South Carolina jobless rate makes national news
... and sadly, it's bad news, not good.
The unemployment report came out and it was pretty bad news for most of the country and South Carolina was no exception. Our state was one of four that hit double digit unemployment along with Michigan, Rhode Island and California. Map and story courtesy of AP.
Locally, the story was somewhat better in the Charleston area.
From the Charleston Business Journal
Among South Carolina counties, the Lowcountry still posts lower jobless numbers than many. Charleston County has the second-lowest rate in the state for January, behind Lexington County. The highest unemployment numbers were in Allendale County, at 23.4%, and Marion County, at 22.4%.
From the Charleston Post and Courier
The Charleston region posted a jobless rate of 8.6% in January, or second lowest among the state's four major employment markets. The Columbia metro area fared slightly better at 8.5%. Greenville was 9.3% and Florence was 11.5%.
None of this is surprising with the slowdown in the 4th Quarter leading to companies cutting payrolls. And looking at the numbers from a more positive perspective, almost 90% of all workers still have a job.