This report is a result of a survey of benefits and compensation practices among employers in the three-county Charleston Metro Area (Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties). The study was open to all types of business establishments — all sizes and all business sectors. The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Business Research conducted the survey in spring of 2021 in collaboration with the Berkeley and
Greater Summerville / Dorchester Chambers of Commerce.

As today’s local labor market is recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic, workforce is back in high demand by employers. This study’s objective is to provide information on compensation practices of firms operating in the three-county region to:

• Help existing firms evaluate their own organization’s compensation practices more effectively,
  particularly with the pandemic’s effect on work environments
• Assist companies in creating a benchmark analysis to use for strategic planning purposes, and
• Provide trends and general information on typical local employer practices to prospective companies
  and site selection consultants looking at the Charleston region as a potential business location.