South Carolina Business Review

Tight labor market keeps SC state agency busy

By Mike Switzer

Published May 10, 2024 at 6:30 AM EDT

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William Floyd, director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce in Columbia, S.C.

The labor market in our state continues to stay tight, yet companies continue to expand operations and to choose us for new locations. Which only increases the demand for workers. So what is our state agency that is in the middle of all this doing with all of this? Mike Switzer interviews William Floyd, director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (known as DEW) in Columbia.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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