For the fourth consecutive month, South Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped—to 8.3 percent in November from the October estimate of 8.6 percent.
Dillon County’s rate fell from 12.6 percent to 12.4 percent. The county ranked 10th in the state in unemployment.
The number of unemployed people fell over the month by 6,434 to 176,953.
There was a rise in the number of employed people, up 9,758 to 1,964,377.
The total labor force ticked up slightly (+3,324) to 2,141,330.
The unemployment rate has fallen 1.5 percentage points since November 2011.
Nationally, the unemployment rate also fell from 7.9 percent in October to 7.7 percent in November.
This was caused mainly by a drop of 350,000 in the overall labor force.
Since October 2012, South Carolina’s nonagricultural employment (not seasonally-adjusted) increased 7,100 to 1,880,900.
In the last year, the number of jobs in the state was up 33,200 (about 1.8 percent), while the number of jobs in the U.S. grew by 1.4 percent.
“This is the fourth consecutive month the state’s unemployment rate decreased. This month is especially encouraging as the number of our fellow South Carolinians finding employment increased, and the number of unemployed fell to the lowest level of the year. Looking back at the year as a whole, we have seen an increase of approximately 33,000 jobs statewide. At DEW, we remain diligent in our efforts to match job seekers with employment opportunities,” said SC Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director Abraham J. Turner.
Employment
by Industry
· With the Christmas holidays rapidly approaching, increased hiring in Retail Trade pushed the Trade, Transportation and Utilities industry up by 1.5 percent or 5,500
· Other positive employment trends were Government (+3,100), Education and Health Services (+1,200),
Manufacturing (+1,100), Information (+200) and Financial Services (+100).
· There were some industries that lost employment since October 2012: Leisure and Hospitality (-2,200 jobs); Professional and Business Services (-1,400); and Construction (-700).
These industry losses were seen in accommodation and food services in the coastal areas, administrative and support services, and Specialty Trade Contractors.
The Mining and Logging industries were unchanged over the month.
