The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, in partnership with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reported today that South Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 11.0 percent in September from a revised rate of 11.1% in August.
Dillon County ranked ninth in unemployment at 14.8 percent. This is down 1.0 percent from August.
Other counties in the top ten were Marion, Marlboro, Allendale, Chester, Union, York, Lancaster, Barnwell, Chesterfield and McCormick.
Lexington had the lowest unemployment in the state.
Over the month, the number of employed persons increased by 6,219 (0.3%), and the number of unemployed declined by 652 (-0.3%). This resulted in an increase in the labor force (employed + unemployed) of 5,567 to 2,153,870.
Nationally, the September unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.6%. The national labor force also grew in September by 48,000, with movement upward in employment (+141,000) and movement downward in unemployment (-93,000).
Of note, nationally, those working part time for economic reasons have increased two months in a row with an increase in September of 612,000 following an increase of 331,000 in August.
The monthly establishment survey in South Carolina showed growth of 1,800 nonagricultural jobs in September.
The Government sector (+14,400) accounted for most of the growth as local government education services staff continued their return for the school year.
However, the Federal government sector decreased by (-1,600), reflecting a reduction in Census jobs.
The private sector declined by 12,600 jobs in September. Private sector losses were recorded in Retail Trade (-2,900), Professional and Business Services (-1,100), Leisure and Hospitality (-9,100), and Construction (-600). Private sector gains were noted in Manufacturing (+200), and Education and Health Services (+3,900).
The overall job count was 11,900 above the year-ago level; the private sector accounted for approximately 7,700 of the overall job count increase over the year.
“Consumer sentiment remains weak, and this continues to influence the demand for goods and services,” said John L. Finan, Executive Director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce. “As the state’s economy strives to recover from the recent recession we, at SCDEW, remain committed to supporting the needs of job seekers and employers by offering a variety of tools and services to assist both groups of customers.”
One of these tools is the South Carolina Virtual OneStop (VOS) system. The web site www.sconestop.org is a powerful online tool designed to assist job seekers in finding the right job, and help employers who are looking for the best job candidates.
The site serves as a hub for the state’s workforce services while focusing on job openings and job candidates.
The site is also a valuable resource for policy makers, researchers, and others seeking to explore and analyze local labor markets in South Carolina. Of the various online job search engine databases, in early October, more than 46,000 jobs were listed in the Virtual OneStop database.