About Richard Breen
Authored 45 articles.
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NCAA Tourney to Bring Thousands of Fans, Millions of Dollars to the State
Features, January 17, 2024
“No question it’s new money and you’ll have a significant number of people from out of town,” said Dr. Tom Regan, graduate director with the University of South Carolina College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management.
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Special Report: Employment Data, Plus Recent South Carolina College Grads Find a Welcoming Job Market
Features, December 21, 2023
A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found 96 percent of employers plan to maintain or increase hiring in 2019. That includes 38.6 percent of respondents who said they planned to increase hiring.
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Exclusive Report: Wages, Income Nudge Forward in Parts of South Carolina
Features, December 18, 2023
A recent survey by Allianz Life Insurance Co. revealed that 23 percent of Americans were concerned by stagnant wages, compared to 30 percent in 2017. Among millennials, 29 percent had wage concerns, compared to 37 percent last year.
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Tariff Tussles: Economists Expect S.C. to Bounce Back
Features, December 10, 2023
Retaliatory tariffs imposed by China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union have created challenges for South Carolina exports for 2018, but the state could benefit under new trade agreements being negotiated.
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Special Report: Panel Talks Opportunity Zones, Could Help Struggling S.C. Communities
Features, December 07, 2023
Curtis Loftis, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin and ex-Gov. Jim Hodges participated in a panel at the conference, held Dec. 4 at the USC Alumni Center. Jeanne Milliken Bonds, community development officer with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, led the discussion.
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Special Report: USC Economists Forecast Continued Growth Despite Uncertainty
Features, December 06, 2023
As the U.S. economy pushes toward a record, South Carolinians should expect continued job creation and growth in personal income in 2019, according to experts at the University of South Carolina.
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Exclusive: South Carolina City Receives Recognition for Inclusiveness in High Tech
Features, December 03, 2023
This South Carolina city was recently listed among “eight of America’s most digitally inclusive tech cities” in an article from The Brookings Institution. The article pointed out that tech skills are unevenly spread across the economy.
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Exclusive: South Carolina Counties Making Headway When It Comes to Attracting Talent
Features, November 28, 2023
South Carolina is making national progress when it comes to attracting and developing skilled workers. Lancaster County is the No. 9 small county this year in the Talent Attraction Scorecard, a ranking compiled by Emsi, a labor market analytics firm. Nine other Palmetto State counties made the top 100.
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Exclusive: Trucking Trends Could Heat up Already Strong S.C. Industrial Market
Features, November 01, 2023
Rule changes in the trucking industry could work to the benefit of South Carolina’s warehouse market, according to a local real estate brokerage. Charleston and Greenville-Spartanburg are both considered to be secondary markets. Colliers cites both markets’ proximity to the Port of Charleston, its linkage to inland ports in Greer and Dillion, and interstate highway connectivity as advantages.
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ManuFirst SC Helps Workers Accelerate into Manufacturing Jobs
Features, October 22, 2024
A training program originally developed for Volvo Car USA in the Lowcountry is being expanded statewide and rebranded as ManuFirst SC. The 62-hour program introduces workers to lean manufacturing and provides safety training.
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Exclusive: Report Shows S.C. Aerospace Industry Continuing Rapid Job Creation
Features, October 11, 2024
South Carolina’s aerospace industry continues to produce jobs much more quickly than the state’s overall economy, according to updated research released by the S.C. Council on Competitiveness. The core aerospace cluster in South Carolina includes aircraft manufacturers as well as air transportation and related support services. There’s also a significant aviation-related military presence in the state.
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Exclusive: Gasoline Credit Coming to 2018 S.C. Tax Returns
Features, October 09, 2024
The motor fuel income tax credit is designed to lessen the impact of South Carolina’s rising gas tax. The effective amount of the credit will be less than 2 cents per gallon for many taxpayers.
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Exclusive: Area Development Magazine Ranks S.C. No. 5 for Doing Business
Features, October 05, 2024
Area Development magazine ranked South Carolina No. 5 in its annual Top States for Doing Business. Georgia was No. 1 for the fifth year in a row. North Carolina ranked sixth. South Carolina is a perennial inhabitant of the magazine’s top 10, having finished second in 2017, 2016, 2013 and 2012, and third in 2015 and 2014.
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Exclusive: More Details About USC's New Lab and Corporate Research Partnerships
Features, October 01, 2024
The University of South Carolina continues to rack up corporate research partnerships and is now showing what some of that research looks like. The school announced Thursday expansions of agreements with IBM, Samsung, Siemens and Yaskawa. USC also conducted tours of its Digital Transformation Lab, which contains everything from an Apache helicopter to a neonatal incubator.
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Hurricane Florence Delays South Carolina Tax Deadlines
Features, September 18, 2024
A disaster declaration means businesses in eight South Carolina counties will now have until Jan. 31, 2019, to make some of their federal filings and payments.
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Exclusive: Homes Continue to Sell Briskly across S.C.
Features, August 23, 2024
In general, South Carolina homes are selling more quickly and for more money than in 2017, continuing a trend. Nationally, homeownership rates lag pre-recession highs, but the Palmetto State ranks No. 2.
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Exclusive: USC Tasks Andy Bernardin with Making Business Connections
Features, August 09, 2024
While managing relationships during a joint project between IBM and the University of South Carolina, Bernardin was exposed to a part of the university he hadn’t seen before. Now he’s switching sides, so to speak, going to work for USC to help build further relationships with industry.
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Exclusive: South Carolina Logistics Industry Continues to Grow
Features, July 25, 2024
The opening of Inland Port Dillon and recent announcements totaling more than 250 new jobs underline the significance of South Carolina’s logistics industry. A nationwide study says the state still has room for improvement.
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CNBC Places South Carolina 30th in ‘Top States’ Ranking
Features, July 13, 2024
Economic development officials around South Carolina aren’t fazed by the state’s middle-of-the-pack finish on a recent “top states” list – but they aren’t ignoring it, either. The “America’s Top States for Business” ranking by CNBC came out July 10. South Carolina finished 30th this year, down from 29th in 2017.
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Aging South Carolina Population Creates Opportunities, Challenges
Features, July 12, 2024
According to recently released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the median age in every South Carolina county rose between 2010-17. Statewide, the median age rose from 37.9 at the time of the 2010 census to 39.4 as of July 1, 2017.
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Exclusive: Supreme Court Decision Expected to Help South Carolina Retailers
Features, June 28, 2024
One of the reasons buying online costs less is because many e-commerce sites don’t charge sales tax. That’s going to change following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. The court ruled that state and local governments can seek to collect sales tax from businesses that sell to customers in that state, even if the business doesn’t have a physical presence or employees there.
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Trade Journal Hands South Carolina Silver Shovel for Economic Development
Features, June 14, 2024
The economic development trade journal gives out annual awards in gold and silver, based on a state’s ability to score significant capital investment or job creation. States are analyzed based on their 10 biggest projects of the year and then categorized by population.
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South Carolina Again a ‘Best State for Business’
Features, June 04, 2024
South Carolina has another opportunity to promote its economic development prowess thanks to a magazine’s business climate rankings. The Palmetto State tied for third with North Carolina in Chief Executive’s 2018 “Best and Worst States for Business.” Texas was No. 1, followed by Florida. Indiana was fifth.
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S.C. Unemployment Rate Down, But So Is Labor Force
Features, May 22, 2024
The unemployment rate was down in every South Carolina county in April as the number of people looking for work dropped significantly.
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S.C. Industrial Real Estate Remains Strong, with Help from Port
Features, May 15, 2024
Industrial real estate markets across South Carolina continue to show strength, thanks in no small part to the growth of the Port of Charleston. Colliers International Group issued quarterly analysis for the Charleston, Columbia and Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson industrial markets. It also put out a statewide report and an analysis of U.S. industrial seaports.
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Tax Reform Brings Cheer to S.C. Breweries
Features, May 08, 2024
On May 11, R.J. Rockers Brewing Co. in Spartanburg will be celebrating its 21st birthday – a significant date because the beermaker will now be “legal,” so to speak.
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South Carolina Unemployment Ticks Upward in Tight Labor Market
Features, January 09, 2024
During the University of South Carolina’s annual Economic Outlook Conference, Cheryl Stanton, SCDEW’s executive director, pointed out that there were 60,000 open jobs in South Carolina in October. With unemployment hovering around 4 percent – many economists consider that to be “full employment” – the challenge for Stanton’s agency has been to find willing workers for existing job openings.
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Construction Job Growth Lags in S.C., Surprising Experts
Features, December 13, 2023
During another year of steady job growth and low unemployment in South Carolina, one industry has stumbled.
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Joan Robinson-Berry of Boeing Sees Changes Coming to Aerospace
Features, December 12, 2023
Robinson-Berry, who is vice president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina, expounded on current and future workforce needs as part of the University of South Carolina’s recent Economic Outlook Conference. Boeing currently employs approximately 6,800 workers in the Palmetto State.
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USC Economists Forecast Slow, Steady Growth in 2018
Features, December 11, 2023
USC researchers expect the U.S. economic expansion, currently in its ninth year, to eventually surpass those of the 1960s and 1990s.
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Clemson's Bruce Yandle's Economic Situation Report
Features, December 07, 2023
In his quarterly Economic Situation report, Dr. Bruce Yandle says, “if you felt good about 2017, you should look forward to 2018. In other words, don’t expect to see major changes in the nation’s basic economic indicators.”
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Fed Report Generally Positive about Economy, South Carolina Analysis
Features, December 04, 2023
The Federal Reserve recently issued one of its periodic Beige Book reports, which gives a sampling of economic conditions from the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts around the country. The Nov. 29 edition reported “modest to moderate” economic expansion in recent weeks, continued manufacturing and employment growth, and an optimistic outlook toward holiday retail sales.
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Special Report: Insurance Experts Talk Tech Risks at USC
Features, October 30, 2023
With Halloween less than a day away, it sounds like the plot to the latest scary movie. Instead, it was just a sample of the topics – not all of them scary – covered by expert panels Wednesday during Risk Management and Insurance Day at the University of South Carolina.
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Report: Industrial Real Estate Market Brisk across S.C.
Features, October 26, 2024
Industrial real estate activity is brisk across South Carolina and major employers could spur additional activity, according to a series of recent reports.
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South Carolina and Georgia Play Role in AT&T’s Hurricane Maria Response
Features, October 13, 2024
As the response to Hurricane Maria continues in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AT&T is utilizing South Carolina and Georgia resources in its recovery efforts.
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South Carolina Ranked 17th on the Aerospace Manufacturing Attractiveness Rankings
Features, October 06, 2024
South Carolina ranks 17th in an annual listing that focuses on aerospace manufacturing, and experts from around the Palmetto State believe it is “punching above its weight” when it comes to competing for business.
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Aerospace Industry Looks at Future of Workforce Development in South Carolina
Features, August 31, 2024
As South Carolina’s aerospace industry continues to grow, the state’s workforce will need to keep pace, said speakers and attendees at an industry gathering this week in Columbia. Workforce development was among the main topics at the South Carolina Aerospace Conference & Expo. The industry now accounts for 55,000 workers in the Palmetto State, with 5,400 new jobs announced since 2011.
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Incredible Technology and Innovation: Annual Aerospace Expo Begins Tuesday in South Carolina
Features, August 28, 2024
Members of academia, the business community and government from around the Palmetto State will focus attention on the burgeoning aerospace industry this week during the South Carolina Aerospace Conference & Expo.
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S.C. Demonstrates Silver Touch, Economic Development Officials Sound Off
Features, July 13, 2024
South Carolina continues to rack up large projects, as evidenced by a recent honor from a national economic development magazine. Area Development’s annual Shovel Awards program honors states based on a combination of capital investment and job creation initiatives.
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South Carolina Treasurer Loftis Sees Continued Pension Problems Despite Bailout Attempt
Features, May 02, 2024
We sat down with South Carolina's Treasurer to discuss a variety of issues. Having complained for years about the management of South Carolina’s public employee pension plans, it’s not surprising Curtis Loftis had mixed emotions about the bailout bill recently signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster.
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S.C. Economic Developers Say Elephants, Buffaloes Are Always in Season
Features, January 23, 2024
They're the big projects that bring in hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment. Experts have their own special terms for this type of much-sought-after economic development. “I've heard it called elephant hunting or buffalo hunting – either one,” says Carter Smith, executive vice president of the Economic Futures Group in Spartanburg.
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Analysis and Comment on South Carolina's Recent Unemployment Data, Expected to Stay Low in 2017
Features, December 20, 2023
South Carolina has been continuously growing its population, so some new workers could have come from out of state. Also, some people not officially looking for jobs - a group that doesn’t get counted in the unemployment figures - may have come off the sidelines and re-entered the workforce.
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Grand Strand Helping to Lead S.C. Economy
Features, December 19, 2023
Economic development along the Grand Strand has helped to drive the South Carolina economy in 2016, experts say. “Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Hilton Head have been shining spots for the state and that is due to construction,” said Dr. Joey Von Nessen, research economist at the University of South Carolina.
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University of South Carolina's Peter Brews, Darla Moore School Raising Bar for Business Education
Features, December 06, 2023
The school has raised performance standards while moving from a two-year curriculum, where students completed business courses in their junior and senior years, to a four-year curriculum, where business courses start in the freshman year. Here, Brews talks about the initiative, as well as the broader landscape of higher education.
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As Executive Director of USC's 24,000-member Alumni Association, Jack Claypoole Explains How My Carolina Looks to Engage Every Generation
Features, December 01, 2023
My Carolina boasts a $26-million building that just celebrated its first birthday and is also taking on a new mission in supporting USC. Jack Claypoole talks about an eventful past year and an exciting future for the organization.