Spartanburg County Manufacturing Employment Hits 10-year High

Spartanburg County manufacturing employment has hit a 10-year high according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Thirty-thousand people were employed in the manufacturing sector in June, according to the latest report. That marked the first month since June 2007 the manufacturing workforce was at 30,000 in the Spartanburg MSA, which includes Union County. The local manufacturing workforce hit a low of 24,300 in January 2010 before beginning to rebound.

“Passing the 30,000-job figure in the manufacturing sector is gratifying, and we believe there is significant growth on the horizon,” said Carter Smith, Executive Vice President of the Economic Futures Group, Spartanburg County’s economic development agency, which is housed at the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. “The word is out about Spartanburg as a major center for advanced manufacturing and international investment, and our team will continue to be diligent in recruiting new jobs and investment to Spartanburg.”

More growth is on the horizon, including the following:

  • BMW Manufacturing Co. announced in June it has plans to add another 1,000 jobs at its Spartanburg facility by 2021, growing its total workforce to more than 10,000.
  • Toray Industries, Inc., a Japanese carbon fiber manufacturer, is currently building a facility in Spartanburg that will employ at least 500.
  • Rudolph Logistics Group, a German company, announced in July it was investing $18 million in a new operation in Spartanburg County that would create at least 150 jobs.

Overall, Spartanburg County added 4,500 jobs in 2016, the highest growth rate in South Carolina. And in the past four years, Spartanburg County has attracted more than $4 billion in new corporate investment, the most by any one county statewide during that time.

“There has never been a better time to be in Spartanburg than right now,” said Allen Smith, CEO and President of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. “We have a great team in Spartanburg — from the business community, to the County and City of Spartanburg, to our school districts and colleges, to our non-profit and philanthropic community. We have worked together for many years, and we are hitting our stride right now. The results speak for themselves, and the best is yet to come.”

(Written by Will Rothschild.)