Richland County, SC jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Richland County’s unemployment rate is 4.5%. Employers filed 2 layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 342 open professional jobs are in its cities.

Richland County economy

4.5%
unemployment, Aug 2026
4.9% the month before
219,228
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
418,725
people in Richland County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$61,699
median household income
Source: Census ACS
44%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Richland County layoffs

2
WARN layoff notices, last 12 months
106
workers named
A floor: states may leave out counts
2
employers

WARN notices filed in Richland County, newest first
Notice date	Employer	City or county	Workers	Type	Source
Oct 18, 2026	PepsiCo Beverages Sales LLC	Richland	105	—	State record
Mar 6, 2026	C2 Technologies	Richland	1	—	State record

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Richland County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Scout Motors43 open roles
Trane U.s.17 open roles
Westinghouse Electric16 open roles
The Nuclear Company14 open roles
AgFirst Farm Credit Bank8 open roles
Army National Guard Units5 open roles
NexonIT5 open roles
BlueCross BlueShield Of South Carolina4 open roles
Michael Baker International4 open roles
State of South Carolina4 open roles

Colleges in Richland County

Colleges in Richland County
College	City	Type	Students
University of South Carolina-Columbia	Columbia	Public 4-year	20,000+
Benedict College	Columbia	Private nonprofit 4-year	1,000–4,999
Columbia College	Columbia	Private nonprofit 4-year	1,000–4,999
Columbia International University	Columbia	Private nonprofit 4-year	1,000–4,999
Allen University	Columbia	Private nonprofit 4-year	Under 1,000

Conferences in Richland County

Industry conferences and trade shows held in Richland County. 1 with dates announced.

Southeastern Museums Conference Annual Meeting
Oct 4 to Oct 6, 2027 · Columbia, SC
Paid ticket. Registration via members portal; pricing not yet posted. Premium membership gives $25 off early bird.

All conferences

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Richland County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Midlands Workforce Development Board
Fairfield, Lexington, Richland

SC Works Center Columbia Midlands
Columbia · Comprehensive · 803-737-5627
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Cities in Richland County

Columbia280 jobs
Blythewood36 jobs
Hopkins18 jobs
Eastover6 jobs

Other South Carolina counties

All of South Carolina

Laid off or looking for work in Richland County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); WARN notices from South Carolina’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers.