SC leads Nation in Jobs tied to Foreign Investment

For the second year in a row, South Carolina has claimed the top spot among U.S. states in a report gauging the global impact of foreign-direct investment. In the annual IBM-Plant Location International Global Location Trends report released this month, South Carolina ranked first in the nation for per-capita employment by foreign-owned firms investing last year. Presently, there are more than 1,200 operations of foreign-owned companies located in the state, employing more than 100,000 workers. Since January 2011, the state has recruited $6.7 billion in capital investment from foreign-owned companies, with German, Japanese, French and Chinese firms representing the highest investors. More than 15,600 jobs associated with foreign firms have been recruited to South Carolina during that time.  The state’s foreign-direct investment is largely concentrated in the manufacturing industry.