Outlook for S.C. economy sunnier in 2012
More workers will find jobs, employees will get raises and modest homes should increase slightly in value in South Carolina next year, USC economists predicted today.
But the economic recovery will remain fragile, according to Darla Moore School of Business economists Doug Woodward and Joey Von Nessen, who spoke at the University of South Carolina’s annual economic outlook conference.“Right now, South Carolina’s economy is stable, and 2012 should bring further incremental gains in job growth and personal income levels,” Von Nessen said in a statement from his speech to more than 200 business and economic leaders. “However, uncertainty is still high, and any market change could easily rock the boat.” And food and gas prices, which have spiked about 13 percent this year according to a study by The State newspaper, will remain volatile, the economists said.The most important measure of the state’s economic progress is total employment growth, the economists said, which is expected to spike 2 percent next year after a 1 percent gain this year. But the unemployment rate, which dropped to 10.5 percent in October, likely won’t change much as more people begin looking for jobs, boosting the labor force, they said.