SCIWAY News No. 37 – May 2002

Free SCIWAY News Subscription

In This Issue

1. Post Job Ads and Resumes on SCJobsNow for Free
2. New and Notable South Carolina Web Sites
3. The Palmetto Pay Gap: SC Wages Compared with NC, GA, and the US
4. Who in South Carolina Makes the Most Money ... and the Least?
5. Why We Make Less ... and Why It Matters
6. New SCIWAY Sponsors
7. Upcoming SC Festivals and Events
8. SC Spotlight: Beaufort and Beaufort County

1. POST JOB ADS AND RESUMES ON SCJobsNow

SCJobsNow is a statewide web site where employers can post information about job openings, and job seekers can post their resumes.

Searching for jobs will always be free, and posting job ads will be free until July 1. After that employers can post ads for a flat fee of $30 for 30 days ... or even less with one of our "Ad Packs."

Job seekers can post up to three resumes for free. Additional resume postings cost $10 per resume.

Our goal is to make it easier for South Carolinians to find jobs that match their strengths ... and easier for employers to find workers who meet their needs. We also believe that SCJobsNow's statewide scope will help businesses and organizations in smaller towns attract workers with hard-to-find skills.

I would like to thank Don Carlton of Charleston for his help in implementing SCJobsNow. Without Don's expertise and problem-solving abilities, this web site would not be online today.

Return to Table of Contents

2. NEW AND NOTABLE SOUTH CAROLINA WEB SITES

Charleston Fishing Charters and Guides - inshore and offshore

Chester County Economic Development Office - helpful info for businesses

Congressman Joe Wilson - 2nd District - recently elected

Morris Island Lighthouse to be "lighted" during Spoleto - May 10-June 9

MUSC Children's Hospital - you can ask pediatric health questions online

SCALE - a six-acre model of South Carolina in Spartanburg County - site no longer exists

6th Regiment - Civil War reenactors from Rock Hill, Chester, and Fort Mill

Return to Table of Contents

3. THE PALMETTO PAY GAP:
    SC WAGES COMPARED WITH NC, GA, AND THE US

• South Carolina Per Capita Personal Income, 1950-1998

How much do working South Carolinians make compared with our two neighboring states and Americans in general? Less. A lot less.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes average annual wage estimates for 22 major occupational groups. Wages are straight pay. They do not include overtime, vacation and sick leave pay, or benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans.

South Carolina wages are lower than NC and GA wages in 15 of the 22 occupational groups ... and $2,000 to $3,000 lower overall. Multiply these numbers by 1.8 million SC workers, and you'll see that the SC-NC pay gap is $3.6 billion a year and the SC-GA gap is $5.4 billion.

Only one group of South Carolinians makes significantly more money than their NC and GA counterparts: Architects and Engineers.

Both higher and lower level South Carolina healthcare workers make slightly more than NC and GA healthcare workers.

At first, the average wage of SC production workers (mostly manufacturing) also looks like a bright spot. But when you look at average hourly "earnings" for manufacturing workers from 1950 to 2001, the shine disappears.

Unlike wage data, earnings data excludes first-line supervisors and managers and includes sick leave and vacation pay as well as overtime pay. When these factors are taken into account, South Carolina manufacturing workers make $2.00 an hour less than their North Carolina and Georgia counterparts. And as the "percent" graph shows, the average earnings of South Carolina manufacturing workers relative to NC and GA workers has declined steeply since 1990.

4. WHO IN SOUTH CAROLINA MAKES THE MOST MONEY ...
    AND THE LEAST?

Four groups make less than $20,000 a year: healthcare aides and assistants, personal care providers, building and grounds workers, and food preparers and servers.

However, when we look at how much South Carolina workers make relative to average US wages, the top groups are different:

• Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
• Architecture and Engineering
• Healthcare Practitioners, Technologists, and Technicians
• Production Workers (again, earnings tell a different story)
• Healthcare Aides and Assistants

• Business and Financial Operations
• Managers and Executives
• Construction and Skilled Trades
• Fire, Police, Corrections, and Security
• Legal

Most of the data summarized in this article was collected by Erica Larsh of James Island, and the graphs were created by Kasey Briggs of Charleston. I appreciate the thought and care both put into this work.

Return to Table of Contents

5. WHY WE MAKE LESS ... AND WHY IT MATTERS

1. It costs less to live in South Carolina, so workers need less money.

2. South Carolinians work fewer hours a week and thus earn less money.

3. South Carolina workers are less productive, so employers can't afford to pay employees as much.

4. Fewer South Carolina workers are in labor unions, so employees are less able to promote their economic interests.

5. A larger portion of SC jobs are in lower paying occupations, industries, and types of businesses.

6. South Carolina has fewer corporate headquarters, where the highest paying jobs are usually located.

7. South Carolina employers simply pay their employees less.

Whatever we learn, it matters. Every year people who have made more money in other states are moving to South Carolina and buying real estate at prices most South Carolinians can't afford ... and raising real estate taxes to a level many can't pay.

(Our lower incomes are not the fault of those who are moving to South Carolina. We applaud their economic success and appreciate their good judgment.)

At the same time tens of thousands of working South Carolinians don't make enough money to pay for the basic necessities of life ... and for hundreds of thousands, health care and health insurance are unaffordable luxuries.

Then there are our children and grandchildren. An increasing number of them will likely leave South Carolina. They can make more money in other states ... have more opportunities for advancement ... and in many cases buy nicer homes for less money.

I hope many of you are as concerned about the "Palmetto Pay Gap" as I am.

Return to Table of Contents

6. NEW SCIWAY SPONSORS

Charleston Regional Development Alliance - Discover the advantages

Russell Carson - Exit Sandlapper Realty - Helping Columbia Home Buyers - site no longer exists

South Carolina Student Loan - the only statewide non-profit education lender

Return to Table of Contents

7. UPCOMING SC FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

For an annual calendar of South Carolina festivals, conferences, and other events, please see https://www.sciway.net/calendar.html.

Myrtle Beach Bike Week and Spring Rally - May 10-19

Jubilee Arts Festival - Bennettsville - May 11

Midlands Intertribal Pow Wow - Columbia - May 17-19

FoxTrot Festival - Marion - May 18

Blue Crab Festival - Little River - May 18-19

Sculpture in the South - Summerville - May 18-19

Iris Festival - Sumter - May 23-26

Catfish Feastival - Ware Shoals - May 24-25

Plum Hollow Alternative Bluegrass Festival - Campobello - May 24-25

Piccolo Spoleto - Charleston - local arts festival - May 24-Jun 9

L'Organo - Charleston - Piccolo Spoleto organ series - May 25-Jun 9

Return to Table of Contents

8. SC SPOTLIGHT: BEAUFORT AND BEAUFORT COUNTY

However, my favorite part of Beaufort is its shady waterfront park, which stretches along the Beaufort River for about half a mile. It is loaded with live oaks, crepe myrtles, benches, and swings -- and its landward side is protected by good restaurants and ice cream shops. I could camp out there a long time!

47th Annual Beaufort Water Festival - July 12-21

Beaufort Arsenal Museum

Marine Corps Air Station

Parish Church of Saint Helena - founded in 1712

SCIWAY's Directory of Beaufort Web Sites - many more links

The City of Beaufort is the county seat of BEAUFORT COUNTY, where South Carolina's first European settlements were located. In French "beau" means beautiful, handsome, lovely, or fine ... and after even the shortest visit, you'll know that both the city and the county of Beaufort are aptly named. (Ironically, both are actually named for an Englishman, Henry Somerset, the Second Duke of Beaufort, who pronounced his name "BOH-fert," as in bow and arrow and Beaufort, North Carolina.)

Beaufort Arts Council

Beaufort County Public Library - impressive web site, helpful staff

Penn Center - at the heart of Gullah culture - St Helena Island

SCIWAY's Directory of Beaufort County Web Sites - many more links

The next issue of SCIWAY News will spotlight the City of Spartanburg and Spartanburg County. If you know of a notable area web site that SCIway doesn't yet link to, please send its address to service@sciway.net. Business listings cost $60 a year.

Rod Welch
James Island, SC Return to Table of Contents

Copyright 2002 SCIway, LLC. "SCIWAY News"(TM) is written by Rod Welch of James Island – with a lot of help from people throughout South Carolina. ISSN: 1527-3903. Direct circulation: 52,000+

To subscribe to or unsubscribe from SCIWAY News, click here.

The SCIWAY News mailing list is not given, loaned, or sold to anyone.

News, new web site addresses, and comments and questions about this newsletter should also be sent to news@sciway.net.

Back issues of SCIway news can be found at https://www.sciway.net/sn/.

SCIway, pronounced "sky-way," is an acronym for South Carolina Information Highway.