthening home prices are likely due to a strengthening overall local economy and an increase in migration to the area. The Charleston Regional Development Alliance reported on March 22, 2017 that as of year-end 2016 the number of people moving to the Charleston area per day is 34. Seasonally Adjusted Data 7

8 Charleston Port Activity Charleston Port Total TEUs Total TEUs Quarter Total TEU traffic at the Charleston Port continues a general upward trend over the last six years and their respective quarters. From 2014 to 2015, the Charleston Port experienced a 10.1% increase in TEU traffic, while only a 1.2% increase from 2014 to In the first two quarters of 2017, TEU traffic increased only marginally from 553,250 to 555,006 containers. 8