OC experiencing Tremendous Job Growth

Oconee County really is the geography of opportunity when it comes to job growth. According to the latest figures from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, Oconee County’s unemployment rate is below 3%. Emily Hodge, Economic Development Specialist with the Oconee Economic Alliance gives details. “Our unemployment right now is at 2.7%, which accounts for roughly 923 people and that is the lowest it has been since April of 1998.” More people are also coming to Oconee County to work, adds Hodge. “We’ve studied some of our commuting patterns recently and the number of people that are leaving the county for jobs is decreasing but the number of people that live outside of Oconee County that are coming here for jobs is actually increasing. So, we’re kind of becoming a hub that more and more people are like hey I’m going to go work in Oconee County. Then our businesses that have grown and are creating jobs, there are 940 jobs available in Oconee County for those 923 people that are currently out of work.” Hodge credits Oconee Economic Alliance Executive Director Richard Blackwell will bringing more jobs to the county. “Since he started back in 2012, we’ve had almost 1,600 new jobs created in that six year period.” The Oconee Economic Alliance is a public-private nonprofit effort to accelerate job creation and capital investment, increase per capita income, diversify the local tax base and generate awareness of Oconee County, South Carolina as a business location. To learn more, visit www.InvestOconeeSC.com.