(The Center Square) – South Carolina is fifth in the South Atlantic, 10th in the South and 13th in the nation for “pro-growth” reforms, according to a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council.
ALEC 2025 States That Work: A Labor Policy Roadmap Across America, released Tuesday, considers labor policies – including a 10-point model checklist – and jobs overview in formulating the state rankings. Employment growth, state minimum wage, unions and political landscape are inside the factors.
For jobs, South Carolina tied for first with the state minimum wage ($7.25 an hour) equal to the federal; was sixth in average 10-year private sector employment growth ending in 2024; and 30th in government sector job prevalence (16%). The Right-to-Work Act, Open Contracting Act and Fair and Accountable Public Sector Authority Act also scored well.
“South Carolina has built a solid foundation with Right to Work and a light regulatory touch,” said Alan Jernigan, manager of the ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force. “But to break into the top tier of labor freedom they have to go further. The good news? More than half a million Americans have already moved to the Palmetto State in the past decade. The momentum is there.”
In the 16-state South, the Palmetto State trailed Georgia (third), Arkansas (fourth), Florida (fifth), Tennessee (sixth), North Carolina (seventh), Louisiana (ninth), Mississippi (10th), West Virginia (11th) and Texas (12th).
ALEC bills itself as “America’s largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism. Comprised of nearly one-quarter of the country’s state legislators and stakeholders from across the policy spectrum, ALEC members represent more than 60 million Americans and provide jobs to more than 30 million people in the United States.”
