Staff Report
Published July 20, 2012

Unemployment in South Carolina rose to 9.4% in June as the number of full-time jobs dropped with schools out for the summer, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce reported today.

June’s jobless rate was up from 9.1% reported in May, but more than a full percentage point below the June 2011 mark of 10.5%, the agency said.

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“While South Carolina’s unemployment rate edged up from May to June, much progress has been made since last year as there were more than 22,000 jobs added,” said Abraham J. Turner, executive director of the agency. “Businesses continue to choose our great state as a place to locate or expand, and DEW is committed to working with employers to meet their workforce needs.”

The number of people out of work rose by 6,618 in June to 202,918. The number of people with jobs dropped by 9,391 to around 1.95 million, the agency said.

“The decline in employment can be attributed to a fall in full-time jobs with schools out for the summer,” the agency said.

The state’s total workforce declined by 2,773 people to 2.15 million.

All four of the state’s metro areas reported increases. Charleston rose to 8.5% in June from 7.9% in May; Columbia jumped to 9.1% from 8.4%; Florence climbed to 10.9% from 10%; and, Greenville increased to 8.6% from 7.9%.

Only three of the state’s 46 counties reported a decline in the jobless rate. Fairfield’s rate slipped in June to 12.2% from 12.4% in May; McCormick dropped to 13.2% from 13.4%; and Saluda was down to 8.3% from 8.5%.

Marion County reported the state’s highest jobless rate at 18%, followed by Marlboro at 17.6% and Allendale at 16.9%. Lexington County had the lowest unemployment figure at 7.7%, followed by Greenville and Charleston counties, with both at 8.2%.

Nationally, the unemployment rate remained the same from May to June at 8.2%.

Online job ads in South Carolina, as reported by the Conference Board Help Wanted Online data series, showed an increase of about 4,000 ads from May to June. The number of jobseekers per opening decreased slightly in June to 3.5 from May’s average of 3.7.