(Columbia, SC) -- The tourism industry continues to suffer amid the pandemic in South Carolina.
Manufacturing and construction sectors are close to their pre-pandemic employment levels, but leisure and hospitality is still down about 15% from this time last year.
University of South Carolina economist Joey Von Nessen tells WIS-TV those tourism-related industries make up 10 to 15% of the state's economy.
Von Nessen predicts the Palmetto state's economy will fully recover by the end of 2021.