FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence has landed a spot on the top ten list of best cities to find a job and work in the nation. USA Today ranked it number 7, falling just two spots behind Charleston.
The study reveals 84,000 people are employed, the jobless rate now sits at 3.2% with an average income of $41,000.
Mayor Stephen Wukela says he’s very proud of that designation. He attributes it to three main factors: infrastructure, quality of life, and the city’s political environment. He says Florence’s proximity to I-95 and I-20 makes it a desirable location for job seekers and employers. He also praised the downtown redevelopment which has drawn more businesses, visitors, and residents to the area. Mayor Wukela also says the community, the state government, and city leaders work well together to create a positive job environment and make job investment possible. He believes the addition of new businesses has benefited Florence but the expansion of older companies has also kept Florence afloat.
“We’ve certainly seem expansion of a number of existing industries. Of course, Mcleod and Carolinas, the hospital industry and the medical industry has always been a pillar of this community and it has grown substantially over the years and it continues to grow,” he said.
Many downtown business store owners and employees say they aren’t surprised that Florence ranked so highly. Many of them have been in the area for a while now and have witnessed Florence drastically grow in the past few years.
“With all of the development that’s come downtown, between the hotels, the new restaurants, Otis, and the hospitals and everything in between, I’m not surprised because I’ve seen how much downtown has continued to grow,” said Amanda Raber, a bartender at Wholly Smokin BBQ.
Mayor Wukela says there is a surplus of jobs, as well as a constant demand for engineers, police officers, doctors and nurses. But for job seekers, including recent college graduates, even with open availability, there can be challenges on the job hunt.
“Unfortunately, there are folks who are unemployed but don’t have that specialized training or aren’t qualified for whatever reason to fill those positions,” Mayor Wukela said. “And finding a way to bridge that gap and to provide that training to those folks so they can fill those positions I think is something this community strives toward and I think that’s probably true throughout the country.”
Mayor Wukela also points to a consistency in property value as a contributing factor that has drawn in residents and businesses to the area. He says property values have not spiked in Florence and tend not to jump drastically like they do in bigger metropolitan areas in the state and across the country.
