In January, South Carolina broke yet another record for the number of people working as the total grew to 2,080,031, an increase of approximately 10,841 compared to December’s revised estimate.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 6.6 percent in January, showing no change from the revised December benchmarked estimate. The unemployment rate has remained steady over the past four months, while employment and labor force estimates continue to expand.
The number of unemployed persons was 146,989, marking little change since December 2014. Nationally, the unemployment rate in January 2015 was little changed at 5.7 percent.
Dillon County’s rate was up from 8.8 percent to 9.6 percent in January.
The county was ranked the ninth in the state in unemployment.
Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Seasonally Adjusted)
Seasonally adjusted, non-farm payroll employment in January increased by 2,500 to reach a record-high of 1,977,700.
* The largest increase was in Leisure and Hospitality (+3,100), followed by Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+1,600); Education and Health Services (+1,500); Other Services (+900); and Financial Activities (+500).
* Manufacturing (-1,700); Government (-1,400); Professional and Business Services (-1,200); Information (-400); and Construction (-300) recorded losses from December 2014 to January 2015.
Compared to a year ago, seasonally adjusted, non-farm jobs were up 49,500 with a large part of that in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+12,800) and Professional and Business Services (+11,000).
* Increases were also noted in Education and Health Services (+6,200); Leisure and Hospitality (+5,800); Government (+4,800); and Manufacturing (+4,400).
* Smaller gains were seen in Construction (+1,900); Other Services (+1,200); Financial Activities (+1,000); and Information (+400).
Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Not Seasonally Adjusted
The not-seasonally adjusted, non-farm payroll employment in January decreased (30,000) from December 2014 to 1,945,900.
One industry saw growth: Other Services (+400). Industries with substantial decreases were: Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-9,300); Professional and Business Services (-6,600); Government (-5,600); Manufacturing (-2,800); Education and Health Services (-2,700); Construction (-1,400); and Leisure and Hospitality (-1,200). Modest losses were in Information (-400); Financial Activities (-300); and Natural Resources and Mining (-100).
From January 2014 to January 2015, not-seasonally adjusted, non-farm jobs were up 54,200 overall in the Palmetto state. Industries marking strong annual gains were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+13,500); Professional and Business Services (+10,500); Leisure and Hospitality (+8,100); Government (+5,200); Education and Health Services (+4,900); and Manufacturing (+4,900). Smaller increases were recorded in Construction (+2,600); Financial Activities (+2,100); Other Services (+1,800); and Information (+600).
