Palmetto State News

South Carolina unemployment figures are falling, with 4,156 new jobs were created in October, a new report by the state Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) said.

“More South Carolinians are working now than ever before in our state’s history, our unemployment rate is steadily declining, and we’re investing in our people through targeted workforce training. We’re on a path that will benefit generations of South Carolinians in the future," Gov. Henry McMaster tweeted Nov. 19 in response to the state's October Employment Situation report and a statement by DEW Executive Director Dan Ellzey. 

According to the report, the seasonally adjusted, monthly survey of households estimated the number of South Carolinians working increased to 2,313,476 in October as unemployment estimates decreased to 94,322. 

This decrease marks a significant shift as totals were down 4,738 people from the estimate in September this year. 

The state’s estimated labor force, accounting for both those working and those who were unemployed and looking for work, saw little change over the month, decreasing by 582 individuals to make a total 2,407,798. 

Ellzey said there are 14,000 more people working today than prior to the pandemic in February 2020, marking a 0.6% increase in payroll numbers between that month and October 2021. 

“The trend for initial claims (job losses) also demonstrates outstanding recovery. In the first four months of the pandemic (March through June of 2020), South Carolina averaged 152,525 initial claims per month,” he said. “Over the past four months (July through October of 2021), an average of only 7,731 initial claims have been filed per month. That is a 95% decrease.”

The unemployment rate reached a new post-pandemic low of 3.9% statewide, Ellzey added, putting South Carolina ahead of the national trend. 

The U.S. unemployment rate sat at 4.6% last month. 

Moving forward, as around 1,500 trucking jobs have opened in the last 30 days, he said DEW is working to connect unemployment claimants with experience to local employers.