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Unemployment rate continues to drop in S.C.

Staff Report //October 19, 2018//

Unemployment rate continues to drop in S.C.

Staff Report //October 19, 2018//

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South Carolina’s unemployment rate fell from 3.4% in August to 3.3% in September, though the number of people working across the state declined slightly by 339 to a level of 2,227, 423.

The national unemployment rate dropped to 3.7% from 3.9%.

S.C.’s level of unemployment decreased by 1,986 people to 76,772. The state’s labor force fell by 2,325 to 2,304,195. Nonfarm payrolls dropped by 14,500 to 2,113,000.

The state has seen an employment gain of 6,957 since September 2017. The level of unemployed people fell by 20,997 in that period, and the labor force declined by 14,040.

S.C. industries reporting increases in September were construction (plus-300), education and health services (plus-200) and manufacturing (plus-200). Leisure and hospitality saw a drop of 9,300, while trade, transportation and utility jobs dropped by 2,600.

“The month of September was challenging for people in our state as we weathered the devastating effects of two storms,” Cheryl Stanton, executive director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, said in a news release. “Many jobs were interrupted by the unprecedented events of Hurricane Florence and/or Hurricane Michael. … The health of our economy and the resilience of our citizens will help us continue to rally, recover and get back to work.”

Unemployment dropped in every county in September. Richland County, which had a 4.6% unemployment rate in September 2017, saw a drop from 3.7% to 3.3% from August to September. Lexington County, where unemployment stood at 3.7% in September 2017, saw a drop from 3.1% to 2.7% from August to September.

Unemployment in the Columbia metropolitan statistical area dropped to 3.2% from 3.6% from August to September. Unemployment for the MSA stood at 4.3% in September 2017.

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