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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Southeast > South Carolina > Columbia

Columbia

Title BLS Subject Product Type Date Published
Columbia, SC, Area Economic Summary (PDF)
Benefits, Consumer price indexes, Consumer spending, Employment, Industry price indexes, Pay, Unemployment
 Economic Summary May 2026
Southeast - Labor Force Statistics Employment, Unemployment Table May 2026
Occupational Employment and Wages in Columbia, SC — May 2024 Employment, Pay News Release May 2025
ConsumerPriceIndex_Summary_Southeast (PDF) Consumer price indexes CPI Summary May 2026
Occupational Employment and Wages for Selected Nurse Occupations in South Carolina’s Metropolitan Areas – May 2016 Employment, Pay News Release Jul 2017
Occupational Employment and Wages for Selected Engineering Occupations in Selected Southeast Metropolitan Areas – May 2017 Employment, Pay News Release Jun 2018
Columbia, SC Economy at a Glance:
Columbia, SC
Data Series Back
Data		 Nov
2025		 Dec
2025		 Jan
2026		 Feb
2026		 Mar
2026		 Apr
2026

Labor Force Data

Civilian Labor Force(1)

 (2)438.5 (2)439.0 438.6 442.8 (p)440.7  

Employment(1)

 (2)417.6 (2)418.6 415.6 419.9 (p)423.0  

Unemployment(1)

 (2)21.0 (2)20.4 23.0 22.9 (p)17.7  

Unemployment Rate(3)

 (2)4.8 (2)4.6 5.2 5.2 (p)4.0  

Nonfarm Wage and Salary Employment

Total Nonfarm(4)

 439.3 439.8 431.1 432.7 433.9 (p)435.4

12-month % change

 -0.2 0.0 0.1 -0.2 -0.2 (p)0.0

Mining, Logging, and Construction(4)

 19.3 19.3 19.6 19.6 19.6 (p)19.9

12-month % change

 3.8 3.2 5.4 4.8 3.7 (p)4.7

Manufacturing(4)

 32.1 32.2 31.8 31.8 31.7 (p)31.7

12-month % change

 -1.2 -1.2 -1.9 -1.5 -2.5 (p)-1.9

Trade, Transportation, and Utilities(4)

 79.3 80.5 78.0 77.7 78.0 (p)77.9

12-month % change

 -1.5 -0.5 -0.1 -0.3 0.6 (p)1.4

Information(4)

 4.4 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.2 (p)4.1

12-month % change

 -8.3 -4.3 -4.4 -2.3 -4.5 (p)-6.8

Financial Activities(4)

 35.2 35.4 34.6 34.7 34.6 (p)34.6

12-month % change

 0.0 0.9 -1.4 -1.4 -2.3 (p)-1.4

Professional and Business Services(4)

 57.4 55.7 54.0 54.2 53.3 (p)54.2

12-month % change

 -2.2 -4.3 -3.6 -3.9 -5.7 (p)-3.6

Education and Health Services(4)

 65.6 65.9 65.5 65.7 65.9 (p)66.4

12-month % change

 2.8 3.9 4.3 3.3 2.8 (p)2.3

Leisure and Hospitality(4)

 40.6 40.4 38.8 38.8 40.4 (p)40.9

12-month % change

 -2.2 -1.7 -1.3 -3.5 -0.7 (p)-1.9

Other Services(4)

 18.1 18.1 18.0 18.1 18.4 (p)18.3

12-month % change

 0.6 1.1 2.9 2.8 4.0 (p)3.4

Government(4)

 87.3 87.8 86.5 87.8 87.8 (p)87.4

12-month % change

 0.9 0.8 0.2 0.8 0.7 (p)0.3

Footnotes
(1) Number of persons, in thousands, not seasonally adjusted.
(2) Data were subject to revision on May 19, 2026.
(3) In percent, not seasonally adjusted.
(4) Number of jobs, in thousands, not seasonally adjusted. See About the data.
(p) Preliminary