February 08 2024
Original story can be found here.
Parts of the Grand Strand and the Pee Dee saw millions of dollars in capital investment and hundreds of new jobs in 2023.
The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) released its annual economic update for counties in the northeastern region of South Carolina and parts of North Carolina.
According to this report, the region saw a dip in new investment and jobs this year compared to 2022, which was a record-breaking year. However, NESA's Executive Director Jeff McKay said 2023 was still strong.
In 2022, South Carolina's northeastern region reported more than $1.1 billion in new investment and more than 2,400 jobs created.
Last year, the region had more than $930 million in new investment and a little more than 700 new jobs.
McKay said the process to get projects announced was slower in 2023, but they expect that to pick back up in 2024.
He also said a lot of projects are still under construction and haven't started hiring yet.
"We've got several projects that are, they may have announced, but their actual hiring date probably won't occur for 12 to 18 months," McKay said.
According to the report, the regional unemployment rate was just over 3%, which was lower than the 3.8% in 2022. McKay said we're returning to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Horry County had an impressive year with the opening of the DC Blox landing station in Myrtle Beach. It's the first subsea cable landing station in the state. As of 2023, its total investment is $90 million.
Over in Florence County, they made up 90% of capital investment in the region, bringing in $917 million in new capital investment and 707 new jobs.
Gregg Robinson, the CEO of the Florence County Economic Development Partnership, said three things make Florence an economic powerhouse.
"It’s a pro-business environment. It is an affordable, reliable utility. It is a qualified workforce, that wants to work," he said.
Robinson said they'd like to attract more international businesses to the area.
McKay said they anticipate 2024 to be another economic success for the region.