SC believes Rock Hill region will lead the state in job growth. Here are the hot jobs
Thousands of new jobs are expected to come to the Rock Hill region in the next few years, according to state workforce department projections, at a growth rate higher than anywhere else in South Carolina.
New South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce figures forecast a 21,012-job increase between 2022 and 2032 for York, Lancaster and Chester counties. The 179,471 jobs in 2032 would be up 13.3% in a decade. The Charleston area is next highest among a dozen workforce regions, at 12.7%.
If those counts materialize, the Rock Hill region would remain the sixth-largest workforce area in the state.
Job growth coincides with population growth, where York County recently became the seventh county statewide to top 300,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Lancaster County passed 100,000 residents and has the third highest population growth rate in South Carolina, and highest in the two-state Charlotte metro area, since 2020.
The state workforce department tracks and projects numerous factors related to employment, from layoffs to secondary education training programs needed to support industries. The 2032 estimates “convey an optimistic vision” of ongoing employment patterns, analytics writer Lainey Stalnaker said in the first of a multi-part workforce department blog series posted on March 24.
“This data allows the state to plan for expected employment growth, including the types of jobs and employers that are growing,” Stalnaker wrote.
Industries set to grow Rock Hill region
In the Rock Hill region, more than half a dozen industries or occupations will have grown by 50% or more between 2022 and 2032, according to the new data.
Warehousing and storage jobs would increase 70%. Securities, commodities and other financial trading jobs would go up nearly 53%. Other industries on the rise, according to the projections, are transportation and warehousing (48%), company management (39%), insurance (35%) and social assistance (31%).
Of 87 listed industries, only five are projected to lose jobs by 2033. Textile mills (-12%), crop production (-9%), forestry and logging (-6%), rail transportation (-3%) and miscellaneous manufacturing (-2%) make up that list.
Trade, transportation and utilities would grow by nearly 5,400 jobs. Professional and business services are next at nearly 4,900 jobs. Education and health services would increase by more than 4,200 jobs.
Occupations adding, losing jobs in Rock Hill region
By growth rate, the biggest movers among occupations across the Rock Hill region are interpreters or translators (71%), nurses (65%), data scientists (53%), occupational therapy assistants (52%), personal financial advisors (52%) and broadcast technicians (50%).
Occupations projected to lose jobs by 2032 include legal secretaries and administrative assistants (-21%), metal fabricators (-13%) and machine operators (-13%).
The most total new jobs would come in transportation (3,078), business and financial operations (2,189), sales (1,962) and management (1,929). The biggest declines come for fast food cooks (-100), secretaries and administrative assistants (-55), executive secretaries (-39) and legal secretaries (-30).
Ongoing job creation
While projections rely on the best available data on job creation, the loss or addition of any one project can drastically sway the region’s employment outlook. And county economic development teams are constantly looking for opportunities.
At the end of February, the Rock Hill region had at least five projects worth $160 million in discussion for tax incentive deals with York, Lancaster or Chester county councils. Lancaster County officials noted a recent trend in retail interest there, after Costco and Target announced they’d open in Indian Land.
The most prime example of how quickly employment outlooks can change may be the property off Exit 81 at Interstate 77 in Rock Hill.
A $2 billion project to bring the Carolina Panthers headquarters and training facility touted thousands of new jobs across a variety of industries, before the project collapsed due to funding disagreements between the team and city.
This week Rock Hill will start the rezoning process for 220 acres it owns there, to prime the property for new life. The city envisions a large life sciences or advanced manufacturing campus. It’s part of a city-wide focus on those industries that also includes other large areas near the interstate, particularly on the south side.
It’s not just the job count but the types of jobs — high pay, community fit, emerging industries — that matter, Mayor John Gettys told The Herald last week in discussion on the former Panthers site.
“We want jobs that don’t exist in Rock Hill,” he said.
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 8:21 AM.
