Dillon County’s unemployment rate was up to 14.7 percent in May, a .6 percent increase over April.

This followed the statewide trend. South Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 9.8 percent in April to 10.0 percent in May, similar to the national rate increase from 9.0 percent in April to 9.1 percent in May.

A slight uptick in unemployment is typical for this time of year as college and high school graduates enter the labor pool, and more people seek seasonal work in tourism-related areas.

Based on the federal survey of households, the state saw a slight movement upward in May’s labor force estimates when compared to April. An increase of 2,769 was noted for an overall level of 2,155,120 people in the labor force.

The trend of decreasing initial claims for state unemployment benefits continued in May, with only 19,264 claims filed, much less than the high of 84,103 in January 2009. In fact, South Carolina’s number of initial claims for May 2011 is lower than all other states in the southeast.

The duration of unemployment payments has also declined in South Carolina, dropping 2.5 weeks from a high of 18.9 weeks in 2010 to 16.4 weeks in 2011. In the Southeast, only Alabama has a shorter duration.